FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Glasgow Warriors
v Benetton
Scotstoun Stadium,
Glasgow – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35
ITA & SA
Referee: Marius van
der Westhuizen (SARU,
AR 1: Ru Campbell
(SRU) AR 2: Michael Todd (SRU)
TMO: Christopher
Allison (SARU)
Live on: Premier
Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Glasgow
Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan,
Kyle Rowe, Adam Hastings, Jamie Dobie; Nathan McBeth, Gregor Hiddleston, Zander
Fagerson, Max Williamson, Richie Gray, Euan Ferrie, Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: Johnny Matthews,
Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Alex Samuel, Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown, George
Horne, Duncan Weir.
Glasgow
Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said : “Tomorrow night presents us with
an opportunity to build upon the effort shown by the players in our opening URC
match of the season.
“Benetton have
recruited well during the off season and are a team with ambitions of
challenging at the top of the standings; we know they will be a tough challenge
and one we will need to meet head on.
“We also look
forward to seeing Rory make his debut for the club. He has trained well since
arriving in the summer and we know he will be eager to make an impact.”
Benetton Rugby : Matt
Gallagher, Louis Lynagh, Malakai Fekitoa, Marco Zanon, Onisi Ratave, Jacob
Umaga, Andy Uren, Mirco Spagnolo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari, Scott Scrafton,
Eli Snyman (CAPT), Alessandro Izekor, Manuel Zuliani, Sebastian Negri
Replacements : Marco
Manfredi, Aminu Destiny, Riccardo Genovese, Riccardo Favretto, Toa Halafihi,
Alessandro Garbisi, Leonardo Marin, Paolo Odogwu
Benetton
Rugby Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “Against
Scarlets, it was not the result we wanted, we know we have to
fight better. The first half was positive because we were dominant and it was a
shame to have conceded the try at the end. In the second half we were timid, in
addition to the fact that we lacked precision in the execution. This will serve
as motivation to be better in concretizing the opportunities we create. A
positive aspect is that we tried until the end and got back in the game. This
is the right determination that we will have to show in the next matches too.
Against Glasgow we have an even bigger challenge against the reigning
champions. We are determined to improve on what didn't work well against the
Scarlets.”
Leinster v Dragons
RFC
Aviva Stadium,
Dublin – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Mike Adamson
(SRU,
AR 1: Eoghan Cross
(IRFU) AR 2: Tomas O’Sullivan
(IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland
(SRU)
Live on: TG4, BBC Wales, Premier Sports,
SuperSport, FloRugby & URC.tv
Leinster Rugby: Jamie Osborne, Jordan
Larmour, Liam Turner, Charlie Tector, Jimmy O'Brien, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath;
Cian Healy, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, James Ryan, Max Deegan,
Will Connors, Jack Conan (CAPT)
Replacements: Lee Barron, Michael
Milne, Rabah Slimani, Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier, Fintan Gunne, Harry
Byrne, Aitzol King
Leinster
Assistant Coach Tyler Bleyendaal said: "We had a great result in our first
game, I think, to come away from Edinburgh with five points. We had, at times,
a scratchy performance but we showed a lot of guts and resilience to get that
result."
Dragons RFC : Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Harry Wilson, Steff
Hughes, Jared Rosser, Lloyd Evans, Dane Blacker; Rodrigo Martinez, Brodie
Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Ben Carter (CAPT), George Nott, Ryan Woodman, Harri
Keddie, Shane Lewis-Hughes
Replacement : Oli
Burrows, Rhodri Jones, Luke Yendle, Matthew Screech, George Young, Rhodri
Williams, Joe Westwood, Ewan Rosser
Dai Flanagan,
Dragons RFC Head Coach said : “We’re excited for the challenge we face in our first
away game of the league season. Leinster bring everything. Ireland have
just been announced as the number one team in the world, and I'm sure there's
like 20 internationals in the Leinster squad. For me, it's about us. It's about
us going out there, representing ourselves and our region in the best possible
way we can, and improving week by week. It starts this week
again.”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Emirates Lions v Ulster
Emirates Airline Park,
Johannesburg – KO 11.55IRE & UK / 12.55 ITA & SA
Referee: Sam Grove-White
(SRU,
AR 1: AJ Jacobs (SARU) AR 2: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Keith David
(WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Emirates Lions : Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Erich
Cronje, Rynhardt Jonker, Tapiwa Mafura, Kade Wolhuter, Sanele Nohamba, Morgan
Naude, PJ Botha, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Reinard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg, Jarod
Cairns, Ruan Venter, Francke Horn (CAPT)
Replacements : Franco Marais, Juan Schoeman, Conraad
van Vuuren, Ruben Schoeman, Siba Qoma, Renzo du Plessis, Nico Steyn, Henco van
Wyk
Emirates Lions Head
Coach Ivan van Rooyen said : “It’s important for us to keep the momentum. We were
happy with the momentum we took into the recent Currie Cup campaign and it’s
important for us to maintain that going into this year’s URC season.
