The teams for this weekend's Round 3 fixtures of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.
TEAM NEWS HEADLINES
#SCAvCON
• Sam Lousi and Ioan Nicholas return from injury for Scarlets
• Bundee Aki and Cathal Forde make up Connacht centre pairing
#CARvGLA
• Harri Millard is named in Cardiff Rugby starting XV
• Patrick Schickerling in line to make his Glasgow Warriors debut if called upon from the bench
#LIOvEDI
• Edwill van der Merwe returns from injury and is named in Emirates Lions starting XV
• Edinburgh Rugby name a new halfback pairing with Ben Healy and Ben Vellacott
#BULvULS
• Johan Grobbelaar and David Kriel will make their 50th appearance for the Vodacom Bulls
• Ulster academy lock Charlie Irvine to make his debut, alongside two starts for Ben Carson and James McCormick
#BENvLEI
• Tommaso Menoncello and Malakai Fekitoa named as Benetton centre pairing
• RG Snyman is set to make his Leinster debut after joining from Munster over the summer
#DRAvSHA
• Dan Lydiate named at No 8 for Dragons RFC
• Two sets of brothers named in Hollywoodbets Sharks starting XV. At scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse joins his brother Jordan named at fullback, with the Tshituka brothers, captain Vincent and Emmanuel both playing in the back row
#MUNvOSP
• Munster make eight changes to the side that faced Zebre Parma last weekend with captain Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley and Peter O’Mahony making their first appearances of the season
• Steffan Thomas gets his first competitive start for the Ospreys at loosehead
#ZEBvSTO
• Danilo Fischetti to captain Zebre Parma
• Louw Nel in line for DHL Stormers debut if called upon from the bench
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4
Scarlets v Connacht
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU, 23rd league game)
AR 1: Mike English (WRU) AR 2: Ben Connor (WRU)
TMO: Christopher Allison (SARU)
Live on: BBC Wales, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Tom Rogers, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Blair Murray, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Sam Lousi, Max Douglas, Josh Macleod (CAPT), Dan Davis, Taine Plumtree
Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Alex Craig, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page
Connacht: Santiago Cordero, Mack Hansen, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Piers O’Conor, Jack Carty, Ben Murphy, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Niall Murray, David O’Connor, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (CAPT)
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Temi Lasisi, Oisin Dowling, Paul Boyle, Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Shayne Bolton
Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “We know Connacht’s DNA is to play with good structure, good shape and with ball in hand. They have power up front and are difficult to break down. It was an entertaining game in Galway last season and I’m expecting the same between two highly competitive sides. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”
Connacht Head Coach Pete Wilkins said: “Llanelli is always tough place to go for visiting teams, so while respecting the Scarlets’ strengths we must make every effort to impose our game and take our opportunities when they arise. In Bundee and Jack we have two senior players coming into the starting line-up with a wealth of experience and quality. It says a lot about the strength of the squad this year that we’re able to bring in players of that calibre. We will need to perform at our best to get a result and everyone is looking forward to the challenge.”
Cardiff Rugby v Glasgow Warriors
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 11th league game)
AR 1: Rhys Jones (WRU) AR 2: Gareth Newman (WRU)
TMO: Griffon Colby (SARU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett, Mason Grady, Rey Lee-Lo, Ben Thomas, Harri Millard; Callum Sheedy, Aled Davies, Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (CAPT), Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence
Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Ed Byrne, Rhys Litterick, Rory Thornton, Mackenzie Martin, Ellis Bevan, Tinus de Beer, Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Rowe, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (CAPT), Facundo Cordero, Tom Jordan, Jamie Dobie; Rory Sutherland, Johnny Matthews, Sam Talakai, Alex Samuel, Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown, Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey
Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Jamie Bhatti, Patrick Schickerling, Max Williamson, Richie Gray, Euan Ferrie, Ben Afshar, Duncan Weir
Cardiff Rugby Head Coach Matt Sherratt said: “We were pleased with our performance against the Scarlets and I think we set a good foundation. Our collisions were a lot better, we were stronger defensively and there was a real intent. It was a performance more like Cardiff but as I have previously said it’s going to take a bit of time and hopefully we can make improvements week on week. It’s going to be another step up this weekend. Glasgow have always been a very good team. The biggest compliment I can probably pay them is that they've got a real clear identity. That's a massive compliment to Franco and his coaching staff because their players are very clear on their DNA, their very clear on their game plan. So we know what to expect and it’s about meeting that challenge. We are expecting another big crowd at the Arms Park and we have had some great nights under the lights in recent years.”
