PREVIEW: Dublin and Pretoria are this weekend’s URC headline acts

The Cardiff win over the Cell C Sharks last week has brought extra attention to their clash with the Vodacom Bulls on a night that also sees the two top teams in the competition clash on the other side of the equator.

The Bulls game kicks off on Saturday night, one and a half hours earlier than the game in Dublin between Leinster and Ulster. Both will be worth watching so checking out the Dublin clash on catch-up will set up a Saturday night rugby feast for viewers.

There will also be much focus on the game that starts the weekend in Durban, with the Sharks needing to respond to last Sunday’s humiliation that cost their coach his job, and there’s also plenty riding on the Edinburgh-Munster game later in the evening.

The Saturday fare is kicked off by the competition’s champions and also arguably most entertaining team, the DHL Stormers. They host the Dragons at, wait for it, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. Dragons are a dangerous team these days so Stormers coach John Dobson will be wary, but if it is a dry day in the Eastern Cape coastal city we can expect an entertaining game as the Stormers go out to dazzle a potential new fan base.

The weekend is rounded off by the Lions hosting the Scarlets in the Sunday midday sun - well, the hosts should be hoping for sun as it will advantage them.

Weekend Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixtures

Cell C Sharks v Ospreys (Durban, Friday 7:10pm)

The Sharks have been through a crisis week and now it is time for them to respond. Director of rugby Neil Powell, now also effectively the head coach, has come up with an interesting team to do that, with Vincent Tshituka moving to lock the most surprising of those selections. Sikhumbuzo Notshe is also playing off the flank. The Ospreys were poor in the first half against the Bulls last week but put it quite impressively with their hand-to-hand movements in the third quarter. The Ospreys are still missing their raft of Welsh internationals, and it really would make a huge difference to this game were the likes of Alex Cuthbert, George North, Gareth Anscombe, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric present. And that is just some of them. In all, Ospreys had nine players in the Wales starting team against Australia last week. None of them are playing on Friday.

Prediction: Sharks by at least 15

Edinburgh v Munster (Edinburgh, Friday 9:35pm)

Edinburgh dropped points last week against Benetton and will be desperate to get the show back on track as their fifth place on the log and current comfortable position in the top eight, meaning playoff qualification, could be under threat. Munster went from 14th to ninth with their win over Connacht and are looking to attain the momentum that will propel them into playoff and Champions Cup contention. But Edinburgh have a good record at the DAM Health Stadium so start as favourites in what could be a tight game.

Prediction: Edinburgh to win by 7

DHL Stormers v Dragons (Gqeberha, Saturday 2pm)

Eish. That was surely the reaction from many Stormers supporters when they heard their team was playing a home game 752 kilometres away in the Eastern Cape. But the alarm at the scheduling, which was forced by the DHL Stadium needing to be readied for next week’s invasion by the crowds that will enjoy the Cape Town Sevens, has disappeared as it has become apparent to the Stormers that the people of Gqeberha are making this a special occasion and they are all four-square behind the Stormers. The Stormers haven’t announced their team yet but they showed with an alternative team against Scarlets last week that they do have some depth. They ought to beware though - Dragons were very good for parts of their game against the Emirates Lions at altitude last week and will be happy to be back at the coast.

Prediction: DHL Stormers by 10

Zebre v Glasgow Warriors (Parma, Saturday 3pm)

The Warriors are struggling but they should get some momentum back against a Zebre team that started the season with promise but has faded subsequently.

Prediction: Warriors to win by 12

Connacht v Benetton (Galway, Saturday 5:15pm)

Benetton won against Edinburgh last week but they are always a different prospect at home in Treviso than they are on the road. Connacht isn’t often a kind venue to visitors from the lower parts of the log and would expect to win.

Prediction: Connacht by 8

Vodacom Bulls v Cardiff Rugby (Pretoria, Saturday 8pm)

The Bulls were really good in the first half against the Ospreys last week but had one of their customary third-quarter fades that has had the team focusing this week on trying to sustain the pressure nearer to 80 minutes. Skipper Ruan Nortje says that has to happen or they could get caught out in the big games to come, meaning the Champions Cup fixtures over two weeks starting next Saturday and then the two derbies, starting with a Cape Town clash with the Stormers on 23 December. That Cardiff won’t be easy to beat is obvious from the way they put it together against the Sharks, although at the same time it is also true that visiting teams target certain games. Given the Sharks had the Boks missing last week and the game was at sea level, it would have made sense for the Durban game to be the one where there was big effort. The Bulls should be wary though - Cardiff do have a pack that can trouble them.

Prediction: Bulls by 10 to 15

Leinster v Ulster (Dublin, Saturday 9:35pm)

This is the big game of the weekend, with the top two teams on the log squaring off. Ulster lost at home to Leinster earlier in the competition so the hosts in this game should start as strong favourites.

Prediction: Leinster by 10

Emirates Lions v Scarlets (Johannesburg, Sunday 1:30pm)

The Lions have yet to name their team but regardless of what team they put out onto the field, there’s a fact that counts heavily against the Scarlets - the game is kicking off pretty much at lunch time. At the start of the South African summer. On the highveld. Shew, maybe there’ll be an early afternoon thunderstorm to cool things down, but if not, the Scarlets could just find themselves blowing air bubbles from quite early in this game. The Lions weren’t particularly flush against the Dragons last week but they got the job done and will take the confidence that comes from winning into this game.

Prediction: Lions to win by 20