Leigh Halfpenny sits out Scarlets clash

Editor

Four games take place in the PRO14 on Saturday with Cardiff Blues’ clash against Glasgow Warriors at Arms Park the standout contest.

Zebre v Leinster

Zebre have made seven changes including a positional switch to their starting line-up for this match against Conference B’s table-toppers, Leinster.

In the backline, Gabriele Di Giulio replaces Paula Balekana on the right wing while Jamie Elliott shifts from outside centre to the left wing with Giulio Bisegni coming into the run-on side to wear the number 13 jersey.

In the forwards, Jimmy Tuivaiti and Maxime Mbandà come into the back-row on the openside and blindside flanks respectively, where they replace Jacopo Bianchi and Johan Meyer, who did duty there in Zebre’s previous match against the Cheetahs on January 26 in Bloemfontein.

Elsewhere, Oliviero Fabiani replaces Luhandre Luus at hooker and Giosué Zilocchi comes in for Eduardo Bello at tighthead prop.

Meanwhile, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has named a competitive starting line-up for this fixture.

Cullen is able to call on a number of players that have been involved with the Ireland squad during the first two rounds of the Six Nations.

Dave Kearney lines up at full-back with Adam Byrne on the right wing and Barry Daly on the left. Conor O’Brien and Rory O’Loughlin are the centre combination with Jamison Gibson-Park and Ross Byrne the half-backs.

In the pack it’s an all-Irish international front-row with Jack McGrath, James Tracy and Andrew Porter named. Scott Fardy will captain the side from the second-row with Ross Molony alongside him.

In the back-row, Josh Murphy starts at blindside flanker, Max Deegan starts at openside and Caelan Doris is selected at number eight.

Jack Dunne will make his senior debut should he be called upon from the bench.

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Francois Brummer, 14 Gabriele Di Giulio, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 James Elliott, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Joshua Renton, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 George Biagi (c), 4 Samuele Ortis, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Daniele Rimpelli
Replacements:
16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 James Brown, 21 Riccardo Raffaele, 22 Paula Balekana, 23 Nicolas De Battista

Leinster: 15 Dave Kearney, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Conor O’Brien, 11 Barry Daly, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Max Deegan, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Scott Fardy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 James Tracy, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:
16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Jack Dunne, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Jimmy O’Brien

Venue: Stadio Zaffanella
Kick-off: 15:30 local (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Marius Mitrea (Italy), Jason Morris (Wales)
TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)

Benetton v Scarlets

After a two-week break due to the Six Nations, Benetton return to PRO14 action with Luca Sperandio at full-back and he is joined in the back three by Ratuva Tavuyara and Monty Ioane.

In midfield, the centre department will be composed of Tommaso Iannone and Marco Zanon, with captain Ian McKinley and Dewaldt Duvenage at half-back.

The front-row sees Nicola Quaglio, Tomas Baravalle and Marco Riccioni start, with Irné Herbst and Federico Ruzza in the engine room. Flanker Marco Lazzaroni, Giovanni Pettinelli and number eight Toa Halafihi complete the pack.

Meanwhile, Josh Macleod will take over the Scarlets captaincy duties this Saturday for their game against Benetton.

Benetton, currently stand in second place in Conference B table, with Leinster still defending their top positioning.

Both internationals, Rhys Patchell and Steff Evans have been released from the Welsh Six Nations camp this week. Patchell, takes place on the bench, with Evans on the left wing at number 11.

Leigh Halfpenny was not considered for the fixture. Although Halfpenny has returned to full training, it was collectively decided that he should continue training fully with the hope he will be available for selection in the imminent future.

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Ian McKinley (c), 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Giovanni Pettinelli, 6 Marco Lazzaroni, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Tomas Baravalle, 1 Nicola Quaglio.
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Alberto Sgarbi, 22 Edoardo Gori, 23 Antonio Rizzi

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Ioan Nicholas, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Josh Macleod (c), 5 Tom Price, 4 Josh Helps, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Phil Price
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Jon Evans, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Steff Hughes

Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 18:15 local (17:15 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Connacht v Cheetahs

Ultan Dillane, Caolin Blade, Jack Carty and Tom Farrell have all been named in the Connacht starting team for their clash with the Cheetahs.

