{"id":297000,"date":"2023-12-15T23:24:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T23:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=297000"},"modified":"2023-12-15T23:24:40","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T23:24:40","slug":"fixture-pile-up-forces-english-clubs-to-rotate-in-champions-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/rugby-union\/fixture-pile-up-forces-english-clubs-to-rotate-in-champions-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixture pile up forces English clubs to rotate in Champions Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Fixture pile up forces English clubs into heavy squad rotation for the second round of the Champions Cup&#8230;as the likes of Bristol, Sale and Leicester all rest stars for away clashes this weekend<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Seven of eight Premiership teams impressively claimed victory in Round One<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Sale travel to Leinster without George Ford, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Curry<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Leicester have also opted to take many of their under-studies to Paris on Sunday<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u200bEnglish clubs\u2019 storming start to the Champions Cup season is in danger of faltering this weekend, as the modern-day spectre of squad rotation is set to impact on the second round of pool fixtures.<\/p>\n<p>Round one witnessed a stunning demonstration of how competitive the Premiership challengers can be when at full strength, as seven of the eight teams in the premier cross-border tournament won their opening matches.<\/p>\n<p>However, Bristol, Sale and Leicester have rested a raft of their leading lights for away games on Saturday and Sunday &#8211; reflecting the problems of handling a busy schedule with playing resources which are eclipsed by the leading French and Irish sides.<\/p>\n<p>Having beaten Lyon in a thriller at Ashton Gate last weekend, Bristol will take on Bordeaux at Stade Chaban Delmas with a line-up featuring 13 changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>England props Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler, along with Steven Luatua, Harry Randall, Callum Sheedy and Virimi Vakatawa, are among those rested but Bordeaux have a dazzling array of firepower, led by France pair Matthieu Jalibert and Damian Penaud. A home win appears certain.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/20\/79019083-12869917-image-a-25_1702673043213.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Callum Sheedy (pictured) is among the 13 players who featured in the Bears&#8217; win over Lyon that have been rested for the trip to\u00a0Bordeaux<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/20\/79019183-12869917-image-a-26_1702673151877.jpg\" height=\"434\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Sale&#8217;s George Ford (left) is also set to miss out this weekend, alongside his club colleagues\u00a0Manu Tuilagi and Ben Curry<\/p>\n<p>In Dublin, Sale take on mighty Leinster without many of their pre-eminent players, such as George Ford, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Curry. The Sharks saw off Stade Francais last Sunday but a side featuring a mix of experience and youth will surely struggle against last year\u2019s beaten finalists, who conquered title-holders La Rochelle in France last time.<\/p>\n<p>Leicester also won their opener, against the Stormers from Cape Town, but they too have opted to leave out many key men. England wing Anthony Watson is back from a long-term injury and rookie Red Rose forward George Martin also returns, but the Tigers are sending many of their under-studies to Paris, such as Jamie Shillcock, who will deputise for Handre Pollard at 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Stade subsided tamely in round one but will be a different proposition at home. The main problem is calendar congestion. Bristol, Sale and Leicester all face six-day turn-arounds before switching back into Premiership mode for festive fixtures against Newcastle, Saracens and Exeter.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/20\/79019363-12869917-image-a-27_1702673311639.jpg\" height=\"417\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Dan McKellar and his Leicester side face a daunting\u00a0six-day turn-arounds before facing Exeter<\/p>\n<p>There are better prospects for the other Premiership teams. Bath are taking their A-listers across to Cardiff and will be expected to win there, after a fine home victory over Ulster to launch their campaign in style.<\/p>\n<p>And Exeter will be buoyed by upsetting Toulon on the Cote d\u2019Azur as they square up to URC champions Munster at Sandy Park.<\/p>\n<p>Saracens were the only English club to lose last weekend \u2014 to the Bulls in Pretoria \u2014 and they are hell-bent on bouncing back against Connacht.<\/p>\n<p>Harlequins aim to complete a double over Gallic super-teams, by beating Toulouse a week after shocking Racing 92 in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12869917\/Champions-Cup-fixtures-English-clubs-Bristol-Sale-Leicester.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fixture pile up forces English clubs into heavy squad rotation for the second round of the Champions Cup&#8230;as the likes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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