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

Colin Newboult
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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