Nick Williams to lead Cardiff Blues against Kings

David Skippers

There are five games scheduled for Saturday with Munster, the Southern Kings, Scarlets, Benetton and Edinburgh all hosting their respective matches.

Munster v Dragons

Billy Holland captains Munster as the lock begins his 13th season at the Irish province with four academy players included in the squad.

Hooker Kevin O’Byrne starts the clash in his 50th Munster appearance.

Nick McCarthy makes his competitive debut at scrum-half and partners JJ Hanrahan in the half-backs.

Tyler Bleyendaal and Rory Scannell team up in the centres with Mike Haley at full-back as wingers Darren Sweetnam and Shane Daly complete the back three.

Jeremy Loughman, O’Byrne and Stephen Archer pack down in the front-row with Fineen Wycherley and Holland in the second-row.

A back-row of Jack O’Donoghue, Tommy O’Donnell and Arno Botha complete the side.

Head coach Johann van Graan has opted to name six forwards on the bench with academy players Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox, Jack O’Sullivan and Liam Coombes among the replacements.

James Cronin is set to make his first PRO14 appearance since November after recovering from injury with Knox and O’Sullivan in line to make their competitive Munster debuts.

Meanwhile, fly-half Sam Davies and wing Owen Jenkins will both make their PRO14 debuts for Dragons in this fixture.

The talented back duo will line-up in Dean Ryan’s first team selection of the league season. Davies – who last season amassed 153 points in the league for Ospreys – is joined at half-back by Rhodri Williams, who will captain Dragons in Ireland.

Wing Ashton Hewitt makes his first appearance in the competition since April 2018 after returning from a shoulder injury.

Wales international Leon Brown is named in the front-row, alongside Richard Hibbard and Brok Harris, while Joe Davies and Matthew Screech are paired in the second-row.

Hooker Ellis Shipp is named among the replacements alongside Dragons Academy products Max Williams, Taine Basham. Centre Tyler Morgan also makes a return on the bench.

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Rory Scannell, 12 Tyler Bleyendaal, 11 Shane Daly, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Nick McCarthy, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Kevin O’Byrne, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 James Cronin, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Liam Coombes, 23 Jack O’Sullivan

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Owen Jenkins, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Huw Taylor, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Max Williams, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jacob Botica, 23 Tyler Morgan

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Blaine (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Fin Brown (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Southern Kings v Cardiff Blues

JC Astle will lead an exciting Southern Kings side with a blend of youth and experience in their season-opening match against the Blues in Port Elizabeth.

The 29-year-old Astle, who captained the team last season, has once again been appointed season captain for the 2019/20 season, Southern Kings interim head coach, Robbi Kempson, confirmed.

The Kings will have six PRO14 debutants in their starting line-up that will face their Welsh opposition.

New recruits lock Jerry Sexton, centres JT Jackson and Howard Mnisi, winger Christopher Hollis and full-back Andell Loubser will make their first official appearances for the Port Elizabeth-based side while Demetri Catrakilis will add to the number for a first appearance in the PRO14.

On the bench, lock Aston Fortuin, utility forward Elrigh Louw and Josh Allderman will also be making their tournament debuts, with Jacques du Toit, who switched allegiance from the Cheetahs, earning his first cap for the Kings.

The newbies will have the comfort of experience in Astle, Bobby de Wee and Yaw Penxe, among others.

Meanwhile, with Cardiff Blues club captain Ellis Jenkins sidelined, veteran number eight Nick Williams takes the honour in leading an experienced side that contains more than 800 appearances for the Welsh region.

Williams is joined in the back-row by Olly Robinson and Josh Turnbull, who have both also led the team on numerous occasions. Openside Robinson will mark the new campaign by making his 50th appearance for the region.

Seb Davies and Rory Thornton start in the second-row, while Dmitri Arhip, Liam Belcher and Brad Thyer pack down in the front-row.

Behind the pack, Lloyd Williams, who is fast approaching his 200th Cardiff Blues appearance partners Jarrod Evans at half-back, while Willis Halaholo and Garyn Smith partner each other in the centre. Matthew Morgan, Jason Harries and Aled Summerhill make up an experienced back-three.

