Johnny Sexton skippers Leinster in their PRO14 opener

David Skippers

The new PRO14 season gets underway this weekend and there’s three games scheduled for Friday with Zebre, Leinster and Ulster hosting Cardiff Blues, Dragons and Benetton respectively.

Zebre v Cardiff Blues

Willis Halaholo returns to the Cardiff Blues starting line-up after recovering from a significant knee injury in a Challenge Cup clash against Leicester Tigers last November.

Halaholo is reunited in midfield with Rey Lee-Lo, in a backline that includes six internationals.

Homegrown duo Jarrod Evans and Lloyd Williams combine at half-back, while Matthew Morgan and Hallam Amos line up in the back three alongside Josh Adams, who has been in scintillating form since joining the region, with seven tries in eight outings.

Lock Cory Hill captains the side for the first time since returning to his home region from Dragons over the summer.

He partners Seb Davies in the second-row, while academy graduates Corey Domachowski and Liam Belcher are included in the front-row with Dmitri Arhip.

Shane Lewis-Hughes and James Botham, who both impressed in the victory over Ospreys on the final day of the 2019/20 campaign, are rewarded with starting spots, as the experienced Josh Turnbull is handed the number eight jersey.

Five academy products are included on the bench, including lock Ben Murphy and Welsh internationals Rhys Carré and Dillon Lewis.

Meanwhile, Italian international Carlo Canna features for Zebre, with head coach Michael Bradley selecting him at fly-half rather than inside centre, where he has featured for his country of late.

Marco Violi is at scrum-half for the hosts while Tommaso Boni and Giulio Bisegni are the centre combination. The rest of the backline sees Junior Laloifi starting at full-back alongside wings Federico Mori and Mattia Bellini.

Up front, Oliviero Fabiani packs down at hooker alongside Eduardo Bello and Daiele Rimpelli while Leonard Krumov and Mick Kearney are the starting locks.

Maxime Mbanda will start on the blindside flank and he is joined in the back-row by fellow flanker Johan Meyer while Jimmy Tuivati lines up at number eight.

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Federico Mori, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violo, 8 Jimmy Tuivati, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Maxime Mbanda, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Daniele Rimpelli
Replacements:
16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Cristian Stoian, 20 Lorenzo Masselli, 21 Gugliemo Palazzani, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Jacopo Trulla

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 James Botham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Ben Murphy, 20 Olly Robinson, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Garyn Smith

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 19:00 local (18:00 BST, 17:00 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (FIR), Riccardo Angelucci (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)

Leinster v Dragons

Leinster veteran Johnny Sexton will lead the side out for their first game of the new PRO14 season with Jamison Gibson-Park his half-back partner.

Elsewhere in the backs, it’s Hugo Keenan at full-back with Jordan Larmour on the right wing and James Lowe on the left.

In the centre, Ciarán Frawley starts at inside centre with Garry Ringrose outside him at 13.

Up front, Ed Byrne is selected at loosehead prop, with Rónan Kelleher at hooker and Michael Bent at tighthead.

Scott Fardy and James Ryan are selected in the second-row, with Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan completing the starting XV.

Meanwhile, Dragons prop Aaron Jarvis is recalled to the starting line-up for Friday’s game.

Former Wales international Jarvis – who makes his first appearance since February – is one of three changes from the team that faced Bristol Bears in Europe last time out as Dean Ryan’s men travel to Dublin.

Lock Joe Maksymiw is named and will partner Joe Davies in the second-row while full-back Will Talbot-Davies is also called into the team. Leon Brown and Jordan Williams miss the league fixture through injury.

Changes to the bench see a place for loosehead prop Conor Maguire, who featured for Leinster at age grade level.

Scrum-half Tavis Knoyle is also named on the bench and could make his 100th appearance in the PRO14 if he features at the RDS.

Knoyle, who has played for all four regions, stands just one game short of the milestone, having made his league debut back in April 2009.

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 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Michael Bent, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Seán Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Tommy O’Brien

Dragons: 15 Will Talbot-Davies, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Joe Maksymiw, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Conor Maguire, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Adam Warren

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 20:15 BST (19:15 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy, Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

Ulster v Benetton

Ulster have selected Jacob Stockdale to start at full-back and he will be joined by Rob Lyttle and Craig Gilroy on the wings for the home clash.

Stewart Moore will make his first senior start for Ulster, pairing with James Hume in midfield, while Michael Lowry has been named at fly-half, alongside John Cooney at scrum-half.

Jack McGrath and Marty Moore will pack down either side of Rob Herring in the front-row, and Sam Carter will partner captain Iain Henderson at lock. Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy and Marcell Coetzee have been selected as the starting loose forwards.

Back-row and Academy Player of the Year, David McCann, could make his senior Ulster debut if called upon from the bench, while prop Gareth Milasinovich is also set to earn his first cap following his return from a knee injury sustained shortly after joining the club last summer.

They will be joined on the bench by fellow forwards Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan and David O’Connor. Alby Mathewson, Bill Johnston and Louis Ludik will provide the backline cover.

Meanwhile, Benetton will be led by South African scrum-half Dewaldt Duvenage for their season opener, with Paolo Garbisi outside him at fly-half.

Marco Zanon and Ignacio Brex form the midfield partnership while Paolo Garbisi and Ratuva Tavuyara are on the wings and Jayden Hayward is full-back.

There is a strong look to the pack where Cherif Traore and Marco Riccioni prop either side of hooker Hame Faiva, with Marco Lazzaroni and Federico Ruzza the locks and Sebastian Negri, Abraham Steyn and Toa Halafihi completing the team in the back-row.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Michael Lowry, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Sam Carter, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 David O’Connor, 20 David McCann, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Louis Ludik

Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Cherif Traore
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Eli Snyman, 21 Giovanni Pettinelli, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Edoardo Padovani

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 20:15 BST (19:15 GMT)
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher (IRFU), Robert O’Sullivan (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)