It’s been a busy week in the world of rugby union, so here we take you on a rapid tour of some of the news that’s come out of Heineken Champions Cup clubs, just in case you missed anything! Murphy at Tigers’ helm Leicester Tigers have turned to two-time European Cup winner Geordan Murphy as the interim replacement for head coach Matt O’Connor, who left Welford Road on Monday, after the Tigers were beaten 40-6 at Exeter in their English Premiership opener. Murphy, 40, who won the Cup with Leicester in 2001 and 2002, told BBC 5 Live: “It was a bit of a shock, but I didn't have too much time to dwell on it. The board asked me to do the role for the next few weeks and I have taken it. I would be crazy to say no; it's obviously a dream.” In addition to his head coach duties, the former Ireland back will be attack coach, while fellow ex-Tigers Brett Deacon and Boris Stankovich will oversee Leicester’s defence and scrum respectively. Mark Bakewell will coach the forwards. https://twitter.com/LeicesterTigers/status/1037653168598016000 Scarlets boosted by key returnees 2018 European Champions Cup semi-finalists Scarlets welcome back as many as seven players into their squad for their first PRO14 home game of the season on Saturday against Leinster Rugby, who beat them in the last four last term. Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, wing Johnny McNicholl, centre Hadleigh Parkes, fly-half Dan Jones, lock Jake Ball, prop Samson Lee and utility back Paul Asquith all missed last week’s 15-13 defeat at Ulster due to injury, but the first six start at Parc y Scarlets and Asquith is a replacement. https://twitter.com/scarlets_rugby/status/1038018922572902402 Mercer re-signs for Bath Bath Rugby back-row forward Zach Mercer has agreed a new two-year deal which will keep the 21-year-old at the English Premiership club until the end of the 2020/21 season. Mercer told the Bath website: “It’s a really exciting time to be part of this club. Our challenge now is to make sure we’re up there competing with the best in the Premiership and Europe.” https://twitter.com/bathrugby/status/1037028032496775168 Sought-after Newcastle Newcastle’s St James’ Park, venue for the 2019 European Rugby Finals, gained further credence as a sought-after rugby destination when the RFU announced that the stadium would stage a Rugby World Cup warm-up match next September. The 52,000-capacity stadium, home to Newcastle United Football Club, will play host to the encounter between England and Italy on Friday, September 6. https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1037589122070851584 Mixed news for Ulster Ulster Rugby prop Kyle McCall will miss at least the first four rounds of the Irish province’s Pool 4 games after being told he needs surgery on an elbow to repair a torn tendon, but they had some good news this week with new signing Jordi Murphy selected for his debut. The Ireland international, a European Champions Cup winner with Leinster Rugby last season, was chosen in the back row for Ulster’s PRO14 home game against Edinburgh Rugby on Friday. https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby/status/1037654919799623680 Combezou stays at Castres Centre Thomas Combezou, out of contract with the French club at the end of the season, has extended his stay with Castres Olympique until June 2021. The 31-year-old joined the Pool 2 club from Montpellier in 2014. https://twitter.com/CastresRugby/status/1036998790920765441 Brown back for Edinburgh Edinburgh Rugby wing Tom Brown returns to action after 10 months on the sidelines in Friday’s PRO14 clash at Ulster Rugby. The club centurion makes his first competitive appearance for the Pool 5 side since November 2017. https://twitter.com/EdinburghRugby/status/1037669669426094080 Beirne set for Munster debut Tadhg Beirne, the back-row forward who joined Munster Rugby in the summer from Scarlets, is set to make his competitive debut for the Irish province on Friday, after being named among the substitutes for their PRO14 game at Glasgow Warriors. The Irish international will be joined on the bench by South African centre Jaco Taute, who makes a welcome return after missing almost a year through a knee injury. https://twitter.com/Munsterrugby/status/1037656364380839937 In just over four weeks’ time, Heineken Champions Cup rugby returns. Don’t forget to put the fixtures in your diary and also book a place at 2019 Finals weekend in Newcastle here.