The teams for this weekend’s Round 15 fixtures of the BKT United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.
After Round 14, just three points separate 5th – 11th place, with only four rounds remaining. This weekend, the Race To The Eight continues. Every game counts.
TEAM NEWS HEADLINES
#SCAvSHA
Second row Morgan Jones comes into Scarlets starting XV
Werner Kok will make his 50th appearance for Hollywoodbets Sharks
#ULSvBEN
Ulster development player, Reuben Crothers, starts in the back row
Marco Zanon and Tommaso Menoncello make up Benetton’s’ centre pairing
#ZEBvGLA
Marco Manfredi to make his 50th appearance for Zebre Parma
Josh McKay returns for Glasgow Warriors starting at full-back
#BULvOSP
Jannes Kirsten set to make his BKT URC debut for the Vodacom Bulls if called upon from the bench
Dewi Lake returns from injury for Ospreys to take up a place on the bench
#CARvEDI
Ellis Jenkins makes his final appearance for Cardiff at the Arms Park before his retirement at the end of the season
Emiliano Boffelli named in Edinburgh Rugby’s starting XV on his return from injury and Chris Dean set to make his 150th appearance if called upon from the bench
#LIOvMUN
Jordan Hendrikse makes his 50th appearance for the Emirates Lions
Seán O’Brien makes his first start at inside centre for Munster
#STOvLEI
Brok Harris becomes the first player to reach 150 caps for the DHL Stormers with Marcel Theunissen and Evan Roos playing their 50th game for the club
Gus McCarthy is in line to make his Leinster debut is called upon from the bench
#DRAvCON
Wales hooker Elliot Dee makes 150th appearance for Dragons RFC
Connacht’s Dylan Tierney-Martin named on the bench for first game back since a neck injury if called upon from the bench
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
Scarlets v Hollywoodbets Sharks
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 80th league game)
AR 1: Ben Breakspear (WRU) AR 2: Dewi Phillips (WRU)
TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)
Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Tom Rogers, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Tomi Lewis, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Ryan Elias (CAPT), Sam Wainwright, Morgan Jones, Sam Lousi, Taine Plumtree, Dan Davis, Vaea Fifita
Replacements: Shaun Evans, Steff Thomas, Harri O’Connor, Jac Price, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Kieran Hardy, Dan Jones, Ryan Conbeer
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Lukhanyo Am (CAPT), Ethan Hooker, Makazole Mapimpi, Siya Masuku, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, Fez Mbatha, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Emile van Heerden, Phepsi Buthelezi, Lappies Labuschagne, Vincent Tshituka
Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Hanro Jacobs,Corne Rahl, Gerbrandt Grobler, Jaden Hendrikse, Boeta Chamberlain, Francois Venter
Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “We were obviously disappointed by the result in Edinburgh last weekend especially after leading the game on the hour mark. We spoke about showing fight and playing with a bit of freedom and there were elements of that in our game. We need to stay in that fight for 80 minutes. This week, we have prepared for the best version of the Sharks, they can put out a Springbok pack if they want and that is a massive challenge and an exciting one. Every time you play a South African side it is going to be physical and you have to step up.”
Ulster v Benetton
Kingspan Stadium, Belfast – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 42nd league game)
AR 1: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU) AR 2: Padraig Reidy (IRFU)
TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)
Live on: BBC NI, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Ulster: Mike Lowry, Rob Baloucoune, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom Stewart, Scott Wilson, Harry Sheridan, Alan O’Connor (CAPT), Dave Ewers, Reuben Crothers, David McCann
Replacements: John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, James French, Cormac Izuchukwu, Greg Jones, Dave Shanahan, Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy
Benetton: Jacob Umaga, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Marco Zanon, Rhyno Smith, Tomas Albornoz, Andy Uren, Thomas Gallo, Giacomo Nicotera, Simione Ferrari, Scott Scrafton, Edoardo Iachizzi, Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro (CAPT), Lorenzo Cannone
Replacements: Gianmarco Lucchesi, Ivan Nemer, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Toa Halafihi, Alessandro Garbisi, Filippo Drago
Ulster Defence Coach Jonny Bell said: “This game is hugely important. It’s such a competitive league. You can quickly jump up or jump down the table, a win this weekend would be great for us.”
