Jarrod Evans and Rey Lee-Lo return for Cardiff Blues

David Skippers
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Rey Lee-Lo of Cardiff talks to Jarrod Evans of Cardiff during the Guinness PRO14 rugby match between Munster Rugby and Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park in Limerick, Ireland on October 26, 2020 (Photo by Andrew SURMA / SIPA USA)

The Round Eight PRO14 action this Sunday sees Benetton and Cardiff Blues hosting the Dragons and Glasgow Warriors in their respective matches.

Benetton v Dragons

Benetton head coach Kieran Crowley has made five alterations to his run-on side after last weekend’s narrow defeat to the Ospreys in Swansea.

In the backline, there are two changes with Angelo Esposito and Leonardo Sarto coming in to replace Ratuva Tavuyara and Monty Ioane as the starting wingers.

In the forwards, Riccardo Favretto takes over from Marco Barbini as the starting number eight while Giovanni Pettinelli moves from the blindside to the openside flank, where he is preferred to Michele Lamaro, while Alberto Sgarbi will wear the number six jersey.

The final change sees Matteo Canali taking over from Irné Herbst in the second-row.

Meanwhile, the Dragons return to PRO14 action after their three previous fixtures against Connacht, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh were all postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan retains the same starting line-up that faced Munster in the last league outing at the start of November.

Changes on the replacements bench see a return for lock Joe Maksymiw while Jared Rosser is also named among the replacements.

Winger Rosser will make his 50th appearance for the region if he features in Italy.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Owen Jenkins, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Ben Fry, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Conor Maguire, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jack Dixon, 23 Jared Rosser

Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Joaquin Riera, 12 Tommaso Benvenuti, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Giovanni Pettinelli, 6 Alberto Sgarbi, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Cherif Traoré
Replacements: 16 Tomas Baravalle, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Zac Nearchou, 19 Davide Ruggeri, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Tommaso Menoncello, 23 Luca Petrozzi

Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Sean Gallagher
Assistant referees: Manuel Bottino, Clara Munarini
Television match official: Alan Falzone

Cardiff Blues v Glasgow Warriors

Cardiff Blues have received a double fitness boost ahead of Sunday’s PRO14 clash against Glasgow Warriors with Jarrod Evans and Rey Lee-Lo cleared to start.

Head coach John Mulvihill has made a total of five changes for the Rodney Parade encounter against the Scottish outfit.

Three of those changes come in the pack with Kristian Dacey, who missed last weekend’s defeat to Leinster due to the birth of his second child, returning to captain the side. Brad Thyer joins Dacey in the front-row with Corey Domachowski rotated to the replacements.

Ben Murphy and Rory Thornton continue in the second-row while 20-year-old Gwilym Bradley, who made his regional debut last weekend, is handed a first start in the back-row.

Mulvihill has opted for the specialist openside flank in the place of Alun Lawrence, who drops to the bench, while James Ratti and Josh Turnbull continue at six and eight.

In the backs, Tomos Williams partners Evans, who failed a late fitness test in Dublin while star centre Lee-Lo also returns.

The Samoan ace was knocked unconscious during a try-scoring performance against Ulster at the beginning of the month but has been passed fit following specialist consultation and the completion of return to play protocols.

There are two further changes among the replacements with Sam Moore recovering from injury and Mason Grady in line for his senior debut.

The 18-year-old, who impressed for Wales U20s last season, was handed a senior contract in the summer and has continued to demonstrate his potential.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors wing Lee Jones will make his first appearance for the club in 22 months, after being named in Danny Wilson’s side.

The 32-year-old has not pulled on a Glasgow jersey since a 9-3 win over the Ospreys at Scotstoun in January 2019 due to injury and the C0vid-19-enforced suspension of the 2019/20 season, with the man from Selkirk in line for his 83rd outing for the Warriors.

Jones is one of three changes to the starting line-up that took to the field against Munster on Monday night, as Wilson’s men go in search of a first win in five matches.

The front-row is unchanged for the third match in succession, as Aki Seiuli and Enrique Pieretto pack down on either side of hooker Grant Stewart.

Kiran McDonald comes back into the starting XV having missed Monday’s clash, joining Lewis Bean in a formidable second-row pairing.

McDonald’s inclusion sees Rob Harley shift to the blindside, Tom Gordon and Ryan Wilson completing the back-row.

Sean Kennedy and Pete Horne once again continue as the half-backs, whilst Robbie Fergusson and Nick Grigg are retained as the midfield partnership.

Jones is joined in the back three by the returning Ratu Tagive, with Glenn Bryce retaining the full-back shirt after his try-scoring performance against Munster.

There’s a return to the Glasgow matchday 23 for Jamie Dobie following injury, as the teenage scrum-half is included after missing the club’s last two fixtures.

Huw Jones is also selected amongst the replacements following his release from Scotland camp, lining up in the 23 jersey for the trip to Rodney Parade.

Johnny Matthews, Alex Allan and D’arcy Rae continue as the front row cover, with Fotu Lokotui and Brandon Thomson also retained in the squad.

The replacements are completed by Samoan international TJ Ioane, who rotates to the bench after four consecutive starts in the back-row.

The teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 Gwilym Bradley, 6 James Ratti, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Ben Murphy, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey (c), 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Mason Grady, 23 Hallam Amos

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Robbie Fergusson, 11 Ratu Tagive, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Ryan Wilson (c), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Fotu Lokotui, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Huw Jones

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Frank Murphy
Assistant referees: Ian Davies, Mike English
Television match official: Rhys Thomas

Benetton Treviso