PRO14 Preview: Friday

Two games take place in the PRO14 on Friday as Cardiff Blues host Benetton Rugby while Edinburgh face off with Munster at Murrayfield.

Cardiff Blues v Benetton Rugby

Matthew Morgan and Willis Halaholo return from injury for Cardiff Blues' rescheduled clash against Benetton.

The duo, who have been out of action since January, are the only changes made to the Cardiff Blues backline that claimed a narrow victory over Zebre in Parma a fortnight ago.

Morgan replaces the injured Rhun Williams at full-back, while Halaholo comes into the line-up at inside centre for Rey Lee-Lo, who features on the bench.

Meanwhile, a further four changes are made in the pack, including captain Gethin Jenkins, who teams up with Taufa'ao Filise and Kirby Myhill in the front row.

Nick Williams and Macauley Cook are also recalled into the starting XV, with Josh Turnbull and Olly Robinson switching to lock and openside respectively, having impressed at Parma.

Head coach, Danny Wilson, was keen to remind his side of the importance of Friday's fixture, as they look to put pressure on third-place Cheetahs, who currently occupy the final play-off spot.

"We've won three of the block of four PRO14 games that we targeted up to this point, with this one remaining to go four out of four," said Wilson.

"We just managed to get the win out in Zebre last time out, which was a great achievement considering those conditions and the quality of the opposition.

"Now we need to do the double over the Italian sides by winning against Treviso on Friday night, but we know it's going to be a tough game. 

"It's a tough five games remaining, but it's five games we see as an opportunity to catch the Cheetahs.

"We've said over the last month that we're looking up, trying to catch the Cheetahs and trying to get to that play-off positions, which would be a massive achievement for us, considering the season.

"But it's a minimum standard for us to qualify for the Champions Cup, which is going to be a challenge with the other sides close on our heels, but I think, with the quarter final in Europe also to come, there is plenty to play for and plenty to be positive about.

"We don't underestimate Benetton, even though it's a home game and a game we put pressure on ourselves to get a result. We've got a good home record this season and we want to maintain that."

A trio of Wales Six Nations squad members – Tomos Williams, Seb Davies and Ellis Jenkins – are released and named on the bench, while Kristian Dacey is also a replacement, as he makes a return from injury.

Meanwhile, Benetton head coach Kieran Crowley will have to do without several first-choice players who are involved in Italy's Six Nations clash against Scotland in Rome on Saturday afternoon.

Luca Sperandio starts at full-back for Benetton and Michael Tagicakibau and Monty Ioane join him in the back three on the wings. Luca Morisi and Tommaso Iannone will be the inside and outside centres respectively while Giorgio Bronzini lines up at scrum half and Marty Banks at fly-half.

The front row sees Hame Faiva starting at hooker while Federico Zani and Matteo Zanusso pack down alongside him as the starting props.

Marco Fuser and Irné Herbst are the starting locks and the back row sees Francesco Minto and captain Marco Barbini starting on the flanks and Nasi Manu is at number eight. completes the XV chosen by Crowley.

The teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 George Earle, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c) 
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Rey Lee-Lo

Benetton Rugby: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Marty Banks, 9 Giorgio Bronzini, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 Marco Barbini (C), 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Irné Herbst, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Matteo Zanusso, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Federico Zani 
Replacements: 16 Tomas Baravalle, 17 Riccardo Brugnara, 18 Cherif Traore, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Engjel Makelara, 21 Ian McKinley, 22 Alberto Sgarbi, 23 Andrea Bronzini

Date: Friday, March 16
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Gareth Newman (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Edinburgh v Munster

Edinburgh welcome back two Six Nations stars for tomorrow night’s pivotal Guinness PRO14 encounter with Munster.

Scotland internationals Ben Toolis – who starts in the second-row – and Simon Berghan – who is named amongst the replacements – both return to club action as Edinburgh look to continue their run of good form, which has seen the club win five of its last six league fixtures to climb into the Guinness PRO14 play-off positions.

Dougie Fife is named at full-back after making his 100th appearance for the club in last month’s victory over Dragons. The Scotland Sevens star is joined in the back-three by wings Duhan van der Merwe and Jason Harries.

In the midfield, Chris Dean is partnered by Mark Bennett, who returns to the fray after missing the bonus-point victory against Dragons three-weeks ago. An unchanged half-back partnership sees Jaco van der Walt once again link-up with Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.

In the front-row, experienced hooker Neil Cochrane is joined by Murray McCallum and Samoan international Jordan Lay.

Club captain Fraser McKenzie keeps his place in the second-row, whilst Toolis returns to the starting XV after missing the last four fixtures due to international duties.

A powerful back-row trio sees Magnus Bradbury and John Hardie link-up with Bill Mata, who is once again named at number eight following his man of the match performance in the impressive win over the Dragons.

Head coach Richard Cockerill said: “Munster are a very good side. They should come here and they should win, but we’ll see.

“We’ll be well prepped and motivated for the game, as I’m sure they’ll be, and it’s another good test for us.

“Munster have probably got a good enough squad to beat us, but we’re playing well, we’re confident and we’ll go out there and try and improve on last week; that’s where we are at the moment.

“We’ve got a hell of a run-in now until the end of the season to try and do something with the year.

“We’ve got some big games to try and win. We want to be in the play-offs and we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity to be in the mix.”

Meanwhile, Munster head coach Johann van Graan has made six changes to the starting XV that defeated Glasgow Warriors at Irish Independent Park three weeks ago.

Billy Holland captains the side on his 150th PRO14 appearance as JJ Hanrahan, Rory Scannell, Darren Sweetnam, Mike Sherry, Jack O’Donoghue and Conor Oliver are all drafted into the side.

Sherry makes his first senior start since April 2016 after recovering from a long-term back injury with Tommy O’Donnell named among the replacements and set to feature for the first time since sustaining a shoulder injury on New Year’s Day.

Simon Zebo starts at full-back with Sweetnam on the right wing and Alex Wootton on the left flank.

Rory Scannell partners Sammy Arnold in the centres with Hanrahan at out-half alongside scrum-half James Hart.

James Cronin, a try-scorer against Glasgow three weeks ago, keeps his place in the front-row and is joined by hooker Sherry and tighthead prop Archer.

The second row of Jean Kleyn and Holland remains in situ with two changes to the back-row as O’Donoghue and Oliver come in to partner Robin Copeland.

Kevin O’Byrne, Dave Kilcoyne and Brian Scott make up the front row replacements as Darren O’Shea and O’Donnell complete the forward cover.

Academy scrum-half Jack Stafford, who is set to make his second senior appearance, is among the backline substitutes along with Bill Johnston and Dan Goggin.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Dougie Fife, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Bill Mata, 7 John Hardie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Fraser McKenzie (c), 3 Murray McCallum, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements: 16 Cameron Fenton, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Junior Rasolea

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 James Hart, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Brian Scott, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Jack Stafford, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Dan Goggin.

Date: Friday, March 16
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Elgan Williams (Wales), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)