Irish sides boosted by returning Lions

Planet Rugby

The United Rugby Championship’s Round Four action is set for kick-off as eight matches take place, ending with Cardiff Rugby and Munster hosting the Sharks and Connacht respectively on Saturday.

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

Friday

Dragons v Stormers

Prediction: Dragons by 5

The teams:

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

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Leolin Zas, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Salmaan Moerat (c), 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Juan de Jongh

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (WRU), Ben Breakspear (WRU)
TMO: Emanuele Tomo (FIR)

Ulster v Lions

Prediction: Ulster by 12

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Brad Roberts, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Mike Lowry, 23 Ben Moxham

Lions: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 EW Viljoen, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Ruhan Straeuli, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Wandisile Simelane

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Robert O’Sullivan (IRFU), Dermot Blake (IRFU)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

Saturday

Zebre v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Glasgow Warriors by 8

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Giulio Bisegni (c), 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Asaeli Tuivuaka, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Renato Giammarioli, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:
16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Cristian Stoian, 20 Luca Andreani, 21 Marcello Violi, 22 Paolo Pescetto, 23 Erich Cronjé

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Cole Forbes, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 George Horne, 8 Ryan Wilson (c), 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Oli Kebble, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:
16 Fraser Brown, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Thomas Gordon, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Stafford McDowall

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lafranchi
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Riccardo Angelucci (FIR), Dario Merli (FIR)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

Benetton v Ospreys

Prediction: Ospreys by 4

The teams: 

Benetton: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Joaquin Riera, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz
Replacements:
16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Cherif Traoré, 18 Ivan Nemer, 19 Irné Herbst, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Rhyno Smith, 23 Thomas Benvenuti

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Ethan Roots, 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements:
16 Ifan Phillips, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Joe Hawkins, 23 Mat Protheroe

Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)

Edinburgh v Bulls

Prediction: Bulls by 6

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c) 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 WP Nel, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Mesu Kunavula, 21 Connor Boyle, 22 Ben Vellacott, 23 James Johnstone

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Muller Uys, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Walt Steenkamp, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Lionel Mapoe

Venue: DAM Health Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben Blain (SRU), Graeme Ormiston (SRU)
TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Leinster v Scarlets

Prediction: Leinster by 25

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jimmy O’Brien

Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Shaun Evans, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Tom Rogers

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU), Shane Kierans (IRFU)
TMO: Paul Larter (SRU)

Cardiff v Sharks

Prediction: Sharks by 3

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Owen Lane, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Will Boyde, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carr
Replacements:
16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Ben Thomas, 23 Hallam Amos

Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (c), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 1
6 Dan Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Gerbrandt Grobler, 21 James Venter, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Werner Kok

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Assistant Referees: tbc, Wayne Davies (WRU)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

Munster v Connacht

Prediction: Munster by 15

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements:
16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Dan Goggin

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Ultan Dillane, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Matthew Burke
Replacements:
16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Greg McGrath, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Eoghan Masterson, 20 Abraham Papali’i, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Jarrad Butler, 23 Tom Daly

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (IRFU), Paul Haycock (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)