TEAMS: Leinster take counter-measures to combat Naiyaravoro

The presence of Taqele Naiyaravoro in Northampton Saints’ backline has seen Leinster select Jordan Larmour at full-back for their Champions Cup showdown.

Larmour is preferred to Rob Kearney for the match at Franklin’s Gardens and slots into a back three comprising Dave Kearney and James Lowe on the wings.

They have been tasked with keeping in check Naiyaravoro and fellow Saints wing Tom Collins, who have contributed five tries to Northampton’s strong start in the Premiership.

One of the sides will lose their unbeaten record after the game, having gone two from two so far in the Champions Cup.

Saints director of rugby, Chris Boyd, has made three changes to the side which cut through Leicester Tigers last weekend.

Wales fly-half Dan Biggar has regained full fitness to slot into the half-back alongside World Cup-winner Cobus Reinach, with Ahsee Tuala also recalled to start at full-back.

The other change comes in the pack as Jamie Gibson will pack down on the openside flank, in company with Tom Wood and Teimana Harrison in the back row.

21-year-old prop Ehren Painter will get to show his promise in arguably the toughest match-up he has find in the scrum, locking down at tighthead with Ireland veteran Cian Healy to compete with.

Previewing the match, Boyd likened Leinster to a Test-class squad.

“Leinster play like an international side, they don’t give you any opportunities,” Boyd said of the unbeaten PRO14 outfit.

“I remember watching the semi-finals and final of the Champions Cup last year, and there was hardly a risk taken in the games.

“Saracens and Leinster do it exceptionally well. If you get too loose, they will kill you.

“They’ve got a great set piece, they’re defensively very well organised and they play territory so they’re not going to give you very much.

“The question will be whether we can get enough scraps and turn them into gold because if we don’t it’s going to be a long day at the office.”

Northampton Saints v Leinster (Saturday, 1pm kick-off)

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach; 1 Alex Waller (cc), 2 Mike Haywood, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 Alex Moon, 5 Api Ratuniyawara, 6 Tom Wood, 7 Jamie Gibson, 8 Teimana Harrison (cc)

Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Connor Tupai, 22 James Grayson, 23 Piers Francis

Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (capt), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Cian Healy, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 3 Andrew Porter, 4 Devin Toner, 5 James Ryan, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelen Doris

Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Scott Fardy, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rob Kearney

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook; 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Josh McInally, 5 Elliott Stooke, 6 Mike Williams, 7 Josh Bayliss, 8 Francois Louw (capt)

Bath v Clermont Auvergne (Friday, 7.45pm kick-off)

Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Rhys Davies, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Aled Brew

Clermont Auvergne: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Samuel Ezeala, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 George Moala, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra (capt); 1 Loni Uhila, 2 Yohan Beheregaray, 3 Rabah Slimani, 4 Arthur Iturria, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 8 Fritz Lee

Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Davit Zirakashvili, 19 Julien Ruaud, 20 Faifili Levave, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Peter Betham, 23 Apisai Naqalevu

Ulster v Harlequins (Saturday, 3.15pm kick-off)

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney; 1 Eric O’Sullivan, 2 Rob Herring, 3 Marty Moore, 4 Alan O’Connor, 5 Iain Henderson (capt), 6 Sean Reidy, 7 Jordi Murphy, 8 Marcell Coetzee

Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Matt Rea, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Matt Faddes

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 James Lang, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care; 1 Joe Marler, 2 Elia Elia, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Stephan Lewies, 5 Tevita Cavubati, 6 Semi Kuntani, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 8 Alex Dombrandt

Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Francis Saili, 23 Vereniki Goneva

Munster v Saracens (Saturday, 5.30pm kick-off)

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray; 1 James Cronin, 2 Niall Scannell, 3 Stephen Archer, 4 Jean Kleyn, 5 Billy Holland, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 8 CJ Stander

Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Liam O’Connor, 18 John Ryan, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Sammy Arnold, 23 Arno Botha

Saracens: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (capt), 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Ben Spencer; 1 Richard Barrington, 2 Jack Singleton, 3 Titi Lamositele, 4 Will Skelton, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Jackson Wray

Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Josh Ibuanokpe, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Sean Reffell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Max Malins, 23 Nick Tompkins

Gloucester v Connacht (Sunday, 1pm kick-off)

Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson; 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin, 2 Franco Marais, 3 Fraser Balmain, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Jake Polledri, 8 Ben Morgan (capt)

Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Matt Banahan

Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Peter Robb, 11 Kyle Godwin, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade; 1 Denis Buckley, 2 Tom McCartney, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Joe Maksymiw, 5 Quinn Roux, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 7 Colby Fainga’a, 8 Jarrad Butler (capt)

Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Matthew Burke, 18 Dominic Robertson McCoy, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Stephen Kerins, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Tom Daly

Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs (Sunday, 3.15pm kick-off)

Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk; 1 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 3 WillGriff John, 4 Bryn Evans, 5 James Phillips, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Jono Ross (capt)

Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Matthew Postlewhaite, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Denny Solomona

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Ian Whitten, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White; 1 Alec Hepburn, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Harry Williams, 4 Dave Dennis (capt), 5 Jonny Hill, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Don Armand, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Olly Woodburn

Lyon v Benetton (Saturday, 2pm kick-off)

Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Toby Arnold, 13 Thibaut Regard, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Xavier Mignot, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Baptiste Couilloud (capt); Raphael Chaume, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 3 Clement Ric, 4 Killian Geraci, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 6 Dylan Cretin, 7 Patrick Sobela, 8 Carl Fearns

Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Loann Goujon, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Jonathan Pélissié, 22 Pato Fernandez, 23 Rudi Wulf

Benetton: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (capt), 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Antonio Rizzi, 9 Tito Tebaldi; 1 Nicola Quaglio, 2 Federico Zani, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Federico Ruzza, 6 Seb Negri, 7 Giovanni Pettinelli, 8 Toa Halafihi

Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Charly Trussardi, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Luca Morisi

La Rochelle v Glasgow Warriors (Saturday, 4.15pm kick-off)

La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Pierre Boudehent, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Alexi Bales, 1 Dany Priso, 2 Jean-Charles Orioli, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 6 Zeno Kieft, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 8 Victor Vito (capt)

Replacements: 16 Brendan Lebrun, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Thomas Lavault, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Brock James, 23 Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Tommy Seymour, 14 Niko Matawalu, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne; 1 Alex Allan, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 Callum Gibbins (capt), 8 Matt Fagerson

Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Tom Gordon, 21 Ali Price, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Kyle Steyn

Ospreys v Racing 92 (Saturday, 5.30pm kick-off)

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Aled Davies; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Scott Otten, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 4 Adam Beard, 5 Bradley Davies, 6 Dan Lydiate (capt), 7 Olly Cracknell, 8 Morgan Morris

Replacements: 16 Ifan Phillips, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Gheorghe Gajion, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Luke Price, 23 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler

Racing 92: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Maxime Machenaud; 1 Eddy Ben Arous, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 4 Bernard le Roux, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 7 Boris Palu, 8 Antonie Claassen

Replacements: 16 Kevin Le Guen, 17 Hassane Kolingar, 18 Ali Oz, 19 Fabien Sanconnie, 20 Yoan Tanga, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Olivier Klemenczak

Toulouse v Montpellier (Sunday, 4.15pm kick-off)

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Sébastien Bézy; 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 4 Rory Arnold, 5 Joe Tekori, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 7 Francois Cros, 8 Jerome Kaino (capt)

Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Clément Castets, 18 Paulo Tafili, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Pierre Pages, 22 Pita Ahki, 23 Cheslin Kolbe

Montpellier: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Gabriel N’Gandebe, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Anthony Bouthier, 9 Benoit Paillaugue; 1 Mikheil Nariahvili, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 3 Levan Chilachava, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 5 Paul Willemse, 6 Kelian Galletier, 7 Yacouba Camara, 8 Louis Picamoles (capt)

Replacements: 16 Youri Delhommel, 17 Grégory Fichten, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Martin Devergie, 20 Kahn Fotuali’i, 21 Johan Goosen, 22 Yvan Reilhac, 23 Konstantine Mikautadze