Heineken Cup - Round 2 Preview

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Can Bob Casey again inspire The Exiles to victory against the Scarlets? © Getty Images

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Tournaments/Tours Heineken Cup

Teams Arix Viadana | Bath | Benetton Treviso | Biarritz | Brive | Cardiff Blues | Clermont Auvergne | Dragons | Edinburgh | England | Glasgow | Gloucester | Harlequins | Ireland | Leicester | Leinster | London Irish | Munster | Northampton | Ospreys | Perpignan | Sale | Scarlets | Scotland | Stade Français | Toulouse | Ulster | Wales

A see-saw opening round of Heineken Cup fixtures saw shocks, upsets, confidence-boosters and several big names falling to in-form opponents. Among them were Leinster and Munster, who will be desperate to register their first wins of the tournament.

The second round of action kicks off on Friday when following their narrow 19-17 defeat to Gloucester, Newport Gwent Dragons will be without front-line props Ali McKenzie and Nigel Hall for their Pool 2 clash with Glasgow Warriors .

McKenzie suffered shoulder damage in Friday's 19-17 defeat, while Hall picked up a hand injury. Dragons boss Paul Turner has turned to Phil Price and former Heineken Cup-winner Peter Bracken as cover. Captain Tom Willis is among the injured Dragons as the Kiwi hooker has not returned from a calf strain, leaving Steve Jones to wear No.2. Lock Adam Jones is fit to take his place in the Dragons' side.

Glasgow, who lost narrowly to Biarritz last weekend, are nursing injury problems of their own. They are without centre Rob Dewey who broke his ankle at the weekend and winger DTH van der Merwe who broke a bone in his wrist during Saturday's 22-18 home defeat.

Graeme Morrison returns in place of Dewey, while Colin Shaw will start on the wing. In a huge boost for the Warriors, Chris Cusiter has shaken of his recent illness and steps in alongside Dan Parks.

Northampton travel to Perpignan on Friday in confident mood after Shane Geraghty inspired the Saints to an unexpected Pool 1 victory over two-time winners Munster. Click Here for our Game of the Week Preview.

Following their dismantling at the hands of a fluid Toulouse side last weekend, Sale welcome back key playmakers for their home Pool 5 tie against Cardiff Blues on Friday.

Charlie Hodgson returns at fly-half to be partnered at half-back by Dwayne Peel. Welshmen Nick MacLeod, Lee Thomas, Eifion Lewis-Roberts and Marc Jones are also in the Sharks starting XV.

The Blues are without Paul Tito, Bradley Davies and Gareth Thomas who suffered injuries their side's opening 20-6 Heineken Cup win over Harlequins on Saturday. Xavier Rush has been forced to join them on the sidelines after the rampaging No. 8 picked up an illness.

His absence means a back-row reshuffle, with Andy Powell moving to No.8 and Robin Sowden-Taylor starting at openside. Sam Warburton shifts from No.7 to No.6.

The injuries also mean that Deiniol Jones is the only fit, senior lock at the region. He is partnered by Scott Morgan, the utility forward having shaken off a calf strain. British and Irish Lions prop Gethin Jenkins has made early return from shoulder surgery to captain the side in a major boost for Wales boss Warren Gatland.

Gloucester travel to Parc des Sports Aguilera to face Biarritz in confident mood after the Cherry and Whites narrowly overcame a spirited Newport Gwent Dragons side at Kingsholm.

Fly-half Nicky Robinson inspired Gloucester to victory in their opening Pool 2 fixture with four penalties and a conversion as the hosts dug in for a hard-fought victory despite being out-scored by two tries to one. Robinson is retained at fly-half, with a dynamic centre pairing of Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and James Simpson-Daniel outside him. Jake Boer, the former captain signed on a short-term deal this week, slots straight on to the bench.

The contest sees the two unbeaten sides go head-to-head after Biarritz produced a solid display to narrowly beat Glasgow away. But while the two sides may be level on points in the group, league form and home advantage suggests the Basques will be heavy favourites against their West Country opponents. Magnus Lund, who scored the winning try in Glasgow, remains at blindside, with Imanol Harinordoquy shifting from openside to No.8. Dimitri Yachvili, superb from the kicking tee last weekend, is again partnered by Julien Peyrelongue at halfback.

Heineken Cup champions Leinster travel to Brive on the back of an unexpected opening Pool 6 defeat against London Irish. A last-minute penalty from Ryan Lamb earned the Exiles a deserved win in a tight encounter and Leinster coach Michael Chieka credited the result on Irish being the better side. Leinster flanker Shane Jennings will miss the game after being handed a 12 week ban for making contact with the eye area of London Irish lock Nick Kennedy last Friday and coach Michael Cheika has elected to shuffle his backline.

Lions fullback Rob Kearney returns to the starting XV, with Isa Nacewa shifting to the wing and Luke Fitzgerald taking Gordon D'Arcy's place in the centre alongside Brian O'Driscoll. Fitness tests await skipper Leo Cullen and Kevin McLaughlin while Bernard Jackman comes in for John Fogarty at hooker.

Brive did little to impress in their opening 24-12 defeat to the Scarlets and, although they have home advantage, the smart money is on Leinster to get their campaign up and running. Brive call on the English duo of Andy Goode and Shaun Perry at halfback, but are without their joint-captain Alix Popham due to an elbow injury.

