George North ruled out for Ospreys after Achilles rupture on final Wales appearance while Mike Haley set for Munster milestone

The United Rugby Championship resumes on Friday as two matches take place, with Glasgow Warriors and the Ospreys hosting Cardiff and Munster in their respective fixtures.

Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff

A Glasgow Warriors side showing four changes will run out under the Friday night lights this weekend, as Franco Smith’s squad welcomes back a host of returning internationals for the visit of Cardiff to Scotstoun.

In total, eight of the Warriors involved in the Scotland setup across the Six Nations return to club action tomorrow night, in a matchday 23 that also sees Loch Lomond RFC product Duncan Munn in line to make his professional debut for his boyhood club.

An unchanged front-row sees Nathan McBeth and Lucio Sordoni line up either side of Johnny Matthews, the hooker extending his try-scoring lead over the rest of the United Rugby Championship by notching his 11th of the campaign in Treviso last time out.

Alex Samuel and Max Williamson combine once more in the second-row, having both contributed in both attack and defence during the win over Benetton.

Euan Ferrie starts on the blindside after being voted as McCrea Financial Services Warrior of the Month for February, joining Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey in the back-row after their exploits during the Six Nations.

Behind the scrum, Jamie Dobie and Duncan Weir combine in the half-backs, the former starting his third match in succession in the URC.

Tom Jordan and Stafford McDowall are paired in the centres, both players having crossed the whitewash in Treviso in the club’s last outing.

Kyle Steyn returns to captain the side in the only alteration to the back-three, the Scotland winger joining Sebastian Cancelliere and Josh McKay to round out the starting XV.

Former Scotland U20 co-captain Munn could make his first competitive appearance for the Warriors should he be called off the bench tomorrow night, having signed a first-ever partnership contract with the club ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Munn’s former U20 team-mate Gregor Hiddleston retains his place in the matchday 23, with Allan Dell and Oli Kebble joining the hooker as the front-row cover.

Sintu Manjezi wears the number 19 jersey, as Ally Miller and Henco Venter are both selected amongst a six-two split of forwards and backs on the replacements bench.

George Horne completes the replacements, returning to Glasgow colours after featuring in all five of Scotland’s matchday squads across the Six Nations.

Meanwhile, Cardiff have been boosted by the return of four Wales internationals for this fixture.

Teddy Williams, Mackenzie Martin and Mason Grady all go straight back into the Blue and Blacks starting XV for the trip to Scotstoun Stadium, while Seb Davies is named on the replacements bench.

In total, Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt has made four changes for the encounter with Ben Donnell also coming into the starting line-up at blindside flanker, alongside the in-form Thomas Young and Martin.

Williams combines with Shane Lewis-Hughes in the second-row, while the front-row is unchanged. In the backs, Grady replaces Owen Lane, who is named on the bench.

Liam Belcher continues to captain the side, which includes 17 players to have progressed through the Blue and Blacks pathway and academy.

The teams

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Henco Venter, 22 George Horne, 23 Duncan Munn

Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Max Clark, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 3 Will Davies-King, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 Owen Lane

Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Sam O’Neil (Scotland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Scotland)

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Ospreys v Munster

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has welcomed Owen Watkin back into his matchday 23 with the back the only Wales Six Nations squad member featuring in his side to tackle Munster.

Unfortunately, George North is among the international players to miss out, with the centre rupturing his Achilles on his final Test. He has likely played his final game for the region with the Welsh legend signing for French outfit Provence ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Full-back Iestyn Hopkins is joined by Alex Cuthbert and Keelan Giles in the back three, with Keiran Williams partnered by Evardi Boshoff in the centres. Reuben Morgan-Williams and Owen Williams are the starting nine and 10 respectively with Watkin included on the bench.

Props Nicky Smith and Tom Botha combine to form an imposing front-row with Sam Parry at hooker as the tight five is completed with James Ratti and Rhys Davies at lock.

Justin Tipuric captains the side from the number seven jumper, with Jeandre Rudolph and Morgan Morris completing the pack.

The replacements are: Lewis Lloyd, Garyn Phillips, Rhys Henry, Huw Sutton, Harri Deaves, Cameron Jones, Jack Walsh and Watkin.

Meanwhile, Munster boss Graham Rowntree has made three changes to his starting team from the side that defeated Zebre in their last United Rugby Championship fixture.

Joey Carbery and Rory Scannell both return to the starting backline while John Hodnett takes his place on the side of the scrum.

Mike Haley will notch not only his 100th appearance for Munster in the fixture but also his 100th start as he is named at full-back in a back-three with Sean O’Brien and Shane Daly.

Scannell partners Antoine Frisch in the centres while Craig Casey returns from Ireland duty to start at number nine with Carbery on his outside.

Tighthead prop John Ryan, hooker Niall Scannell, and loosehead Josh Wycherley make up the front row, with Tom Ahern and RG Snyman named as the starting locks. Hodnett is named in the number six jumper with Alex Kendellen leading Munster from the other side of the scrum with Gavin Coombes at number eight.

Rowntree has named a conventional 5-3 split on the bench with Eoghan Clarke, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Jack O’Donoghue and Ruadhán Quinn providing forward cover and academy trio Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler and Shay McCarthy the backs.

The teams

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Cameron Jones, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Owen Watkin

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Sean O’Brien, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen (c), 6 John Hodnett, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jack O’Donoghue, 20 Ruadhan Quinn, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Shay McCarthy  

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Rhys Jones (Wales), Carwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Scotland)

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