United Rugby Championship: James Lowe back from injury for Leinster against Ulster who will be captained by Iain Henderson

David Skippers
United Rugby Championship_ Leinster's James Lowe with ball in hand.jpg

The 2022/23 United Rugby Championship season continues this weekend including the highly anticipated derby between Leinster and Ulster at the RDS Arena on Saturday.

Check on the team news and see our predictions for the weekend, here.

Friday

Sharks v Ospreys

Prediction: Sharks by 4

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (c), 7 Jeandre Labuschagne, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Vincent Tshituka, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 James Venter, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Nevaldo Fleurs, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Will Hickey, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Rhys Henry
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Jack Regan, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Luke Scully, 23 Cai Evans

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park
Kick-off: 19:10 local (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Edinburgh v Munster

Prediction: Edinburgh by 3

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Villame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (cc), 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Patrick Harrison, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Boan Venter, 18 WP Nel, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Nick Haining, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 James Lang

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Jack O’Donoghue, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Patrick Campbell

Venue: DAM Health Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Ian Kenny (Scotland), Ross Mabon (Scotland)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Saturday

Stormers v Dragons

Prediction: Stormers by 10

The teams:

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Tristan Leyds, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Kwenzo Blose
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Sio Tomkinson, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Max Clark, 11 Jordan Williams, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty (c), 7 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Huw Taylor, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Bradley Roberts,1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Harri Keddie, 20 Ben Fry, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Will Reed, 23 Aneurin Owen

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
Kick-off: 14:00 local (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Christopher Allison (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Zebre v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Glasgow by 8

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 MJ Pelser, 6 Taina Fox-Matamua, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi (c), 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Luca Rizzoli
Replacements: 16 Jacques Du Toit, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Franco Smith Jr, 23 Kobus Van Wyk

Glasgow: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Lewis Bean, 21 Gregor Brown, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Domingo Miotti

Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Italy), Gabriel Chirnoaga (Italy)
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin (France)

Connacht v Benetton

Prediction: Connacht by 7

The teams:

Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Tiernan O’Halloran

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Edoardo Padovani, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Giovanni Pettinelli, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Manuel Ziliani, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Filippo Alongi, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Ivan Nemer
Replacements: 16 Lapo Frangini, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Nahuel Tetaz, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Joaquin Riera, 23 Ignacio Mendy

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Douglas (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Bulls v Cardiff

Prediction: Bulls by 6

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 David Kriel, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 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 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Lionel Mapoe

Cardiff: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Botham, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Seb Davies, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 James Ratti, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Harri Millard

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 20:00 local (18:00 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

Leinster v Ulster

Prediction: Leinster by 9

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose (c), 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 James Ryan, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Liam Turner

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Stewart Moore, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Iain Henderson (c), 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Duane Vermeulen, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jacob Stockdale, 23 Matty Rea

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Oisin Quinn (Ireland), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

Sunday

Lions v Scarlets

Prediction: Lions by 5

The teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Darrien Landsberg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Zander du Plessis

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Vaea Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Taylor Davies, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Phil Price, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Sione Kalamafoni, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Steff Evans

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 13:30 local (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Christopher Allison (South Africa)
TMO: Frank murphy (Ireland)

READ MORE: United Rugby Championship: Stormers sweating on Evan Roos’ fitness

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