| Venue: Stade Pierre Fabre Date: Saturday, 10 December Kick-off: 20:00 GMT |
| Protection: Stay commentary on BBC Radio Devon and on-line, stay scores on BBC Sport web site and app |
Exeter quantity eight Sam Simmonds makes his first membership begin since October because the Chiefs start their Heineken Champions Cup marketing campaign away to Castres.
Fellow England internationals Jack Nowell and Henry Slade additionally return to the beginning line-up, with Stuart Hogg changing Josh Hodge at full-back.
Australia prop Scott Sio makes his Champions Cup debut within the entrance row, with Dave Ewers coming in at flanker.
Former Glasgow lock Leone Nakarawa is within the Castres pack.
His fellow Fijian Filipo Nakosi begins on the wing for the hosts.
Exeter, who received the Champions Cup in 2020, have suffered 4 defeats of their final 5 Premiership fixtures, sinking to seventh within the desk.
Since profitable the trophy two years in the past, Exeter’s Champions Cup campaigns have ended at Irish fingers with a last-16 defeat by Munster following a quarter-final loss to Leinster.
Castres are additionally in detached kind. They completed prime of the regular-season standings within the French Prime 14 final season, however are down in eleventh this time period after six defeats in 12 video games to this point.
House and away fixtures in opposition to South African facet the Bulls comply with within the pool phases for Exeter earlier than they welcome Castres to Sandy Park within the return fixture in January.
What they are saying
Castres flanker Mathieu Babillot: “I’ve nice respect for this competitors, a whole lot of admiration for all the nice groups which have received this trophy. It is a privilege to play within the Champions Cup.”
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter: “I believe we want one thing that’s actually going to problem us. I say this on a regular basis, you create metal by placing it via a furnace. We’d like one these video games the place everybody stops and says ‘that is going to be totally different.'”
Castres: Dumora; Palis, Combezou, Zeghdar, Nokosi; Le Brun, Doubrere; Tichit, Barlot, Hounkpatin, Nakarawa, Staniforth, Babillot, De Crespigny, Andron.
Replacements: Colonna, Guerois-Galisson, Guillamon, Hannoyer, Kornath, Raisuqe, Kockott, Seguret
Exeter: Hogg; Nowell, Slade, O’Loughlin, Woodburn; J Simmonds, S Maunder; Sio, Yeandle (c), Williams, Jenkins, Grey, Ewers, Tshiunza, S Simmonds.
Replacements: Frost, Hepburn, Iosefa-Scott, Van Heerden, Grondona, Becconsall, Kata, Hodge
