Bordeaux Gloucester Champions Cup: four players cleared to play

Four Bordeaux-Bègles players, including France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, have been cleared to play in their Champions Cup match at Gloucester on Friday 16 October after being held at Bristol airport on Thursday 15 October, Yahoo reported. The Bordeaux Gloucester Champions Cup tie opens the competition and kicks off at Kingsholm at 8pm UK time.

According to Yahoo, Bielle-Biarrey, Romain Gardrat, Matis Perchaud and Toma Taufa were held because they did not have valid electronic travel authorisation (ETA). Bielle-Biarrey is named on the left wing and Perchaud is among the replacements. Gardrat and Taufa do not appear in the 23 named by the clubs.

Four Bordeaux players held at Bristol airport

Yahoo reported that the four players were stopped at Bristol airport on Thursday while the rest of the squad travelled on to Gloucester. A member of staff stayed with them. It is understood the situation was later resolved and the players rejoined their team-mates after Bordeaux contacted the French embassy in London and authorities in France.

An ETA is a digital pass that allows short-stay visitors who do not need a visa to pass through UK border control. Yahoo said it is thought the players’ ETAs had not been renewed when they updated their passports earlier this year. The report did not include a statement from either club.

A source told Agence France-Presse that border control at Bristol had initially refused the players entry. The source said the club had notified the authorities, the mayor of Bordeaux, Thomas Cazenave, and the French embassy in London to get matters moving again.

Champions Cup Gloucester vs Bordeaux: the teams

No	Gloucester	Bordeaux-Bègles
15	George Barton	Salesi Rayasi
14	Will Joseph	Pablo Uberti
13	Max Llewellyn	Nicolas Depoortere
12	Seb Atkinson	Yoram Moefana
11	Ben Loader	Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10	Charlie Atkinson	Maxime Lucu (c)
9	Dan Robson	Martin Page-Relo
8	Jack Clement	Tom Willis
7	Jac Morgan	Temo Matiu
6	Deian Gwynne	Marko Gazzotti
5	Arthur Clark	Ben Tameifuna
4	Jean Kleyn	Cameron Woki
3	Ciaran Knight	Sipili Falatea
2	Dewi Lake (c)	Maxime Lamothe
1	Dian Bleuler	Jefferson Poirot
16-23	Seb Blake, Val Rapava-Ruskin, Eliot Salt, Freddie Thomas, Will Trenholm, Lewis Ludlow, Caolan Englefield, Will Knight	Connor Sa, Matis Perchaud, Lasha Pkhakadze, Adam Zapedowski, Pierre Bochaton, Elyjah Ibsaiene, Xan Mousques, Romain Buros

Bordeaux team news: Tameifuna at lock, Lucu at fly-half

Ben Tameifuna, a 35-year-old Tonga international, has played his career in the front row, according to Planet Rugby. He starts at No 5 alongside Cameron Woki and will make his first Bordeaux appearance of the season, according to RugbyPass, which lists him at 148kg and 1.82m. Bordeaux are the back-to-back champions after beating Leinster in last year’s final, and this is the first match of their title defence.

Matthieu Jalibert is absent through injury. Maxime Lucu moves from scrum-half to fly-half and captains the side, with Martin Page-Relo at scrum-half. Bordeaux have a six-two split on the bench, with no specialist half-back among the replacements, according to RugbyPass.

Tom Willis starts at No 8 on his first return to England since leaving Saracens, according to Planet Rugby. The Guardian reported that he moved to Bordeaux after receiving an enhanced England contract and that Steve Borthwick left him out of selection as a result. Bordeaux attack coach Noel McNamara told the Guardian: “He’s an incredible competitor. You can talk all you want about the technical and tactical but sometimes it’s just about desire.” Willis said of England’s selection policy: “I could have stayed in England to remain eligible, but I decided to leave.”

Gloucester team news: Clark returns, Gwynne starts

England international Arthur Clark returns to the Gloucester starting XV after missing the 38-31 defeat at Leicester Tigers through injury. Head coach George Skivington has made several changes. Dewi Lake, a new signing and the Wales captain, leads the side, and fellow new signing Jac Morgan starts in the back row as a vice-captain, according to WalesOnline.

Deian Gwynne, 20, is named at No 6 for his first Gloucester start, according to WalesOnline. Another new signing, former Coventry tighthead Eliot Salt, is on the bench and in line for his Gloucester debut. Max Llewellyn starts in the centres after coming off the bench against Leicester.

Gloucester are top of the Gallagher PREM after two wins from three games, having beaten Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins before the Leicester defeat. Bordeaux are third in the Top 14 with four wins from six. FloRugby noted that Gloucester beat Bordeaux twice in the 2022-23 Champions Cup.

Kick-off, officials and how to watch

Kick-off at Kingsholm on Friday 16 October is 8pm UK and Irish time, which is 9pm in France, Italy and South Africa. The match is a Round 1 fixture in Pool 3. Italy’s Gianluca Gnecchi is the referee, with Franco Rosella and Dario Merli as assistant referees and Matteo Liperini as TMO.

The match is live on Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby and EPCR.TV, according to Planet Rugby. Gloucestershire Live reported that Premier Sports will show the match live.

Gloucestershire Live also set out two rule changes for this season’s competition. The bonus point is now awarded for scoring three or more tries than the opposition, rather than for scoring four tries. Only the top three teams in each pool qualify automatically for the Round of 16, with the other four places going to the clubs with the highest points totals outside the top three.