Edinburgh make three changes as they bid to get their Heineken Cup Pool 4 campaign back on track at home to Ulster. Following the loss at Stade Francais, Nick de Luca, Kyle Traynor and Steve Turnbull replace Ben Cairns, Allan Jacobsen and Craig Hamilton. It will be a first European start for 22-year-old lock Turnbull. The home side are still without injury victims Simon Webster, Simon Cross, Ross Rennie, David Callam, Jim Thompson and Jim Hamilton.

Ulster boss Brian McLaughlin's party travel to Murrayfield in confident mood on the back of three consecutive wins, including last weekend's 26-12 success against Bath. Willie Faloon, a try-scorer at Ravenhill, is joined by Lions blidnside Stephen Ferris and Robbie Diack in the back-row. Ian Humphreys is at fly-half, with Paddy Wallace wearing No.12 and the captain'a armband.

After their 20-6 Pool 5 hammering at the hands of Cardiff Blues, Harlequins won't have things any easier when a Toulouse side bristling with confidence travel to The Stoop.

Harlequins chose to leave out England internationals Danny Care, Ugo Monye and Nick Easter for their trip to Cardiff due to the England Elite Player Squad agreement but all three return this time around. Care's control alongside fly-half Nick Evans will be vital.

Toulouse, in contrast, are slowly returning to playing the type of champagne rugby that won them three previous Heineken Cups after they dismantled Sale sharks in their opening game. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde excelled last weekend and is retained at fly-half, while Yves Donguy slots in on the wing in pace of Cedric Heymans. After breaking Dafydd James' Heineken Cup try-scoring record last weekend, Vincent Clerc starts on the opposite wing.

London Irish welcome the in-form Scarlets to Reading's Madejski Stadium on the back of upsetting defending champions Leinster in a gritty performance in Dublin. Coach Dave Ellis ranked the performance in his 'top ten' but The Exiles will have another big test on their hands in the form of a Scarlets side buoyed by their 24-12 opening victory over Brive.

Ryan Lamb's match-winning cameo in Dublin was enough to secure a starting berth this week, and he slots in alongside the superb Paul Hodgson. Elvis Seveali'i and Seilala Mapusua will be out to cause some damage in midfield and Bob Casey will be hoping to inspire another victory from the second-row alongside Nick Kennedy.

The Scarlets have again called on an experienced line-up, with the back-row of Simon Easterby, Dafydd Jones and David Lyons in-tact. Mark Jones leads the men from Llanelli, with Stephen Jones again paired with Martin Roberts at halfback.

Following their disappointing opening Pool 1 loss against Northampton, two-time winners Munster will be confident of recording their opening win of the campaign against Treviso at Thomond Park.

Treviso produced a stunning upset to beat Perpignan 9-8 in their opening game, but even the most optimistic of Italian fans will be expecting a very different kind of game against an international-laden Munster side in their own back yard. Tony McGahan has taken no chances, naming his strongest possible XV for the game. Ronan O'Gara and Tomas O'Leary are controlling proceedings, with Jean de Villiers, Keith Earls, Lifeimi Mafi, Doug Howlett and Paul Warwick completing the backline. Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan are in the second-row as Tony Buckley continues to deputise for John Hayes up front. Treviso again call on Marius Goosen after his three penalties sunk Perpignan.

Leicester Tigers travel to Viadana on the back of a stunning second-half comeback that saw them salvage a 32-32 draw against the Ospreys at Welford Road. The Tigers fought back from 26-8 down to get out of jail and keep their Heineken Cup Pool 3 challenge on an even keel. And, despite still suffering from a spate of injuries, Richard Cockerill's side will go into their second match as firm favourites.

Billy Twelvetrees has been rewarded for his Man of the Match display last weekend with another start alongside Anthony Allen in the centre. Geoff Parling replaces Ben Kay in the second-row and there is a start for Italian international prop Martin Castrogiovanni in the front-row.

Bath have it all to do if they are to upset a buoyant Stade Francais on Sunday. The 1998 Heineken Cup winners lost tamely in their opening Pool 4 game at Ulster last Friday, while Stade thumped Edinburgh in Paris the following day.

But despite their contrasting fortunes on the first weekend of Heineken Cup action, Bath coach Meehan expects his side to offer a more-than-stern challenge to the twice European Cup finalists and has instructed his side to play with freedom and belief. Nicky Little returns at fly-half for the West Country-side and impressive Australia recruit Matt Carraro starts in the centre. An exciting back-three sees Nick Abendanon, Joe Maddock and Matt Banahan out to cause some damage. Bath will, however, have to do it without flanker Andy Beattie, who has received a three-week ban for stamping in the 26-12 loss.

The Ospreys will have to go into their key home battle with Clermont Auvergne without Lee Byrne and Ian Evans. Wales and British & Irish Lions full back Byrne looks set to not only miss this weekend's vital Pool 3 clash, but also Wales' November internationals after damaging a ligament in his right foot. Byrne picked up the injury in the Ospreys' draw with Leicester. He will be in plaster for six weeks and then face a period of intensive rehabilitation.

And in another bitter blow to both the Ospreys and Wales, lock Ian Evans has been ruled out for at least eight weeks after tearing a major tendon playing for Swansea against Pontypridd in the Principality Premiership last weekend.

Byrne's place is taken by the experience Barry Davies, who slots in to an otherwise unchanged backline. Dan Biggar remains at fly-half with James Hook wearing No.12. In a boost, Duncan Jones returns to the front-row after recovering from injury and joins Huw Bennett and Cai Griffiths.

Brock James returns to the Clermont No.10 shirt alongside Kevin Senio as Aurelien Rougerie captains the side from fullback. Also restored to the starting lineup is the prolific Fijian wing Napolioni Nalaga.

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