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said: “We were pleased to record our first win of the season last weekend, but we know that there are still plenty of areas in which we can improve. Cardiff have recruited well during the summer and have started the season strongly, a start they will be keen to continue in front of their home support. We also look forward to seeing Patrick pull on the Glasgow jersey for the first time this weekend - he has quickly bought into our environment and has trained well to earn his opportunity."
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5
Emirates Lions v Edinburgh Rugby
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg – KO 12.45 IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 39th league game)
AR 1: Henru van Rooyen (SARU) AR 2: Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Emirates Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Erich Cronje, Rynhardt Jonker, Edwill van der Merwe, Kade Wolhuter, Morne van den Berg, Juan Schoeman, PJ Botha, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Reinard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg, JC Pretorius, Jarod Cairns, Francke Horn (CAPT)
Replacements: Franco Marais, Heiko Pohlmann, Conraad van Vuuren, Ruben Schoeman, Renzo du Plessis, Sanele Nohamba, Marius Louw, Henco van Wyk
Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Ross McCann, Matt Scott, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott (CO-CAPT), Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (CO-CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury
Replacements: Patrick Harrison, Boan Venter, D’arcy Rae, Jamie Hodgson, Ben Muncaster, Ali Price, Ross Thompson, Mosese Tuipulotu
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “This will be another testing encounter for us however we feel that, from our performances against Leinster and Vodacom Bulls, we’re more than
capable of securing a positive result. The Lions are a tough team, with a good set piece and exciting backs, especially in transition, so we know that we’ll be in for a fight tomorrow.”
Vodacom Bulls v Ulster
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 101st league game)
AR 1: JD Jadezweni (SARU) AR 2: Dylan November (SARU)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux, Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Boeta Chamberlain, Embrose Papier, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Francois Klopper, Sintu Manjezi, Celimpilo Gumede, Keagan Johannes, Stedman Gans, Aphiwe Dyantyi
Ulster: Mike Lowry, Werner Kok, Stewart Moore, Ben Carson, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak, Andrew Warwick, James McCormick, Corrie Barrett, Iain Henderson (CAPT), Charlie Irvine, James McNabney, Sean Reffell, David McCann
Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Ben Moxham
Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said: “I am looking forward to seeing how we play because there is everything there, we have good forwards and good backs with good pace, skill and a bit of everything. This will be the strongest team we have fielded in four years from an experience point of view, and an achievement point of view; like we have Springboks in key positions and even on the bench. We all know that just because you have a strong team does not make anything automatic but it is exciting to see that our four years are coming together now. We have a front row and a backline of Springboks. There is still a job to be done, this is a big game against Ulster, who have also managed not to roll over because they are a good team. They may not have got the results but they have toured South Africa very well in the past and I expect it to be a tough game.”
Benetton v Leinster
Stadio Monigo, Treviso – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 58th league game)
AR 1: Federico Vedovelli (FIR) AR 2: Manuel Bottino (FIR)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Live on: Sky Italia, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Benetton: Matt Gallagher, Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Malakai Fekitoa, Paolo Odogwu, Jacob Umaga, Alessandro Garbisi; Mirco Spagnolo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Sebastian Negri, Manuel Zuliani, Michele Lamaro (CAPT)
Replacements: Marco Manfredi, Aminu Destiny, Enzo Avaca, Federico Ruzza, Giulio Marini, Lorenzo Cannone, Andy Uren, Leonardo Marin
Leinster: Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, RG Snyman, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (CAPT)
Replacements: Lee Barron, Michael Milne, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Brian Deeny, Fintan Gunne, Ross Byrne, Scott Penny
Benetton Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “Let's start again from the attitude shown in the second half against Glasgow, when despite the disadvantage the team continued to fight on every tackle and every ball. In view of Leinster it will be important to return to having the entire group available, net of injuries. We will have to recover our energy and use our motivation to improve quickly and put in a valuable performance”
Leinster Assistant Coach Jacques Nienaber said: “A couple of months ago, if you had given me a contract and said if you sign this I guarantee you ten points from the first two games, I would have signed it. From a results point of view, that’s what we wanted to achieve. You couldn’t ask for more than ten points. But there are a lot of things we still need to work on both on and off the field. We have taken a lot of good learnings out of the first two games and we just need to crack on and focus on Benetton now. It’s going to be another tough challenge for us over there. They also get a big chunk of their squad back that has been with Italy over the summer, so that will be a proper test match vibe for us.”
