URC round 16: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
Cardiff wing Tom Bowen and Sharks flanker Siya Kolisi return to action.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) continues this weekend with Round 16 seeing three games take place on Friday night with the remaining five scheduled on Saturday.
Check on all the team news, our predictions, how to watch and more below.
Friday
Cardiff v Ospreys
Prediction: Cardiff by 3
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Ben Thomas, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Rhys Barratt
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 George Nott, 20 Evan Lloyd, 21 Alex Mann, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Ioan Lloyd
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Harri Deaves, 22 Kieran Hardy, 23 Max Nagy
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:00 UK / 20:00 SA/ITA
Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU, 10th game)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (WRU), Carwyn Sion (WRU)
TMO: Morne Ferreira (SARU)
How to watch: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby
Zebre Parma v Dragons
Prediction: Dragons by 2
Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata (c), 7 Davide Odiase, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Alessandro Ortombina, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Bautista Stavile, 20 Samuele Locatelli, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Jacopo Trulla
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (cc), 14 David Richards, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes (cc), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rodrigo Martinez
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Owain James, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Seb Davies, 21 Morgan Lloyd, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 19:45 UK / 20:45 ITA/SA
Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU, 3rd game)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Lorenzo Pedezzi (FIR)
TMO: Colin Brett (SRU)
How to watch: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby
Edinburgh v Sharks
Prediction: Sharks by 10
Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mosese Tuipulotu, 12 Findlay Thomson, 11 Malelili Satala, 10 Cammy Scott, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Tom Currie, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Glen Young, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Jack Brown
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Andre Esterhuizen (c), 12 Siya Masuku, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Siya Kolisi, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Marnus Potgieter
Venue: Hive Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45 UK / 20:45 SA/ITA
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU, 19th game)
Assistant Referees: Rob McDowell (SRU), Jonny MacKenzie (SRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, BKT URC.tv and FloRugby
Saturday
Stormers v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Stormers by 5
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Wandisile Simelane, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Marcel Theunissen, 20 Keke Morabe, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Markus Muller
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Angus Fraser, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Ryan Burke, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Dylan Cockburn, 20 Jare Oguntibeju, 21 Sione Vailanu, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Jack Oliver
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 12:45 UK / 13:45 SA/ITA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 38th game)
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Peter Martin (IRFU)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby
Lions v Connacht
Prediction: Lions by 15
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Edward Davids, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Kelly Mpeku
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Harry West, 13 John Devine, 12 Hugh Gavin, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Colm Reilly, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Matthew Victory, 17 Billy Bohan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 Shayne Bolton
Venue: Ellis Park
Kick-off: 15:00 UK / 16:00 SA/ITA
Referee: Filippo Russo (FIR, 8th game)
Assistant Referees: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU), Jonathan Lottering (SARU)
TMO: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, TG4, URC.tv and FloRugby
Munster v Ulster
Prediction: Munster by 25
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 Brian Gleeson, 21 Ben O’Donovan, 22 Dan Kelly, 23 Alex Kendellen
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry (c), 14 Aitzol Arenzana-King, 13 Ethan McIlroy, 12 Ben Carson, 11 Ben Moxham, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Conor McKee, 8 Lorcan McLoughlin, 7 Tom Brigg, 6 James McKillop, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Bryan O’Connor, 2 James McCormick, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Tom McAllister, 19 Joe Hopes, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 David Shanahan, 22 James Humphreys, 23 Jonny Scott
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 17:30 UK / 18:30 SA/ITA
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 62nd game)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (IRFU), Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby
Scarlets v Bulls
Prediction: Bulls by 10
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Callum Woolley, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Macs Page, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Fletcher Anderson (c), 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Ioan Jones
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Jeandre Rudolph
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 19:45 UK / 20:45 SA/ITA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 49th game)
Assistant Referees: Ben Whitehouse (WRU), Lloyd Edwards (WRU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby
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Benetton v Leinster
Prediction: Leinster by 12
Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Manuel Zuliani, 5 Riccardo Favretto, 4 Giulio Marini, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Destiny Aminu
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 21 Eli Snyman, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Leonardo Marin
Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Alex Soroka, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Charlie Tector
Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 19:45 UK / 20:45 SA/ITA
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 23rd game)
Assistant Referees: Alberto Favaro (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Christopher Allison (SARU)
How to watch: Sky Italia, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv and FloRugby