Tameifuna shifts outside of front-row as Bordeaux forced into bizarre calls

Bordeaux-Bègles has made an unconventional team selection for their Investec Champions Cup title defense against Gloucester, moving 148kg prop Ben Tameifuna into the second row. Tameifuna will wear the No. 5 jersey alongside Cameron Woki on Friday at Kingsholm, marking his first appearance of the season. Head coach Yannick Bru reshuffled the squad significantly following their recent Top 14 match against Clermont.

Injuries and absences have also disrupted Bordeaux's backline, forcing scrum-half Maxime Lucu to shift to fly-half in place of Matthieu Jalibert, with Martin Page-Relo starting at scrum-half. Additionally, Bordeaux has opted for a six-two split on the replacements bench, featuring six forwards and leaving no specialist half-backs in reserve. Gloucester will field lock pairing Jean Kleyn and Arthur Clark against Bordeaux's modified pack.