Will Boyde is named among the replacements and is in line for his competitive debut for Wales’ capital region following his summer move from the Scarlets.

The teams:

Southern Kings: 15 Andell Loubser, 14 Christopher Hollis, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 JT Jackson, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Lusanda Badiyana, 7 Arthur de Wee, 6 Martinus Burger, 5 JC Astle (c), 4 Jerry Sexton, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Alandre Van Rooyen, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Jacques Du Toit, 17 Xandre Vos, 18 Rossouw De Klerk, 19 Aston Fortuin, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Josh Allderman, 22 Bader Pretorius, 23 Sibusiso Sithole

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams (c), 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Harri Millard

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Divan Uys (South Africa), Paul Mente (South Africa)
TMO: Christie du Preez (South Africa)

Benetton v Leinster

Benetton head coach Kieran Crowley has named his matchday squad for their opening PRO14 encounter against the defending champions in Treviso.

Angelo Esposito starts at full-back and is joined by wingers Ratuva Tavuyara and Monty Iaone. In midfield, Joaquin Riera starts alongside Alberto Sgarbi, who will also captain the Italian outfit, while Ian Keatley and Luca Petrozzi are the starting half-backs.

In the forwards, Derrick Appiah and Michele Mancini Parri pack down in the front-row as the two props with Tomas Baravalle wearing the number two jersey as the starting hooker.

The South Africa duo of Irnè Herbst and Eli Snyman start in the second-row while Marco Lazzaroni and Marco Barbini are the two flankers and they are joined in the back-row by number eight Toa Halafihi.

Meanwhile, Ross Molony will captain Leinster and he will be partnered by Devin Toner in the Irish province’s second-row.

The front-row of Peter Dooley, Rónan Kelleher and Michael Bent that started the pre-season friendly win away to Northampton Saints earlier this month is retained for this fixture.

A back-row of Max Deegan, Will Connors and Caelan Doris completes the pack.

Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park will form Leinster’s half-back pairing. Jimmy O’Brien starts at full-back while the experience of Dave Kearney and Adam Byrne on the wings completes the back three, with Rory O’Loughlin and Joe Tomane combining in the centre.

On the bench, there are potential debuts for Michael Milne and Harry Byrne. Offaly man Milne has eight Ireland U20 caps to his name and featured in the U20 Six Nations campaign this year and the World Rugby U20 Championship. Meanwhile, Byrne (13 Ireland U20 caps) could come on in place of his brother Ross to make his debut at Stadio Monigo.

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Angelo Esposito, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Joaquin Riera, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (c), 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Luca Petrozzi, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Marco Barbini, 6 Marco Lazzaroni, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Michele Mancini Parri, 2 Tomas Baravalle, 1 Derrick Appiah
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Charly Trussardi, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Luca Sperandio

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Joe Tomane, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Will Connors, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Ross Molony (c), 3 Michael Bent, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Hugo Keenan

Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 18:15 local (17:15 BST, 16:15 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Scarlets v Connacht

Centre Steff Hughes will lead the Scarlets as they begin their 2019/20 PRO14 campaign against Connacht at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.

Hughes is one of nine home-grown players in the Scarlets starting XV for the match between two former champions.

Johnny McNicholl, Wales international Steff Evans and Ryan Conbeer – who shone at the Junior World Championship in Argentina in the summer – form an exciting back three.

Hughes links up with Paul Asquith in midfield, while Dan Jones gets the nod at fly-half, where he will partner Kieran Hardy.

Wales international props Rob Evans and Samson Lee will pack down alongside Marc Jones in an experienced front row. Behind them, Steve Cummins and Lewis Rawlins combine at lock.

The back-row is made up of former Wales U20s captain Tom Phillips, Springbok Uzair Cassiem and Josh Macleod, who starts at openside.

On the bench, scrum-half Dane Blacker is set for his PRO14 Scarlets debut after switching from Cardiff Blues in the summer.

