PRO14 Preview: Friday
There are three games scheduled in the PRO14 on Friday, with Scarlets hosting Ulster in Llanelli the pick of the action.
Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues
Niko Matawalu will become a Glasgow Warriors centurion against Cardiff Blues at Scotstoun on Friday.
Matawalu will start in a backline that also features three members of the Scotland squad that narrowly lost to South Africa last weekend.
Tommy Seymour starts on the opposite wing and Ali Price and Pete Horne combine at nine and ten respectively.
Stafford McDowall impressed in his performances against Munster and Ospreys and retains his spot at inside centre, once again combining with Nick Grigg who was named Man of the Match at the Liberty Stadium.
Ruairdh Jackson has recovered from a hamstring injury picked up early against the Ospreys to start at full-back.
George Turner, Rob Harley, Adam Ashe and Matt Fagerson all return from Scotland camp to start in the pack.
Jamie Bhatti and D’Arcy Rae pack down either side of Turner in the front-row, while Kiran McDonald joins Harley in the engine room.
Callum Gibbins will captain the side from the openside.
On the bench, Tim Swinson has returned from injury to be involved for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Willis Halaholo returns to the Cardiff Blues starting line-up to make his 50th appearance for the region.
The centre is one of four changes made as John Mulvihill’s side return to competitive action, three weeks after they claimed a bonus point win over Zebre at Cardiff Arms Park.
Wales’ Capital Region have been bolstered by the returns of Jarrod Evans and Seb Davies, who have been released from the Wales squad having made an appearance each during the autumn internationals.
Two changes are made in the front-row, as Welsh international, Kristian Dacey, returns to the number two jersey, and is joined by youngster Keiron Assiratti.
The side is captained by scrum-half, Lloyd Williams, who will make his 180th appearance for the region, edging ever-closer to T Rhys Thomas, who sits third on the Cardiff Blues’ all-time appearance makers with 182.
His brother, Tom Williams, is retained at full back after a try-scoring display against the Italian outfit.
Jason Harries and Josh Turnbull continue to be ever-present in PRO14 starting line-ups, with Lloyd Williams, George Earle and Olly Robinson having also featured in every fixture to date.
The teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Callum Gibbins (c), 6 Adam Ashe, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Rob Harley, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Kevin Bryce, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Matt Smith, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Rory Hughes
Cardiff Blues: 15 Tom Williams, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams (c), 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Seb Davies, 4 George Earle, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James Down, 20 Sion Bennett, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Harri Millard
Date: Friday, November 23
Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Ian Kenny (Scotland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
With a number of Leinster players still on Ireland duty there are opportunities for other players to state their case and indeed there could be as many as three senior debuts over the course of the 80 minutes with seven players from the Academy in the matchday 23.
In the backs, Leo Cullen has named UCD and Leinster Academy player Hugo Keenan at full-back for his first start with Irish international Adam Byrne on the right wing and James Lowe on the left.
In the centre Conor O’Brien and Noel Reid will line up at 12 and 13, with Nick McCarthy and Ciarán Frawley the half-backs.
In the pack Peter Dooley and Michael Bent start at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively with James Tracy at hooker.
Ross Molony is joined in the second-row by captain Scott Fardy.
At openside flanker 19-year-old Scott Penny makes his senior debut having impressed in the victorious Celtic Cup campaign scoring eight tries across the seven games.
Penny is in his first year in the Academy and is joined in the back-row by Josh Murphy at six and Caelan Doris at eight who makes his first start at the RDS.
There is also the possibility for two further senior debuts with Jimmy O’Brien and Jack Kelly named amongst the replacements.
Meanwhile, Ospreys coach Allen Clarke has named his side for the encounter. James Hook, Hanno Dirksen and Keelan Giles make up the back three while Cory Allen and Johnny Kotze form the centre pairing. Sam Davies and Tom Habberfield are the half-back combination.
James King, Sam Cross and Olly Cracknell combine to form the loose trio, while Lloyd Ashley and Giorgi Nemsadze lock down in the second-row. Tom Botha, Scott Otten and Rhodri Jones scrum down in the front-row.
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Conor O’Brien, 12 Noel Reid, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Nick McCarthy, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Scott Fardy (c), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Jimmy O’Brien, 23 Jack Kelly
Ospreys: 15 James Hook, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell (c), 5 Lloyd Ashley, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Alex Jeffries, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Will Jones, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Luke Morgan, 23 Tom Williams
Date: Friday, November 23
Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Eddie Hogan-O’Connell (Ireland), Robert O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Ireland)
Scarlets v Ulster
Scarlets return to Guinness PRO14 action at Parc y Scarlets on Friday looking to secure a victory over Ulster to return to the second place in Conference B.
Head coach Wayne Pivac welcomes the return of Tom Prydie to the wing having been out of action since the derby clash against Ospreys with a shoulder injury.
Looking ahead to the game, Pivac said: “Ulster don’t lose too many (to Ireland call-ups). We played them in the international window at home last year. After a slow start we played very well.
“Our focus now is on ourselves, it’s really about spending as much time focusing on our game and being as accurate as we can.”
Meanwhile, Louis Ludik will make his first Ulster appearance of the season having recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in May. James Hume, one of four Ulster academy players in the starting XV, will partner Ludik in midfield.
The youthful duo of winger Robert Baloucoune and full-back Michael Lowry join Australian international Henry Speight in the back three, with David Shanahan and Billy Burns retained at half-back.
Kieran Treadwell is selected alongside captain Alan O’Connor in the second-row, with the front-row of Eric O’Sullivan, Adam McBurney and Marty Moore completing the front five. Marcell Coetzee, Sean Reidy and Nick Timoney combine in a powerful back-row.
Recent signing Ian Nagle is set to make his debut from the bench, while Darren Cave could also make his return from injury if called upon. Jonny Stewart and Angus Kernohan are the other backline options along with Cave, while John Andrew, Andy Warwick, Tom O’Toole and Greg Jones make up the forward cover with Nagle.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Will Boyde (c), 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Steve Cummins, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Phil Price
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Clayton Blommetjies, 23 Morgan Williams
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Louis Ludik, 12 James Hume, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Billy Burns, 9 David Shanahan, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Greg Jones, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 Darren Cave, 23 Angus Kernohan
Date: Friday, November 23
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Quentin Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Aled Evans (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)