Dragons RFC v Hollywoodbets Sharks
Rodney Parade, Newport – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 97th league game)
AR 1: Ben Connor (WRU) AR 2: Nathan James (WRU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Live on: S4C, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Harry Wilson, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser, Lloyd Evans, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Leon Brown, Ben Carter (CAPT), Matthew Screech, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Taine Basham, Dan Lydiate
Replacements: Oli Burrows, Rodrigo Martinez, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Ryan Woodman, Dane Blacker, Will Reed, Joe Westwood
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Jordan Hendrikse, Eduan Keyter, Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker, Siya Masuku, Jaden Hendrikse, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Dylan Richardson, Ruan Dreyer, Jason Jenkins, Gerbrandt Grobler, James Venter, Vincent Tshituka (CAPT), Emmanuel Tshituka
Replacements: Fez Mbatha, Trevor Nyakane, Hanro Jacobs, Corne Rahl, Phepsi Buthelezi, Cameron Wright, Lionel Cronje, Francois Venter
Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “We know what we are facing. I was super impressed with the way the Sharks played in the first half in Connacht. They were big, physical, and really connected in how they want to play. Connacht were superb in the second half, but Sharks are still the best team in South Africa now, having won the Currie Cup. Of all the teams travelling to us in the next two weeks, we have the two finalists from the Currie Cup. But what an opportunity for us to show if we have developed or not.”
Munster v Ospreys
Virgin Media Park, Cork – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 84th league game)
AR 1: Keane Davison (IRFU) AR 2: Chris Lough (IRFU)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Live on: RTÉ, S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Munster: Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Bryan Fitzgerald, Shay McCarthy, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey, Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Oli Jager, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (CAPT), Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Jack O'Donoghue
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Gavin Coombes, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Jack Daly
Ospreys: Max Nagy, Iestyn Hopkins, Owen Watkin, Phil Cokanasiga, Ryan Conbeer, Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Steffan Thomas, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, Huw Sutton, Adam Beard, James Ratti, Jac Morgan (CAPT) Morgan Morris
Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Lewis Jones, Harri Deaves, Luke Davies, Jack Walsh, Keiran Williams
Zebre Parma v DHL Stormers
Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 45th league game)
AR 1: Fillipo Russo (FIR) AR 2: Franco Rosella (FIR)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Live on: Sky Italia, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma: Geronimo Prisciantelli, Jacopo Trulla, Luca Morisi, Fetuli Paea, Simone Gesi, Giacomo Da Re, Alessandro Fusco, Danilo Fischetti (CAPT), Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Matteo Nocera, Matteo Canali, Leonard Krumov, Davide Ruggeri, Samuele Locatelli, Giacomo Ferrari
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Luca Rizzoli, Juan Pitinari, Andrea Zambonin, Giovanni Licata, Gonzalo Garcia, Scott Gregory, Giovanni Montemauri
DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis (CAPT), Leolin Zas, Jurie Matthee, Paul de Wet, Sti Sithole, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, JD Schickerling, Ruben van Heerden, Marcel Theunissen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Keke Morabe
Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Sazi Sandi, Adre Smith, Louw Nel, Dewaldt Duvenage, Warrick Gelant, Angelo Davids
Zebre Parma Head Coach Massimo Brunello said: “We have trained with enthusiasm and energy, but it is important to stay humble and keep working. It will be a tactical battle against a team that kicks a lot and can create difficulties. We need to be vigilant and not give away anything, focusing on precision in set pieces and in the most crucial phases. We must make the right choices without giving them opportunities, especially in transition, because the Stormers are a team that can be dangerous at any moment and in any area of the field.”
DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “This has been a good week for us and we are all excited to see what this team can do against an in-form Zebre Parma side. The players coming in all bring something unique that will hopefully see us lift our standards across the board on Saturday. We will have to be as sharp as ever and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way. It is a challenge we are all looking forward to."