PRO14 Preview: Friday
There are two games scheduled in the PRO14 on Friday as Ospreys face Zebre at Liberty Stadium while Munster play host to Edinburgh in Cork.
Ospreys v Zebre
Alun Wyn Jones plays his 233rd Ospreys game to move clear at the top of the region’s all time appearance list.
Meanwhile, there are a total of five changes from the Zebre XV that were beaten by Munster. Three Italian internationals who all played against the All Blacks will start; full-back Edoardo Padovani, scrum-half Guglielmo Palazzani and flanker Johan Meyer.
In the pack, tighthead prop Eduardo Bello will start, while in the second-row forwards captain George Biagi will join David Sisi.
On the bench, Italian international Giosue Zilocchi is named along with back-row Jacopo Bianchi.
The teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Justin Tipuric (c), 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Alex Jeffries, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 James King, 21 Harri Morgan, 22 James Hook, 23 Cory Allen
Zebre: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Paula Balekana, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 George Biagi (c), 4 David Sisi, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Massimo Ceciliani, 1 Cruze Ah-Nau
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 Samuele Ortis, 21 Joshua Renton, 22 Maicol Azzolini, 23 Jacopo Bianchi
Date: Friday, November 30
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman (South Africa), Elgan Williams (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
Munster v Edinburgh
Munster boss Johann van Graan has made 11 changes to the side that secured a bonus-point win away to Zebre on Sunday as they look to make it five wins in a row.
Peter O’Mahony captains the side against Edinburgh with Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan and Tadhg Beirne all starting on their return from international duty.
Mike Haley keeps his place at full-back with wingers Conway and Earls completing the back three.
Chris Farrell makes his first start of the season alongside Rory Scannell in the centres.
JJ Hanrahan wears 10 with Conor Murray also making his first start of the season at scrum-half.
It’s all change in the front five as Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell and Ryan come into the front-row with Ryan making his 13oth appearance for the province.
Billy Holland and Beirne start in the engine room with Chris Cloete and Arno Botha keeping their places in the side as captain O’Mahony completes the back-row.
Sammy Arnold, who made his Ireland debut last week, is among the replacements along with academy man Gavin Coombes.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has named a reshuffled starting XV for Friday’s Guinness PRO14 match.
With several first team regulars injured or being rested following the November internationals, the team selection sees nine changes from the side that faced the Dragons at Rodney Parade last Sunday evening.
Academy graduate George Taylor is named at outside centre to make his competitive debut for the club, while a new-look half-back pairing sees Nathan Fowles and Jaco van der Walt selected in the starting line-up.
Elsewhere, internationals Tom Brown and Juan Pablo Socino return to action at wing and inside centre respectively to complete a revamped backline.
In the forward pack, Cockerill fields a fresh front-row trio of Rory Sutherland, David Cherry and Murray McCallum, while Lewis Wynne, who featured from the bench against both Scarlets and Dragons, makes his first start for the club in the back-row.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Sammy Arnold
Edinburgh: 15 Dougie Fife, 14 Tom Brown, 13 George Taylor, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Luke Hamilton (c), 7 Lewis Wynne, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Callum Hunter-Hill, 4 James Hodgson, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 David Cherry, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Callum Atkinson, 20 Senitiki Nayalo, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Jason Baggott, 23 Chris Dean
Date: Friday, November 30
Venue: Irish Independent Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)