Heineken Champions Cup: Castres v Exeter Chiefs

Simmonds will leave Sandy Park for the south of France and Montpellier at the end of this season

Exeter number eight Sam Simmonds makes his first club start since October as the Chiefs begin their Heineken Champions Cup campaign away to Castres.

Fellow England internationals Jack Nowell and Henry Slade also return to the starting line-up, with Stuart Hogg replacing Josh Hodge at full-back.

Australia prop Scott Sio makes his Champions Cup debut in the front row, with Dave Ewers coming in at flanker.

Former Glasgow lock Leone Nakarawa is in the Castres pack.

His fellow Fijian Filipo Nakosi starts on the wing for the hosts.

Exeter, who won the Champions Cup in 2020, have suffered four defeats in their last five Premiership fixtures, sinking to seventh in the table.

• Champions Cup - teams and players to watch

Since winning the trophy two years ago, Exeter's Champions Cup campaigns have ended at Irish hands with a last-16 defeat by Munster following a quarter-final loss to Leinster.

Castres are also in indifferent form. They finished top of the regular-season standings in the French Top 14 last season, but are down in 11th this term after six defeats in 12 games so far.

Home and away fixtures against South African side the Bulls follow in the pool stages for Exeter before they welcome Castres to Sandy Park in the return fixture in January.

What they say

Castres flanker Mathieu Babillot: "I have great respect for this competition, a lot of admiration for all the great teams that have won this trophy. It's a privilege to play in the Champions Cup."

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter: "I think we need something that is really going to challenge us. I say this all the time, you create steel by putting it through a furnace. We need one those games where everyone stops and says 'this is going to be 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, Gray, Ewers, Tshiunza, S Simmonds.

Replacements: Frost, Hepburn, Iosefa-Scott, Van Heerden, Grondona, Becconsall, Kata, Hodge