URC round 18: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
Rob Herring returns to start for Ulster.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) regular season concludes this weekend with three games taking place on Friday night and the remaining five scheduled on Saturday.
Check on all the team news, our predictions, how to watch and more below.
Friday
Cardiff Rugby v Stormers
Prediction: Stormers by 5
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Ben Thomas, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 George Nott, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Evan Lloyd, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Stef Emanuel, 23 Leigh Halfpenny
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché (c), 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Keke Morabe, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Jurie Matthee
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU) 116th game
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Lucas Yendle (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
How to watch: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Ulster v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Glasgow by 5
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Wilhelm De Klerk, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Conor McKee, 8 Bryn Ward, 7 Nick Timoney (c), 6 Joe Hopes, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Sam Crean
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Lorcan McLoughlin, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jack Murphy, 23 Ethan McIlroy
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Macenzzie Duncan, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Jare Oguntibeju, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Sione Vailanu, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Ollie Smith
Venue: Affidea Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR) 50th game
Assistant Referees: Max Weston (IRFU), Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Edinburgh v Connacht
Prediction: Connacht by 3
Edinburgh: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Findlay Thomson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Tom Dodd, 5 Glen Young, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Euan McVie, 21 Tom Currie, 22 Charlie Shiel, 23 Jack Brown
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Harry West, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Eoin de Buitléar, 1 Billy Bohan
Replacements: 16 Mikey Yarr, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Sam Illo, 19 David O’Connor, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Seán Naughton
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU) 15th game
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (SRU), Rob McDowell (SRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
How to watch: Premier Sports, TG4, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Saturday
Sharks v Zebre Parma
Prediction:
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (c), 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan
Zebre Parma:
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 12.45 IRE & UK/ 13.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU) 50th game
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Paul Larter (SRU)
How to watch: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Bulls v Benetton
Prediction:
Bulls:
Benetton:
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15.00 IRE & UK/ 16.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU) 74th game
Assistant Referees: Christopher Allison (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
How to watch: SuperSport, Premier Sporst, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Leinster v Ospreys
Prediction:
Leinster:
Ospreys:
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17.15 IRE & UK/ 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU) 4th game
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Dan Carson (IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)
How to watch: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Scarlets v Dragons
Prediction:
Scarlets:
Dragons:
Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Kick-off: 17.15 IRE & UK/ 18.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) 116th game
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Carwyn Sion (WRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
How to watch: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Munster v Lions
Prediction:
Munster:
Lions:
Venue: Thomond Park, Limerick
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR) 60th game
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRFU), Jonathan Erskine (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
How to watch: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
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