Benetton Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “In the lineup we have some returns from last week, but unfortunately Ratave has also joined the injured list. The starting XV has been chosen to cope with the qualities of Ulster, tomorrow’s opponents, while also taking into account adjustments in some roles. Ulster is a very high-performance team that works a lot with the forwards: for this reason I chose to bring six forwards and two midfielders on the bench; to be competitive on a physical level for the entire 80 minutes.”
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors
Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – KO 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 17th league game)
AR 1: Filipo Russo (FIR) AR 2: Manuel Bottino (FIR)
TMO: Colin Stanley (IRFU)
Live on: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma: Lorenzo Pani, Jacopo Trulla, Franco Smith Jr, Enrico Lucchin, Scott Gregory, Geronimo Prisciantelli (CAPT), Thomas Dominguez, Danilo Fischetti, Marco Manfredi, Muhamed Hasa, Leonard Krumov, Dylan De Leeuw, Guido Volpi, Iacopo Bianchi, Giacomo Ferrari
Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Samuele Taddei, Juan Pitinari, Matteo Canali, David Sisi, Ratko Jelic, Fetuli Paea, Taina Fox-Matamua
Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Rowe, Ross Thompson, Jamie Dobie, Allan Dell, Gregor Hiddleston, Lucio Sordoni, Sintu Manjezi, Max Williamson, Ally Miller, Thomas Gordon, Henco Venter
Replacements: Grant Stewart, Nathan McBeth, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Euan Ferrie, Gregor Brown, George Horne, Tom Jordan
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said: “We know that we will need to perform at our best in Parma tomorrow to get the better of a dangerous Zebre side. They are a much improved squad this season and have the ability to pose a challenge to any side, especially at home. Training has been competitive all week and we look forward to the test tomorrow afternoon.”
Vodacom Bulls v Ospreys
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 14.00 IRE & UK / 15.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 40th league game)
AR 1: Cwengile Jadzweni (SARU) AR 2: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Vodacom Bulls: Willie Le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Ruan Vermaak, Reinhardt Ludwig, Nizaam Carr, Elrigh Louw (CAPT), Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Jannes Kirsten, Zak Burger, Jaco van der Valt, Devon Williams
Ospreys: Max Nagy, Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles, Jack Walsh, Luke Davies, Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Rhys Henry, Adam Beard, Huw Sutton, Morgan Morse, Justin Tipuric (CAPT), Morgan Morris
Replacements: Dewi Lake, Nicky Smith, Ben Warren, James Ratti, Harri Deaves, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Owen Williams, Evardi Boshoff
Cardiff Rugby v Edinburgh Rugby
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA & SA
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 84th league game)
AR 1: Maickel English (WRU) AR 2: Elgan Williams (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett, Harri Millard, Mason Grady, Ben Thomas, Theo Cabango, Tinus de Beer, Gonzalo Bertranou, Rhys Carré, Liam Belcher (CAPT), Keiron Assiratti, Ben Donnell, Teddy Williams, Alex Mann, Ellis Jenkins, Mackenzie Martin
Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Corey Domachowski, Ciaran Parker, Rory Thornton, Thomas Young, James Botham, Ellis Bevan, Jacob Beetham
Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Emiliano Boffelli, Matt Currie, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Healy, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, WP Nel, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Luke Crosbie
Replacements: Boan Venter, Dave Cherry, Javan Sebastian, Marshall Sykes, Viliame Mata, Ben Vellacott, Mark Bennett, Chris Dean
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “It’s great to welcome Boff [Emiliano Boffelli] back to the starting team. As we all know, he’s a true competitor and he’s been itching to get back fit and back into action. He returns to a really exciting and experienced back-three unit. We travel to Cardiff with plenty of momentum after that second-half performance against Scarlets. It’s now about maintaining those levels for 80 minutes. It’s imperative we start strong against a Cardiff side who are always dangerous at home.”
