| Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road Date:Saturday 22 January Kick-off: GMT GMT 15:15 |
| Coverage:Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport, BBC Radio Leicester |
George Ford, Ben Youngs and Leicester’s Top 14 Leader Bordeaux-Begles will face each other at half-back. They have their Champions Cup last16 spot secured.
Dan Kelly moves into the midfield while Hosea Saumaki (who came off the bench last weekend to score the match-winning attempt against Connacht) also starts.
Ellis Genge is moved to the bench by James Whitcombe. George Martin moves into the back row.
Bordeaux-Begles line-up includes former Exeter wing Santiago Cordero.
Mathieu Jalibert, the fly-half, is unable to attend the match due to a thigh injury sustained in the win over Scarlets. Francois Trinh Duc was instead selected at 10.
France has reported that Covid disruption could occur to the fixture, as well as the line-up of visitors. that there have been several positive tests among Bordeaux-Begles line-up.
Ollie Chessum from Leicester, England, was elevated to England’s 36-man Six Nations team on Tuesday. He moves from the back row into the second row where he teams up with Calum Green.
Leicester took a memorable 16-13 winIn the reverse fixture, December. Bordeaux-Begles will be joining the Tigers in knock-out stages, if Castres fails to win a bonus point against Harlequins.
They say
Steve Borthwick, director of rugby at Leicester: “Bordeaux are an extraordinary side, possibly the most successful team in Europe and a club that boasts many resources as you can clearly see through their depth and talent.
“It will be a huge challenge for us on Saturday against what is an incredible side.”
Line-ups
Leicester Tigers: Hegarty, Steward, Scott, Kelly, Saumaki; Ford, Youngs; Whitcombe, Dolly, Heyes, Chessum, Green, Martin, Reffell, Wiese.
Replacements: Clare, Genge, Leatigaga, Snyman, Wells, van Poortvliet, Burns, Porter
Bordeaux-Begles: Bielle-Biarry, Cordero, Faletea-Moefana, Lamerat, Hulleu; Trinh-Duc, Lucu; Poirot (capt), Dweba, Tameifuna, Jolmes, Marais, Roumat, Bochaton, Roussel.
Replacements: Lamothe, Kaulashvili, Tabidze, Kitwanga, Dimcheff, Lesgourgues, Garcia, Mori