“As a group we
are really excited about the upcoming URC. There’s a great vibe and energy
within the squad. We have six URC debutants featuring this weekend comprising
of a combination new signings and guys from the recent Currie Cup.
“Ultimately,
it’s important for us to start well at home this weekend against an Ulster team
who beat the defending champions last weekend. We know they’ll arrive ready to
go so we’ll be up for it” he concluded.
Ulster: Ethan McIlroy,
Werner Kok, Stewart Moore, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan,
John Cooney, Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Alan
O’Connor (CAPT), Matty Rea, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney
Replacements: James McCormick, Eric O’Sullivan, Corrie Barrett, Iain
Henderson, James McNabney, Nathan Doak, Mike Lowry, David McCann
Ulster Assistant
Coach Jimmy Duffy said : “Lions have a solid set piece and dangerous
counter attacking threats, we will have to be accurate and not give away silly
opportunities.”
Vodacom Bulls v Edinburgh
Rugby
Loftus Versfeld Stadium,
Pretoria – KO 14.00 IRE & UK / 15.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Ben Breakspear
(WRU,
AR 1: Griffon Colby
(SARU) AR 2: Dylen November
(SARU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse
(WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Vodacom Bulls: David Kriel, Canan
Moodie, Stedman Gans, Barend Smit, Sebastian de Klerk, Jaco van der Walt, Embrose
Papier, Alulutho Tshakweni,
Armand van der Merwe (CAPT), Wilco Louw, Ruan Vermaak, Cobus Wiese, Nama Xaba,
Jannes Kirsten, Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Johan
Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Kloppers, JF van Heerden, Marcel
Coetzee, Keegan Johannes, Boeta Chamberlain, Aphiwe Dyantyi
Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said: “I am really happy that we have a lot of Vodacom
Bulls guys playing for the Springboks and it is nice to have Canan and Grobbies
back because they have international experience, and they can bring that back
to us and the more players we can have with international experience and the
kind of pressure they have experienced at that level will help us in our
environment.”
Edinburgh Rugby : Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott,
Duhan van der Merwe, Ross Thompson, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry,
Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish
Watson, Magnus Bradbury Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Boan Venter, D’arcy
Rae, Jamie Hodgson, Tom Dodd, Ben Vellacott, Ben Healy, Ross McCann
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “We know the challenge
that awaits us at Loftus. It will be a tough match, but we’ve had a good week
and are ready for the fight.”
Zebre Parma v
Munster
Stadio Lanfranchi,
Parma – KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Hollie
Davidson (SRU,
AR 1: Andrea
Piardi (FIR) AR 2: Alex Frasson
(FIR)
TMO: Neil
Hennessy (WRU)
Live on: Sky Italia, RTÉ, Premier
Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma: Geronimo
Prisciantelli, Jacopo Trulla, Giulio Bertaccini, Luca Morisi,Simone Gesi,
Giovanni Montemauri, Alessandro Fusco, Danilo Fischetti (CAPT), Tommaso Di
Bartolomeo, Matteo Nocera, Matteo Canali, Leonard Krumov, Davide Ruggeri,
Samuele Locatelli, Giovanni Licata
Replacements: Giampietro
Ribaldi, Luca Rizzoli, Juan Pitinari, Andrea Zambonin, Giacomo Ferrari,
Patricio Baronio, Scott Gregory, Giacomo Da Re
Zebre Parma Head
Coach Massimo Brunello said : "We're
facing a strong team that likes to keep the ball alive in every area of the
field."
"We need to be
disciplined and ruthless to keep the result in play. We need to improve our
ruthlessness compared to Cardiff. The guys have trained well this week, so the
main goal is to put in another good performance to grow and build confidence in
our style of play."
