Friday's Heineken Champions Cup: Wasps vs Montpellier

Friday's Heineken Champions Cup Round 2 fixture sees Wasps host Montpellier (8pm); we take a look at how each club got on in Round 1 last week, their key men ahead of the weekend, and all the latest team news before Friday's kick-off; Scarlets vs Toulon is postponed due to Covid-19

By Michael Cantillon

Image: Jimmy Gopperth, now 37, has been a phenomenal servant to Wasps and will be vital on Friday

Ahead of Friday's Champions Cup clash between Wasps and Montpellier, we take a look at how each club got on last week, their key men, and all the latest team news...

Wasps vs Montpellier, 8pm

Last week: It was a case of job done - eventually - last week for Wasps, as two late tries saw them secure a bonus-point 24-8 victory over the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Image: Wasps eventually saw off a resolute Dragons, claiming a late bonus-point win in Round 1

Tries from hooker Tom Cruse, scrum-half Dan Robson and flankers Jack Willis and Thomas Young - the latter two within the last 10 minutes - along with two conversions from centre Jimmy Gopperth saw Wasps home.

Montpellier, despite claiming in the build-up to last week that they would take Europe seriously this year, conceded early at home to Leinster and then seemed to throw in the towel, ultimately losing 35-14.

Indeed, they conceded five tries in the home defeat, allowing Leinster away with a bonus-point win in the end, and that might herald a change in focus going forward for the Top 14 outfit.

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Image: Montpellier were dispatched on their home patch by Leinster in Round 1

Key men: For Wasps, Dan Robson continues to be important at scrum-half, while their most impressive and most talented performer has been back-row Jack Willis. Neither are playing on Friday, however, with Wasps choosing to rest their international contingent.

As such, their key man for the Montpellier clash will be centre and place-kicker Jimmy Gopperth. The Kiwi may now be 37, but his kicking game, power in the tackle and carry and, most crucially, his accuracy of the tee mark him out as vital. He's also a key leader for this Wasps squad, and will need to be so with the figures absent on Friday.

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Image: Jimmy Gopperth, now 37, has been a phenomenal servant to Wasps and will be vital on Friday

Montpellier showed up extremely poorly last week, but did so without some key men, including No 8 Louis Picamoles.

The imposing forward is one of the best carriers in the sport, and should add a whole new dimension to the Montpellier attack. The likes of hooker Bismark du Plessis and former Saracens tighthead Titi Lamositele also return, while superb scrum-half Cobus Reinach is on the bench.

Image: No 8 Louis Picamoles returns for Montpellier and will bring something extra

Team News

Wasps: 15 Lima Sopoaga, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Paulo Odogwu, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Will Porter, 1 Ben Harris, 2 Tom Cruse, 3 Kieran Brookes, 4 Tim Cardall, 5 James Gaskell, 6 Ben Morris, 7 Thomas Young (c), 8 Alfie Barbeary.

Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Tom West, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Michael Le Bourgeois, 23 Matteo Minozzi.

Montpellier: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Vincent Martin, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Arthur Vincent (c), 11 Paul Vallée, 10 Louis Foursans, 9 Benoit Paillaugue; 1 Enzo Forletta, 2 Bismarck Du Plessis, 3 Titi Lamositele, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 7 Alexandre Becognee, 8 Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: 16 Youri Delhommel, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Yacouba Camara, 20 Caleb Timu, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Yvan Reilhac, 23 Gabriel N'gandebe.

Scarlets P-P Toulon (5.30pm)

There was meant to be a second game in Friday's action, but 45 minutes before kick-off the game was postponed due to concerns from Toulon over a positive Covid-19 Test result in the Scarlets ranks last week.

Indeed, the EPCR were informed that Toulon believed the fixture at Parc y Scarlets could not be played in a sufficiently safe manner for their matchday squad and staff.

Following confirmation by Scarlets that one of their players tested positive for COVID-19 after last weekend's Round 1 match against Bath, the player is said to have self-isolated in accordance with public health guidelines and his two close contacts were not selected in the matchday squad for the Pool A fixture against RC Toulon.

A Medical Risk Assessment Committee was convened earlier on Friday to consider any potential issues in relation to Scarlets' testing and tracing, and it was satisfied that the risk of further transmission had been contained before recommending that the match could go ahead safely.

On learning of Toulon's concerns regarding the fixture, the EPCR suggested that the match could be postponed to a later date in the weekend to allow any of the club's players to opt out of the match if they wished to do so. It was also suggested that Toulon could source willing players from their existing tournament squad to replace those who had withdrawn and that the Scarlets matchday squad could undergo additional PCR testing.

These offers were rejected by Toulon, EPCR confirmed, while also confirming a 'postponement'. There is plenty more to run with this issue.

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