Owen Lane set for first Cardiff Blues start since January

Colin Newboult
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Cardiff's Owen Lane hands off Edinburgh's Jaco van der Walt during the Challenge Cup, Quarter Final at BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh.

The PRO14 continues on Monday as two games take place, with Edinburgh hosting Cardiff Blues and Ulster taking on Glasgow Warriors.

Edinburgh v Cardiff Blues

Fijian international prop Lee-Roy Atalifo makes his Edinburgh debut as the capital club host Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield in the PRO14 on Monday.

The inclusion of the 13-times capped Fijian tighthead is one of seven changes made by head coach Richard Cockerill following last weekend’s road win against Conference B rivals Scarlets.

With 23 first team players unavailable due to injury or international selection, head coach Richard Cockerill once again gives youth an opportunity, with seven academy or first-year pro players named in the matchday 23.

Winger Eroni Sau returns to the starting XV after missing last weekend’s match due to the birth of his child, while Nathan Chamberlain starts at stand-off with Jaco van der Walt unavailable for selection having this week returned to South Africa to get married.

David Cherry gets the nod at hooker following last week’s impressive performance from the bench at Parc y Scarlets that saw him named in the Guinness PRO14 Team of the Week.

Further changes to the pack see lock Andries Ferreira makes his first start for the club and paired with Jamie Hodgson in the second-row – as Lewis Carmichael and Andrew Davidson miss out through injury – while Luke Crosbie is once again fit and named at openside flanker.

Meanwhile, Owen Lane will make his first Blues start since January as John Mulvihill makes five changes for the trip to take on Edinburgh.

Following a series of injuries, the Welsh international wing made his long-awaited return to action as a replacement during last week’s defeat to Ulster.

Lane takes his place in the back three alongside Aled Summerhill and Hallam Amos, who shifts to full back, with Matthew Morgan named on the bench.

Jason Tovey replaces Jarrod Evans in the number 10 jersey, as the latter is ruled out with a minor leg injury, while Max Llewellyn is introduced at centre.

The academy product, who signed his first senior deal with the region over the summer, made his first PRO14 start against the Scottish outfit in the final match before lockdown, impressing in a gutsy performance.

A further two changes are made in the pack, with Brad Thyer introduced at loosehead and Olly Robinson returning at openside flanker.

Hooker Kristian Dacey continues as captain, with Dmitri Arhip completing the front-row.

James Ratti and Rory Thornton continue their partnership at lock, while Josh Turnbull and Will Boyde join Robinson in the back-row.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Jack Blain, 14 Eroni Sau, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Jamie Farndale, 10 Nathan Chamberlain, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 8 Ally Miller, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 2 David Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Dan Gamble, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Charlie Shiel, 23 James Johnstone

Cardiff Blues: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Will Boyde, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 James Ratti, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey (c), 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Ben Murphy, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Ben Thomas, 23 Matthew Morgan

Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Ian Kenny (Scotland)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Ulster v Glasgow Warriors

Ulster have made eight changes to the side that defeated Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade last Monday.

Michael Lowry has been retained at full-back, with Matt Faddes and Craig Gilroy joining him in the back three.

Luke Marshall – who returned last week from injury off the bench – will make his first start of the season, pairing with Stewart Moore in midfield. Ian Madigan has been selected at fly-half, with John Cooney starting at scrum-half.

Marcell Coetzee returns to the side and is joined in the back-row by Matty Rea – who made his 50th appearance for Ulster last week – and Sean Reidy.

Sam Carter will lead the Ulster men from the second-row and will partner Kieran Treadwell. Jack McGrath comes in to start at loosehead, with John Andrew being given the nod at hooker, and Marty Moore keeping the tighthead starting berth.

Eric O’Sullivan could make his 50th appearance for the province if called upon from the Ulster replacements. He is named alongside Adam McBurney, Gareth Milasinovich, Alan O’Connor and Marcus Rea in the forwards, while David Shanahan, Bill Johnston and Ethan McIlroy offer back line cover.

Meanwhile, a Glasgow Warriors side showing seven changes from last week’s home defeat to Leinster will take to the field in Belfast on Monday.

The team sees summer arrival Enrique Pieretto make his first start for the club since arriving at Scotstoun over the summer, as the Argentina international packs down at tighthead prop.

Pieretto is joined in the front-row by Aki Seiuli and Grant Stewart, with Seiuli one of only three players in the squad to have played a part in each of Glasgow’s outings to date this campaign.

Kiran McDonald makes his first appearance of the season in the second-row, as the former Glasgow Hawk starts alongside Rob Harley in the engine room.

The back-row is once again unchanged, as club co-captain Ryan Wilson and Tom Gordon pack down either side of Samoan international number eight TJ Ioane.

Jamie Dobie is promoted from the bench to take the scrum-half jersey, with Pete Horne making his third successive start at fly-half.

A new look midfield partnership sees Stafford McDowall come into the starting XV at inside centre, whilst Scotland 7s star Robbie Fergusson is in line to make his first Glasgow Warriors appearance in five years after being named in the number 13 shirt.

Niko Matawalu and Ratu Tagive will start on the wings, with Glenn Bryce starting at full-back for his first outing of the campaign.

On the bench, Lewis Bean is in line to become the 316th player to represent the club after arriving on a short-term loan deal from Northampton Saints to provide cover in the second row.

After his try-scoring performance against Leinster last time out, D’arcy Rae rotates to the bench to join Alex Allan and Johnny Matthews as the front-row replacements.

Hamish Bain is another to move to the replacements after starting against both the Ospreys and Leinster, where he joins Tongan international Fotu Lokotui.

Brandon Thomson retains his place in the matchday squad after making his first appearance of the campaign last week, with Sean Kennedy rounding out the Glasgow replacements.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Matt Faddes, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Marty Moore, 2 John Andrew, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Ethan McIlroy

Glasgow: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Ratu Tagive, 13 Robbie Fergusson, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 TJ Ioane, 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Ryan Wilson (c), 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Rob Harley, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Hamish Bain, 21 Fotu Lokotui, 22 Sean Kennedy, 23 Brandon Thomson

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 20:15 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

Cardiff Rugby