Gareth Anscombe back from injury to start for Ospreys

Planet Rugby

The United Rugby Championship’s Round One action finally gets underway as eight matches take place, ending with a Welsh derby between the Dragons and Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Sunday.

Check on all the team news for the weekend, including Friday’s season openers, while we also attempt to predict the results of the fixtures.

Friday

Zebre v Lions

Prediction: Zebre by 7

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Giulio Bisegni (c), 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Jacopo Trulla

Lions: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Ruan Dreyer
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Eddie Fouche, 23 Divan Rossouw

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 18:35 local (17:35 BST, 16:35 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Riccardo Angelucci (FIR), Federico Boraso (FIR)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Cardiff Rugby v Connacht

Prediction: Cardiff Rugby by 3

The teams:

Cardiff Rugby: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Max Llewellyn

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Ultan Dillane, 4 Oisin Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Matthew Burke
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Hubert Gilvarry, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Sammy Arnold

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Elgan Williams (WRU), Steff Edwards (WRU)
TMO: Alan Falzone (FIR)

Ulster v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Ulster by 10

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Greg Jones, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Brad Roberts, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Mike Lowry, 23 Will Addison

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Cole Forbes, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ryan Wilson (c), 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Rob Harley, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Ollie Smith

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Andrew Cole (IRFU)
TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)

Saturday

Benetton v Stormers

Prediction: Benetton by 5

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Joaquin Riera, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Manuel Zuliani, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Nahuel Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Ivan Nemer, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Lorenzo Cannone, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Tommaso Menoncello

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Salmaan Moerat (cc), 4 Ernst van Rhyn (cc), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Leon Lyons
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Juan de Jongh

Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Edinburgh v Scarlets

Prediction: Scarlets by 5

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Cammy Hutchison, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Lee Roy Atalifo, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 WP Nel, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 James Lang

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Ryan Conbeer, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Aaron Shingler, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Tom Price, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Venue: Edinburgh Rugby Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (IRFU), Graeme Ormiston (SRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Leinster v Bulls

Prediction: Leinster by 12

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Rory O’Loughlin, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jamie Osborne

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Jacques du Plessis, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans

Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: AM Jacobs (SARU), Daniel Carson (IRFU)
TMO: Neil Paterson (SRU)

Munster v Sharks

Prediction: Munster by 17

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Thomas Ahern, 21 Rowan Osborne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Chris Cloete

Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (c), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Khwezi Mona
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Mpilo Gumede, 20 Ruben van Heerden, 21 Hyron Andrews, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Jeremy Ward

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU), Dermot Blake (IRFU)
TMO: Jon Mason (WRU)

Sunday

Dragons v Ospreys

Prediction: Ospreys by 7

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Jack Dixon, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Sam Davies (c), 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Ross Moriarty (c), 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Ellis Shipp, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jamie Roberts, 23 Ioan Davies

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Ethan Roots, 21 Reuben Morgan Williams, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (WRU), Tom Spurrier (WRU)
TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Benetton Treviso