URC teams: Fully-loaded Sharks to face old favourite while Leinster rest several Ireland stars
Werner Kok warming up for Ulster.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) reaches Round 16 this weekend as the race for play-off positions intensifies with three games on Friday and five on Saturday.
Cardiff take on Munster, Glasgow Warriors host the Bulls while Zebre Parma meet Edinburgh in Friday’s matches in what are intriguing ties in the race for the top eight.
Saturday’s action kicks off with the Lions v Connacht before Ospreys face Dragons and then the Stormers host Benetton and Scarlets tackle the pace-setters, Leinster.
The round concludes on Saturday night with Ulster, who are boosted by Werner Kok’s return from injury, facing his former team the Sharks in another huge meeting.
Check on all the URC team news, here.
Friday
Cardiff v Munster
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ben Donnell, 22 Aled Davies, 23 Tinus de Beer
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Mark Donnelly, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Ruadhan Quinn, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Sean O’Brien
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Mike English (WRU), Aaron Parry (WRU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
Glasgow Warriors v Bulls
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Patrick Schickerling, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Sione Vailanu, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Adam Hastings
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Ruan Nortje (c), 6 Jannes Kirsten, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Stedman Gans
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (SRU), Finlay Brown (SRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Zebre Parma v Edinburgh
Zebre: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (c)
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Rusiate Nasove, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Luca Morisi
Edinburgh: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Jack Brown, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Glen Young, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Paddy Harrison, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Mosese Tuipulotu
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 BST, 18:35 GMT)
Referee: Ben Connor (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (FIR), Alberto Favaro (FIR)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Saturday
Lions v Connacht
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Renzo du Plessis, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie (c), 1 Morgan Naude
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Rynhardt Jonker
Connacht: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitléar, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Hugh Gavin, 23 Santiago Cordero
Venue: Emirates Airline Park
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Hanru Van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Wales legend makes retirement call as future coaching career awaits
Ospreys v Dragons
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Ben Warren, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Dragons: 15 Ewan Rosser, 14 Harry Rees-Weldon, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen (c), 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Dan Lydiate, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Ryan Woodman, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 18 Nathan Evans, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 George Young, 21 Che Hope, 22 Will Reed, 23 Huw Anderson
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Gareth Newman (WRU), Carwyn Sion (WRU)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (SRU)
Stormers v Benetton
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Brok Harris, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg
Benetton: 15 Leonardo Marin, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Eli Snyman, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Rhyno Smith
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 18:15 local (17:15 BST, 16:15 GMT)
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), Griffin Colby (SARU)
TMO: Craig Evans (WRU)
Scarlets v Leinster
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Louie Trevett, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page
Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Andrew Osborne, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 James Culhane, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Ruben Moloney
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Leon (WRU), Aaron Perry (WRU)
TMO: Colin Brett (SRU)
Ulster v Sharks
Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick,
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Matthew Dalton, 20 Kieran Treadwell, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 David McCann
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jurenzo Julius, 17 Fez Mbatha, 18 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 19 Hanro Jacobs, 20 Manu Tshituka, 21 Phepsi Buthelezi, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Siya Masuku
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Padraic Reidy (IRFU), Paul Haycock (IRFU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)