Munster: Mike Haley,
Calvin Nash, Shane Daly, Tom Farrell, Thaakir Abrahams; Tony Butler, Craig
Casey; Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron (CAPT), Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Fineen
Wycherley; Ruadhán Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Niall
Scannell, Jeremy Loughman, John Ryan, Jack Daly, Jack O'Donoghue, Conor Murray,
Bryan Fitzgerald, Shay McCarthy
Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli –
KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Christopher
Allison (SARU,
AR 1: Mike English
(WRU) AR 2: Amber Stamp-Dunstan
(WRU)
TMO: Marius van
der Westhuizen (SARU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Scarlets: Ioan Lloyd, Tom
Rogers, Macs Page, Johnny Williams, Blair Murray; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Kemsley
Mathias, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Max Douglas, Jarrod Taylor, Josh
Macleod (CAPT), Taine Plumtree
Replacements: Marnus van der
Merwe, Alec Hepburn, Sam Wainwright, Jac Price, Dan Davis, Efan Jones, Eddie
James, Ellis Mee
Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “We were all disappointed with how the match in
Treviso finished, but there has been plenty to build on for this weekend. We
have always had close battles with Cardiff, they will be buoyed from that win
against Zebre in round one so it is important we are on our mettle and impose
ourselves on the game. We want to make Parc y Scarlets a difficult place for
teams to come and after three successive away games it is great to be back at
home in front of our supporters again.”
Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett,
Mason Grady, Rey Lee-Lo, Ben Thomas, Iwan Stephens, 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, Harri Millard
Cardiff Head Coach Matt Sherratt, said: "Last week against Zebre, it was all about
getting the job done, and we were pleased to come away with the bonus point
win.
“It wasn’t
perfect, but we showed a lot of character to take control in the early stages
and were able to get the job done and play a lot of our new singings in a
competitive game for the first time.
“This week
against the Scarlets is a different kind of challenge, but in many ways, the
approach remains the same.
“We’ve kept the
side very similar because we want to build consistency and momentum.
“Facing your
Welsh rivals always adds extra intensity, and we know we’ll need to raise our
game, especially playing away from home for the first time, but the focus is on
sticking to our processes.”
Connacht v
Hollywoodbets Sharks
Dexcom Stadium,
Galway – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35
ITA & SA
Referee: Federico
Vedovelli (FIR,
AR 1: Eoghan Cross
(IRFU) AR 2: Chris Lough (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Penne
(FIR)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports,
SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Connacht: Santiago
Cordero, Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings, Josh Ioane,
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, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton,
Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Paul Boyle.
Connacht Head Coach Pete Wilkins says: “I’m looking forward to
tomorrow’s game. Our intensity and overall performance last week was
encouraging despite the bitter disappointment of the result. Against a very
strong Sharks team we will require a repeat of that effort along with evidence
of growth in our game from round one”.
“Picking
up home wins in such a tight league will be crucial, and I know the sold out
Dexcom crowd will provide huge energy to the lads regardless of the slightly
different surroundings. It’s an
important day for two of our players for very different reasons – with Denis
earning his 250th cap and David O’Connor his debut. We’re
determined to give them a fitting performance.”
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Jordan
Hendrikse, Eduan Keyter, Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker, Siya
Masuku, Bradley Davids, 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, Reniel
Hugo, Tinotenda Mavesere, Tian Meyer, Gurswin Wehr / Lionel Cronje
Ospreys v DHL Stormers
Dunraven Brewery Field,
Bridgend – KO 19.35 IRE & UK /
20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU,
AR 1: Rhys Jones (WRU) AR 2: Ben Connor (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges
(IRFU)
Live on: S4C, Premier Sports,
SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Ospreys: Jack Walsh, Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams,
Ryan Conbeer, Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams (100), Gareth Thomas, Dewi
Lake, Tom Botha, James Ratti, Adam Beard, Jac Morgan (CAPT), Justin Tipuric, Morgan
Morris
Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Huw Sutton, Harri
Deaves, Luke Davies, Phil Cokanasiga, Max Nagy
Ospreys Head
Coach Toby Booth, said: “The Stormers are a big, physical team that play a
slightly different game to the other South African teams. They play positive,
have good athletes and will try to stretch you by keeping the game quick.
“It’s going to
be a defensive challenge for us, which is similar to what we had out there (in
the away fixture last season). The good thing is that we’ve experienced it and
came away with a win in that type of game, so we’ll be looking to do that
again.”
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, David Ewers, Keke Morabe
Replacements: Andre-Hugo
Venter, Leon Lyons, Brok Harris, Adre Smith, Ben-Jason Dixon, Stefan Ungerer, Jean-Luc
du Plessis, Angelo Davids
DHL Stormers
Director of Rugby John Dobson said that his side is determined to make it a strong
start to their campaign.