Biarritz have named a strong team for the Heineken Cup opener at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday afternoon KO (3.40pm).
The 2006 and 2010 European finalists welcome back five members of France’s RWC squad that lost out to New Zealand by one point in the final, with Fabien Barcella, captain Imanol Harinordoquy, Raphael Lakafia, Dimitri Yachvili and Damien Traille all included.
Other familiar names in the Biarritz starting XV include Argentine centre Marcelo Bosch, USA wing Taku Ngwenya and England and British Lions back three player Iain Balshaw.
The full Biarritz team is:
Biarritz:Dane Haylett-Petty; Taku Ngwenya, Marcelo Bosch, Damien Traille, Iain Balshaw; Julien Peyrelongue, Dimitri Yachvili; Fabien Barcella, Benoit August, Sylvain Marconnet, Jérôme Thion, Erik Lund, Benoit Guyot, Imanol Harinordoquy (capt), Raphael Lakafia.
Replacements:Arnaud Heguy, Yvan Watremez, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Pelu Taele, Florian Faure, Romain Terrain, Benoît Baby, Ilikena Bolakoro.
Tickets for the game remain on sale at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office, online at www.ospreysrugby.com/buytickets and via the Ticket Hotline on 0844 815 6665.