Preview: PRO14 Semi-Final Qualifiers
Two semi-final qualifiers take place in the PRO14 on Saturday as Munster play host to Edinburgh before the Scarlets take on the Cheetahs.
Munster vs Edinburgh
Simon Zebo starts at full-back in his final game for Munster at Thomond Park with 12 changes to the side that drew with Ulster last week.
Munster Player of the Year Keith Earls and Andrew Conway start on either wing with Rory Scannell returning to the side at inside centre as Young Player of the Year Sammy Arnold keeps his place at outside centre.
JJ Hanrahan is also retained at fly-half and is partnered by Conor Murray in the half-backs.
James Cronin, man-of-the-match last week, starts at loosehead with Rhys Marshall and Stephen Archer both returning to the side.
Jean Kleyn and Billy Holland are back in the engine room with captain Peter O’Mahony, Jack O’Donoghue and CJ Stander making up the back-row.
Mike Sherry, Dave Kilcoyne and Ciaran Parker provide the front-row cover while Gerbrandt Grobler and Robin Copeland are set to make their final Munster appearances at Thomond Park as replacements.
James Hart, Ian Keatley and Darren Sweetnam complete the bench.
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has made three changes ahead of the game. A revamped midfield sees Chris Dean return to action after missing last weekend’s 1872 Cup victory due to injury alongside Scotland international Mark Bennett who gets the nod at outside centre.
Full-back Blair Kinghorn – a late call-off in last weekend’s win over Glasgow Warriors – recovers from illness and is once again named in the starting XV.
With Kinghorn reinstated at fullback, Dougie Fife returns to the wing alongside South African star Duhan van der Merwe. Jaco van der Walt and scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne are once again named at half-back.
An unchanged front-row sees props Jordan Lay and Simon Berghan pack down either side of captain Stuart McInally.
Scotland internationalists Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist continue in the second-row, whilst Fijian star Bill Mata features alongside Magnus Bradbury and Jamie Ritchie in an unaltered back-row.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 James Hart, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Darren Sweetnam
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Allan Dell, 18 WP Nel, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 James Johnstone
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 15:15 BST (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Ian Davies (Wales)
Television match official: Jon Mason (Wales)
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Scarlets vs Cheetahs
Scarlets welcome the return of Tom Prydie for the PRO14 Final Series Play-Off against South African side the Cheetahs at Parc y Scarlets.
Prydie makes a return to action after injuring his ankle in the PRO14 clash against Leinster in February and will be an added boost for the region as they look to secure a victory in the Championship qualifier.
The rest of the backline remain unchanged from the one that faced Dragons at the Principality last weekend.
The all-Wales front-row of Rob Evans, captain Ken Owens and Samson Lee lead a strong pack that sees Lewis Rawlins and Steve Cummins line up in the second-row with John Barclay making a return to the number eight berth alongside Tadhg Beirne and James Davies.
Loosehead prop Wyn Jones also makes a return from injury and is named on the replacements bench for Saturday’s clash.
Speaking ahead of the winner takes all clash head coach Wayne Pivac said: “If you watch Super Rugby they (Cheetahs) play an open expansive sort of game, which we like watching and playing. I’m not surprised that they’ve reached the play-offs, they’ve got some talent.
“Their season has been a very credible one and they’re going to be a tough opponent on the weekend. They’ve given themselves every opportunity to go further and we’re going to have to be at our best.
“Hopefully we’ll get a great crowd that get right in behind the boys, it really does lift them.”
The Cheetahs and Scarlets’ only previous encounter was in Round 10 in Bloemfontein, with the Cheetahs winning 28-21.
Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan has announced his team with some changes from last week. Springbok Johan Goosen will be starting at fly-half and Niel Marais moves to centre. Clinton Swart will be providing cover on the bench.
“It’s quite exciting to hear that the support is there and everybody’s excited about the game,” said Duncan.
“It’s obviously a special game for us, I don’t think there’s any moving away from the guys realising that they’re in the play-offs and it’s exciting for us to be there.”
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steffan Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Steven Cummins, 4 Lewis Rawlins, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Elias Ryan, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Daniel Jones, 23 Steffan Hughes
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Bommetjies, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 Niel Marais, 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Renier Bernardo, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Lloyd Greeff
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 18:35 BST (17:35 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Television match official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)