Montpellier aim to get off the mark

Published: Friday, 16. December, 2011 in category Heineken Cup

Glasgow Warriors will be hoping to keep the pressure on pool leaders and reigning champions, Leinster, when they travel to France to face Montpellier at the Stade Yves du Manoir.

The Warriors are second in Pool Three, two points ahead of Bath, and will be looking for another win to complete an impressive 'double' over the French side which reached last season's Top 14 final.

The Scottish side have an impressive pedigree against French sides and pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Heineken Cup when they beat four-times champions, Toulouse, in 2004. 

Montpellier are still looking for a first victory in this season's tournament, despite a draw against Leinster in the opening pool game, but are only still only seven points behind the pool leaders.

The French side, who are in their first season of Heineken Cup rugby, will almost certainly have a major bearing on which side qualifies for the tournament's knockout stages. 

The teams:  

Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Federico Aramburu, 13 Peter Murchie, 12 Troy Nathan, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 John Barclay, 5 Al Kellock (capt), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:
16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jon Welsh, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Rob Dewey.

Montpellier: 15 J-B Peyras Loustalet, 14 Pierre Bérard, 13 Paul Bosch, 12 Thomas Combezou, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 Ilian Perraux, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Masi Matadigo, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Vassili Bost, 5 Drickus Hancke, 4 Joe Tuineau, 3 Kevin Kervarec, 2 Mickael Ladhuie, 1 Goderzi Shvelidze.
Replacements: 16 Joan Caudullo, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Maximiliano Bustos, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Kelian Galletier, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Geoffrey Doumayrou. 

Date: Saturday, December 17
Kick-off: 16.40 (15.40 GMT)
Venue: Stade Yves du Manoir
Referee: Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees: Sean Davey (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)