URC: RG Snyman debuts in stacked Leinster line-up while Ireland trio bolster Munster’s stocks and Springboks return to action
The teams have been named for Round Three of the United Rugby Championship, with Munster boosted by three Ireland stars while RG Snyman is set to debut for Leinster.
Peter O’Mahony, Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne will all make their first appearances of the season as Munster play host to Ospreys at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Saturday.
Elsewhere, former Munster second-row Snyman is set for his Leinster bow after being named in a fully-loaded starting line-up for their URC fixture on the road at Benetton.
Meanwhile, several Springboks players return to action after their successful Rugby Championship campaign, with the Bulls looking particularly strong this weekend.
Check on all the team news, below.
Friday
Scarlets v Connacht
The teams
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Josh Macleod (c), 5 Max Douglas, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page
Connacht: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Piers O’Conor, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Cian Prendergast (c), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 David O’Connor, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Temi Lasisi, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 David Hawkshaw, 23 Shayne Bolton
Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Kick-off: 19.35 BST
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU, 23rd league game)
Assistant Referees: Mike English (WRU), Ben Connor (WRU)
TMO: Christopher Allison (SARU)
Live on: BBC Wales, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Cardiff v Glasgow Warriors
The teams
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Facundo Cordero, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Alex Samuel, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Duncan Weir
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 11th league game)
Assistant Referees: Rhys Jones (WRU), Gareth Newman (WRU)
TMO: Griffon Colby (SARU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Saturday
Lions v Edinburgh
The teams
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Henco van Wyk
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Ross McCann, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (cc), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Ali Price, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Mosese Tuipulotu
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 13:45 local (12:45 BST)
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 39th league game)
Assistant Referees: Henru van Rooyen (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Bulls v Ulster
The teams
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Celimpilo Gumede, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi
Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Ben Carson, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 James McNabney, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Iain Henderson (c), 3 Corrie Barrett, 2 James McCormick, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 James Humphreys, 23 Ben Moxham
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 101st league game)
Assistant Referees: JD Jadezweni (SARU), Dylan November (SARU)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Johnny Sexton v Rieko Ioane and rugby’s most infamous chirps, trash talk and sledges ever
Benetton v Leinster
The teams
Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Michele Lamaro (c), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Riccardo Favretto, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Enzo Avaca, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Giulio Marini, 21 Lorenzo Cannone, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Leonardo Marin
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Brian Deeny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Scott Penny
Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 18:15 local (17:15 BST)
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 58th league game)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Live on: Sky Italia, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Dragons v Sharks
The teams
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (c), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood
Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (c), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchun
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter
Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport
Kick-off: 17:15 BST
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 97th league game)
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Nathan James (WRU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Live on: S4C, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Munster v Ospreys
The teams
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bryan Fitzgerald, 11 Shay McCarthy, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Jack Daly
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Iestyn Hopkins, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Phil Cokanasiga, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Steffan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Keiran Williams
Venue: Virgin Media Park, Cork
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 84th league game)
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRFU), Chris Lough (IRFU)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Live on: RTÉ, S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma v Stormers
The teams
Zebre Parma: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Fetuli Paea, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giacomo Ferrari, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (c)
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Scott Gregory, 23 Giovanni Montemauri
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis (c), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Louw Nel, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Warrick Gelant, 23 Angelo Davids
Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 BST)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 45th league game)
Assistant Referees: Fillipo Russo (FIR), Franco Rosella (FIR)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Live on: Sky Italia, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
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