The match will be head coach Brad Mooar’s first competitive game in charge of the Scarlets.

Meanwhile, prop Paddy McAllister is set to make his first competitive start in a Connacht jersey as his side travel to the Scarlets for the opening round of the PRO14.

McAllister, who signed from Gloucester in the summer, made his debut in Connacht’s pre-season friendly win over against Munster at The Sportsground last Saturday.

He joins an experienced front row that includes tighthead Finlay Bealham and hooker Tom McCartney. Behind them will be Gavin Thornbury and Quinn Roux, both of whom impressed in Connacht’s three pre-season wins.

Captain Jarrad Butler will wear the now familiar number eight jersey in a back-row alongside Eoghan Masterson and Colby Fainga’a at blindside and openside respectively.

With Jack Carty away on international duty at the Rugby World Cup, Conor Fitzgerald is named at fly-half alongside scrum-half Caolin Blade. Elsewhere in the backline, Tom Daly and Kyle Godwin will form the centre partnership with wingers Matt Healy and Stephen Fitzgerald and full-back Tiernan O’Halloran completing the side.

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Ryan Conbeer, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Tom Phillips, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Steve Cummins, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Phil Price, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Josh Helps, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Corey Baldwin

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Stephen Fitzgerald, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Conor Fitzgerald, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Peter Robb, 23 Darragh Leader

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa), Mike English (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales

Edinburgh v Zebre

Summer signing Nic Groom captains Edinburgh on his competitive debut as the capital club face Zebre at Murrayfield in the opening round of the PRO14 this Saturday.

The scrum-half is selected in the starting XV alongside fellow debutant Nick Haining – who starts at number eight – while second-row Murray Douglas makes his first Edinburgh appearance in seven years after re-joining the club on-loan from the Brumbies this summer.

Elsewhere, new recruits Michael Willemse, Jamie Bhatti and Mesu Kunavula are all named among the replacements and, if involved, will make their competitive debuts, while Scotland international prop Murray McCallum is in line to make his 50th appearance for the club.

An unchanged back three sees full-back Damien Hoyland joined by winger Duhan van der Merwe and Scotland 7s co-captain Jamie Farndale.

Scotland stars Matt Scott and Mark Bennett form an all-international centre pairing, while South African scrum-half Groom – who skippers the side in Stuart McInally’s absence – links up with compatriot Jaco van der Walt at half-back.

David Cherry is named at hooker and packs down alongside Italian international prop Pietro Cecarelli – who faces his former club – and Pierre Schoeman. Club centurion Fraser McKenzie is paired with Douglas in the second-row.

Debutant Haining anchors a back-row that features blindside flanker Lewis Carmichael – who makes his first competitive start in over a year – and openside flanker Luke Crosbie.

For Zebre, there are six debutants in their XV, including former Harlequins flyer Charlie Walker, who starts at full-back.

Walker is joined in the back three by Paula Balekana and fellow Englishman Jamie Elliott, while the centre partnership is made up of two newbies in Enrico Lucchin and Ludovico Vaccari.

There is experience at half-back in the form of Josh Renton and Francois Brummer, while the back-row provides plenty of ballast with Giovanni Licata, Johan Meyer and Iacopo Bianchi the starting trio.

In the front five, there is an all-Irish second-row combination in Ian Nagle and Mick Kearney, and they are joined in the pack by Alexandru Tarus, Marco Manfredi and Danilo Fischetti.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Damien Hoyland, 14 Jamie Farndale, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Nic Groom (c), 8 Nick Haining, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Lewis Carmichael, 5 Murray Douglas, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Mesu Kunavula, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 George Taylor

Zebre: 15 Charlie Walker, 14 James Elliott, 13 Ludovico Vaccari, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Paula Balekana, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Josh Renton, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Iacopo Bianchi, 5 Ian Nagle (c), 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Alexandru Tarus, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 George Biagi, 20 Apisai Tauyavuca, 21 Nicolò Casilio, 22 Pierre Bruno, 23 Federico Mori

Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Benetton Treviso