Andy Friend’s side is also boosted by the return from injury of Kieran Marmion who is named among the replacements.

Captain Jarrad Butler is again named at number eight in a back-row that includes flankers Eoin McKeon and Colby Fainga’a. Ultan Dillane, who impressed off the bench against Scotland in the Six Nations last week, is partnered in the second-row by James Cannon. Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney and Finlay Bealham complete the pack in the front-row.

In the backs Caolin Blade and Jack Carty renew their half-back partnership while Tom Daly starts alongside Tom Farrell in midfield. In the back three there’s a first Connacht start for loan signing Stephen Fitzgerald on the wing, with Cian Kelleher on the opposite wing and Darragh Leader at full-back.

Meanwhile, Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith has named Louis Fouche at full-back for the trip to Ireland, replacing Malcolm Jaer in the jersey.

Marnus van der Merwe will be playing his first game in the starting line-up, with Reinach Venter providing cover on the bench, with Jasper Wiese and JP du Preez the lock combination.

In the backs Dries Swanepoel replaces the injured Benhard Janse van Rensburg at centre while on the bench, Henco Venter will be making his return for the Cheetahs after playing for the Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan.

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Stephen Fitzgerald, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Eoin McKeon, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Cillian Gallagher, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Kyle Godwin

Cheetahs: 15 Louis Fouche, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Shaun Venter (c), 8 Gerhard Olivier, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Abongile Nonkontwana, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Jasper Wiese, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Charles Marais
Replacements: 16 Reinach Venter, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Walt Steenkamp, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Rudy Paige

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Mike English (Wales)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Cardiff Blues v Glasgow Warriors

Welsh internationals Jarrod Evans, Josh Turnbull and Seb Davies return to Cardiff Blues’ starting line-up for this PRO14 clash.

The trio are yet to feature for Wales in the Six Nations and have been released to gain valuable game-time in a crucial encounter for the Blues.

Evans immediately slots back into the number 10 jersey, and is the only change made to the backline from the narrow victory over Connacht a fortnight ago.

Three changes are made in the pack, with Davies and Turnbull replacing George Earle and Shane Lewis-Hughes respectively.

Davies links up with Rory Thornton at second-row while Turnbull joins Olly Robinson and Nick Williams in the back-row.

Rhys Gill is also reintroduced at the loosehead prop, as hooker Kristian Dacey, who is fast-approaching his 150th appearance for the region, retains the captaincy.

Mulvihill has opted for a mix of youth and experience on the bench, as Macauley Cook, Scott Andrews, Dan Fish and Garyn Smith have a combined total of 503 appearances for the region.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors have been boosted by the return of Zander Fagerson, who will play his first game in five months, having recovered from a broken leg.

The tighthead prop was injured against the Cheetahs on Glasgow’s trip to South Africa in September and is named to start in this encounter following five months of rehabilitation.

George Turner also returns from injury to start, the hooker hasn’t played since picking up an ankle injury in Glasgow’s home game against Lyon in the Champions Cup in December. Alex Allan completes the front-row.

Scott Cummings will play his 50th game for the club behind them, Tim Swinson is his partner in the engine room.

Rob Harley captains the side from the blindside flank and Thomas Gordon makes his first start wearing number seven. Adam Ashe completes the pack, fresh from signing a new two-year contract with the club.

Ali Price and Pete Horne are the half-backs, both having been released to play by Scotland.

Scotland Sevens winger Kyle Steyn will make his Warriors debut. The South African-born 25-year-old will join the club permanently next season.

Ruaridh Jackson starts at full-back and Rory Hughes complete the back-three. In midfield Stafford McDowall and Nick Grigg combine.

On the bench, Jamie Bhatti and Adam Hastings make it 11 players who have been involved with Scotland during the Six Nations.

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey (c), 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements:
16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Dan Fish, 23 Garyn Smith

Glasgow: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Ali Price, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Rob Harley (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Alex Allan
Replacements:
16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Siua Halanukonuka, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Tevita Tamielau, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Robbie Nairn

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)