United Rugby Championship: Nizaam Carr starts for Bulls against Ospreys as internationals return across the board

David Skippers
URC: Bulls flank Nizaam Carr looks on.

Nizaam Carr of Bulls during the Carling Black Label Currie Cup Rugby match between Bulls and Pumas on 25 June 2021 at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium / Pic Sydney Mahlangu/BackapagePix

The 2022/23 United Rugby Championship season returns this weekend, with the highly anticipated South African derby between the Bulls and Sharks in Pretoria on Sunday.

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

Friday 

Stormers v Scarlets

Prediction: Stormers by 8

The teams:

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Tom Price, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Harri O’Connor, 2 Daf Hughes, 1 Steff Thomas
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Blade Thomson, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Steff Evans

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19:00 local (17:00 GMT)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Paul Mente (South Africa)
TMO: Frank Murphy (Ireland)

Ulster v Zebre Parma

Prediction: Ulster by 20

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Callum Reid
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 David McCann, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Ben Moxham

Zebre Parma: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Richard Kriel, 12 Enrico Lucchin (c), 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Giacomo Ferrari, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Jacques Du Toit, 1 Juan Pitinari
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Joey Caputo, 23 Erich Cronjé

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Saturday

Bulls v Ospreys

Prediction: Bulls by 10

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 David Kriel, 12 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Jano Swanepoel, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Tiaan Thoas-Wheeler, 12 Keiran Williams, 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 Scott Baldwin, 1 Garyn Phillips
Replacements:
16 Sam Parry, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Fender, 20 Jack Regan, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Luke Scully, 23 Cai Evans

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Benetton v Edinburgh

Prediction: Edinburgh by 5

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Tommaso Menoncello

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Charlie Savala, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Luke Crosbie (c), 6 Nick Haining, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Angus Williams, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Jamie Jack, 18 Lee Roy Atalifo, 19 Glen Young, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Chris Dean

Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Leinster v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Leinster by 10

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Rob Russell, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Ronan Kellerher, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Chris Cosgrave

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Lewis Bean, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Ross Thompson

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Andy Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)

Munster v Connacht

Prediction: Munster by 8

The teams:

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

Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Oisín Dowling, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Paul Boyle

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Sunday

Lions v Dragons

Prediction: Lions by 12

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 Francke Horn, 7 Ruhan Straeuli, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 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 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Zander du Plessis

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 David Richards, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Jack Dixon,11 Sio Tomkinson, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Ross Moriarty (c), 7 Ben Fry, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 James Benjamin, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements:
16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Che Hope, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Jordan Williams

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 16:00 local (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Sharks v Cardiff

Prediction: Sharks by 6

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter (c), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Dian Bleuler
Replacements:
16 Dan Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ben Tapuai

Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Botham, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements:
16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Gwilym Bradley, 21 James Ratti, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Mason Grady

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 18:10 local (16:10 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

READ MORE: Scotland: Jamie Hodgson dreams of a World Cup spot but knows club form is important