Saffas gunning for Challenge Cup glory



Bath lock Quinn Roux and Lyon No 8 Arno Botha lead their sides’ forward assault in Friday night’s EPCR Challenge Cup final.

Both will start in Cardiff, with props Francois van Wyk and Thomas du Toit set to come off the Bath bench.

Coach Johann van Graan has made four changes to the starting lineup that beat Leicester 43-15 in the English Premiership last weekend.

Prop Will Stuart comes into the front row, while Miles Reid returns to the loose trio at No 8. In the backs, Max Ojomoh and Tom de Glanville start at outside centre and fullback respectively.

MORE: ‘Excited’ Van Graan eyes Euro title

Meanwhile, hooker Camille Chat and flanks Dylan Cretin and Beka Saginadze have all been named in Lyon’s XV having spent time on the sidelines in recent weeks. 

Bath beat Pau, Gloucester and Edinburgh in the playoffs to reach the Challenge Cup final, while Lyon defeated the Sharks, Ospreys and Racing 92.

BATH – 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Bench: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Ciaran Donoghue, 23 Alfie Barbeary.

LYON – 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Josiah Maraku, 12 Theo Millet, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Leo Berdeu, 9 Baptiste Couilloud (c), 8 Arno Botha, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Theo William, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jerome Rey.
Bench: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Hamza Kaabeche, 18 Irakli Aptsiauri, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Liam Allen, 21 Maxime Gouzou, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Martin Meliande.

Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images





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