Pierre Mignoni Names Four English Players in Toulon XV for Leinster Rugby
Toulon sent three English players into the starting XV for its leinster rugby semi-final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, with a fourth Englishman on the bench. Pierre Mignoni’s selection put Kyle Sinckler, David Ribbans and Junior Kpoku in the first team and kept Zach Mercer among the replacements.
The line-up also carried Toulon’s bigger aim: reach its first Champions Cup final since 2015. That is the first time the French club has taken that route since lifting the trophy against Clermont in 2015.
Sinckler, Ribbans, Kpoku
Sinckler started at tighthead prop in a front row with Jean-Baptiste Gros and Teddy Baubigny. Ribbans captained the side from the second row, while Kpoku lined up at blindside flanker.
Those three were part of a forward pack built for control as much as power. Corentin Mezou partnered Ribbans in the second row, Charles Ollivon started at openside flanker, and Mikheil Shioshvili was named at number eight.
Toulon’s midfield and back line
Ben White started at scrum-half and Tomas Albornoz at fly-half, giving Toulon an experienced half-back combination for the trip to Dublin. Nacho Brex and Jérémy Sinzelle were picked in midfield, with Gaël Drean and Setariki Tuicuvu on the wings and Melvyn Jaminet at full-back.
The starting XV carried the look of a side built around familiar names in key positions. That shape mattered because Toulon were chasing a place in the final while leaning on a squad that had already shown it could win at this level, having lifted the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2023.
Mercer on the bench
Mercer’s place among the replacements gave Toulon a fourth English option if the semi-final tightened late. Baptiste Serin, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Daniel Brennan, Beka Gigashvili, Matthias Halagahu, Esteban Abadie and Mathis Ferte were also named on the bench.
For Toulon, the selection was the clearest signal of how it intended to approach the Aviva Stadium test: a settled core, three English starters, and another English forward ready to come in if the semi-final demanded it. Leinster stood between them and a first Champions Cup final in 10 years.
