United Rugby Championship: Clubs boosted by returning internationals with Siya Kolisi leading strong Sharks side

Colin Newboult
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Sharks forwards Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi warm up.

Siya Kolisi of the Sharks warming up before the United Rugby Championship 2021/22 game between the Stormers and the Sharks at Cape Town Stadium on 5 February 2022 © Ryan Wilkisky/Sports Inc

The United Rugby Championship returns this weekend as all eight matches take place, including the clash between Munster and Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park.

Friday

Zebre Parma v Cardiff

Prediction: Cardiff by 9

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin (c), 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Luca Andreani, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Jacques Du Toit, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 David Sisi, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Jacopo Trulla

Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 James Botham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh Turnball (c), 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Matthew Morgan

Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 20:10 local (19:10 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Riccardo Angelucci (Italy), Matteo Locatelli (Italy)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Leinster v Stormers

Prediction: Stormers by 5

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Rob Russell, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 John McKee, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Will Connors, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Ben Brownlee

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c)
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Keane Davison (Ireland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Saturday

Benetton v Lions

Prediction: Benetton by 5

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Onisi Ratave, 13 Joaquin Riera, 12 Filippo Drago, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (C), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Riccardo Favretto, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Nahuel Tetaz
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Henry Time-Stowers, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Giacomo Da Re, 23 Marco Zanon

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee

Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Filippo Vinci (Italy)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

Ospreys v Dragons

Prediction: Ospreys by 10

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 George North, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Ethan Roots, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-wyn Jones, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith (c)
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Luke Scully, 23Michael Collins

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Jordan Williams, 13 Sio Tomkinson, 12 Steff Hughes, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Will Reed, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Harrison Keddie (c), 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 George Nott, 4 Sean Lonsdale, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Bradley Roberts, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Taine Basham, 22 Lewis Jones, 23 Max Clark

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Aaron Parry (Wales)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Connacht v Edinburgh

Prediction: Edinburgh by 5

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Oran McNulty, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 John Porch, 10 David Hawkshaw, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Shane Jennings

Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Connor Boyle, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Grant Gilchrist (C), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 WP Nel, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Glen Young, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Nathan Sweeney

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Tomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Scarlets v Sharks

Prediction: Sharks by 4

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Tom Rogers, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Josh Macleod (c), 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Shaun Evans, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Steff Thomas, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuurren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Thaakir Abrahams

Venue: Parc Y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Jason Griffiths (Wales)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Munster v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Munster by 3

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jack Crowley, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Scott Buckley, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Simon Zebo

Glasgow: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Cole Forbes, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 Ali Price, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 JP du Preez, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Alex Samuel, 21 Thomas Gordon, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Jonny Erskine (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Ulster v Bulls

Prediction: Ulster by 7

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Nick Timoney, 6 David McCann, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Harry Sheridan, 21 Marcus Rea, 22 John Cooney, 23 Jude Postlethwaite

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Aremdse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

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