Bordeaux-Begles and Toulouse have announced their matchday squads for their Investec Champions Cup semi-final at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux on Sunday.
There is plenty of interest around this eagerly anticipated French derby, and the sides come into this encounter with Toulouse sitting pretty at the top of the Top 14 standings, while Bordeaux occupy second position.
After suffering a shock 21-10 defeat at home against La Rochelle last week, Bordeaux head coach Yannick Bru has made five changes to his run-on side with Nicolas Depoortere replacing Pablo Uberti at outside centre as the only backline alteration.
Strong Bordeaux-Begles backline named
Depoortere joins France star Yoram Moefana in the midfield while Romain Buros continues at full-back with Les Bleus speedsters Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey lining up on the wings to complete a potent back three.
Meanwhile, Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu are the starting halfbacks, with the latter also captaining the side.
In the forwards, ex-Wallabies back-rower Pete Samu starts at number eight while Argentina bruiser Guido Petti comes into the starting line-up as one of the flankers at the expense of Pierre Bochaton, while Mahamadou Diaby replaces Marko Gazzotti on the other side of the scrum.
In the second-row, former Australian international Adam Coleman takes over from Scotland veteran Jonny Gray, and he will pack down alongside Cyril Cazeaux.
The starting XV is completed by Sipili Falatea and Jefferson Poirot, who are the starting props, and Maxime Lamothe who comes in at hooker where he replaces Connor Sa.
Meanwhile, Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola has rung the changes to his starting line-up after clinching an emphatic 52-6 victory over Castres last weekend.
The defending champions have been forced to make some alterations due to injuries with Juan-Cruz Mallia replacing Blair Kinghorn at full-back while Julien Marchand and Romain Ntamack come in for Peato Mauvaka and Thomas Ramos at hooker and fly-half respectively with Marchand also appointed as captain.
Italy flyer Ange Capuozzo lines up on the right wing with Dimitri Delibes shifting to the left wing after wearing the number 14 jersey against Castres, while Pierre-Louis Barassi and Pita Ahki are the starting centres with Paul Graou replacing Simon Daroque at scrum-half.
Up front, Alexandre Roumat retains his spot at number eight while Jack Willis and François Cros are the starting flankers with Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament lining up in the second-row.
Marchand will pack down at hooker alongside Dorian Aldegheri and Cyril Baille, who are the starting props.
The teams
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 Matis Perchaud, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Pierre Bochaton, 20 Marko Gazzotti, 21 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Joey Carbery
Toulouse: 15 Juan-Cruz Mallia, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Dimitri Delibes, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Paul Graou, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand (c), 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Clement Verge, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 22 Naoto Saito, 23 Santiago Chocobares
Venue: Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)