Emirates Lions v Munster
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg – KO 16.00 IRE & UK / 17.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 55th league game)
AR 1: AJ Jacobs (SARU) AR 2: Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Emirates Lions: Jordan Hendrikse, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje, Marius Louw (CAPT), Edwill van der Merwe, Sanele Nohamba, Morne van den Berg, Morgan Naude, Jaco Visagie, Ruan Dreyer, Willem Alberts, Ruan Delport, JC Pretorius, Emmanuel Tshituka, Francke Horn
Replacements: PJ Botha, JP Smith, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruan Venter, Sibusiso Sangweni, Nico Steyn, Gianni Lombard
Munster: Simon Zebo, Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Seán O’Brien, Shane Daly, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, RG Snyman, Tadhg Beirne (CAPT), Peter O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue
Replacements: Eoghan Clarke, Josh Wycherley, Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, Gavin Coombes, Craig Casey, Joey Carbery, Mike Haley
DHL Stormers v Leinster
DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 18.05 IRE & UK / 19.05 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 42nd league game)
AR 1: Marius vd Westhuizen (SARU) AR 2: Christopher Allison (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Ben Loader, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Brok Harris, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, Salmaan Moerat (CAPT), Ruben van Heerden, Marcel Theunissen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos
Replacements : Andre-Hugo Venter, Kwenzo Blose, Frans Malherbe, Connor Evans, Willie Engelbrecht, Hacjivah Dayimani, Stefan Ungerer, Wandisile Simelane
Leinster : Henry McErlean, Liam Turner, Ben Brownlee, Charlie Ngatai, Rob Russell, Sam Prendergast, Cormac Foley, Michael Milne, John McKee, Michael Ala’alatoa, Brian Deeny, Jason Jenkins, Rhys Ruddock, Scott Penny (CAPT), Max Deegan
Replacements : Gus McCarthy, Ed Byrne, Thomas Clarkson, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Diarmuid Mangan, Fintan Gunne, Charlie Tector, Martin Moloney
DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “Hosting Leinster at DHL Stadium is a massive game no matter the circumstances, but with both teams looking to bounce back from defeat last week and the play-offs fast approaching we are expecting an epic duel.
Nobody has played more times for the DHL Stormers than Brok Harris. This is a remarkable achievement and we couldn’t be happier for him. He is a top rugby man in every sense.
Evan and Marcel have hit the 50 mark early in their careers and while they have a lot to be proud of, we know that there is much more to come from both of them.”
Dragons RFC v Connacht
Rodney Parade, Newport – KO 20.00 IRE & UK / 21.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR, 8th league game)
AR 1: Ben Breakspear (WRU) AR 2: Gareth Newman (WRU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Live on: S4C, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Dragons RFC: Jordan Williams, Rio Dyer, Steff Hughes (CAPT), Aneurin Owen, Ewan Rosser, Cai Evans, Rhodri Williams, Rhodri Jones, Elliot Dee, Chris Coleman, Ben Carter, Matthew Screech, Harri Keddie, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright
Replacements : James Benjamin, Rodrigo Martinez, Luke Yendle, George Nott, Sean Lonsdale, Che Hope, Will Reed, Joe Westwood
Connacht : Tiernan O’Halloran, Shane Jennings, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, John Porch, JJ Hanrahan, Matthew Devine, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan (CAPT), Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce, Gavin Thornbury, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast
Replacements : Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Caolin Blade, Cathal Forde, Paul Boyle
Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “This four-game block is very important to us, and this is the first of them. This is one of the most exciting times since I’ve been at the club, this run of games, and we need to make the most of it. Connacht target certain games and we would be a game that I imagine they will try and target for five points. It is on us to prove people wrong and perform,”
Connacht Head Coach Pete Wilkins said: “We’ve had a great training week so everyone’s fully prepared and ready to go. Rodney Parade is always a tough place for visiting teams and we’re fully aware of the importance of us getting a win in the context of the overall season.
With Denis, Gavin, Cian and Tiernan coming in, they bring added experience and leadership which is needed in these type of games. Combined with a consistent selection across the rest of the 23 I’m confident we have a squad capable of coming home with the win.”
