Champions Cup final teams: England stars return for Northampton but Springboks hopeful misses out while Damian Penaud starts for Bordeaux
England stars George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme both return to Northampton Saints’ 23-man squad for the Investec Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles.
Full-back Furbank has not featured since his side’s win over Castres in the quarter-final, while Sleighthome makes his first Saints appearance since December after overcoming an ankle injury picked up on England duty in the Six Nations.
Northampton Saints boosted by key England stars for Champions Cup final
Phil Dowson’s side were nursing a few injury concerns following their victory over Saracens, with James Ramm and Curtis Langdon possible doubts, but they have named an incredibly strong side for the final in Cardiff, even without powerhouse number eight Juarno Augustus.
Fit-again Furbank will start the match at full-back, with British and Irish Lions tourist Tommy Freeman and the aforementioned Ramm joining him in the back-three. Fraser Dingwall skippers the side from outside centre, with Scotland international Rory Hutchinson named alongside him at 12. Fellow Lions tourists Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell continue their half-back partnership.
Up front, the Saints’ fourth Lion Henry Pollock starts at number eight, with Wallabies star Josh Kemeny and England international Alex Coles on the flanks. Tom Lockett joins Temo Mayanavanua in the second-row. Trevor Davison, Langdon and Emmanuel Iyogun once again link-up in the front-row.
Director of Rugby Dowson has named a 5:3 split on the bench, with Craig Wright, last weekend’s match-winner Tarek Haffar, Elliot Millar Mills, Ed Prowse, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James and Tom Litchfield all named alongside the returning Sleightholme.
Damian Penaud fit for Bordeaux
Bordeaux were also coming into the game with a major injury concern, in the form of French international Damian Penaud, but the flyer has been deemed fit to start this weekend as the French outfit names a mouth-watering team.
The backline alone features seven French internationals, with Romain Buros, Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey starting in the back-three. Nicols Depoortere and Yoram Moefana are named in midfield, with Matthieu Jalibert and skipper Maxime Lucu named in the halves.
Australia-bound Pete Samu starts at number eight, with Guido Petti and Mahamadou Diaby named on the flanks. Cyril Cazeaux and Adam Coleman partner in the locks, with Sipili Falatea, Maxime Lamothe and Jefferson Poirot named in the front-row.
Behemoth prop Ben Tameifuna is the pick of the bunch on the bench.
Northampton Saints v Bordeaux Begles team news in full
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall (c), 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh Kemeny, 6 Alex Coles, 5 Tom Lockett, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Pete Samu, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Adam Coleman, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot,
Replacements: 16 Connor Sa, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Pierre Bochaton, 20 Bastien Vergnes, 21 Marko Gazzotti, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
