PRO14 Preview: Friday

Three fixtures take place in the PRO14 on Friday which include derbies between Connacht and Munster and the Ospreys and Dragons.

Connacht v Munster

John Muldoon returns to captain Connacht with Kieran Marmion, Ultan Dillane, Finlay Bealham, Tom McCartney, Tom Farrell, Jarrad Butler and Cian Kelleher also coming into the starting team.

Tiernan O’Halloran starts at full-back with Darragh Leader and Kelleher on the two flanks. Farrell joins Bundee Aki in the centre as Marmion and Jack Carty form the half-back partnership.

Bealham, McCartney and Denis Buckley make up the front row with Dillane and James Cannon in the second row. Muldoon’s return sees him wear the number 8 jersey with Eoin McKeon in at blindside and Jarrad Butler at openside.

Niyi Adeolokun is named in the matchday 23 for the first time this season as he returns from injury.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Kieran Keane said: “There has been constant improvement from the lads, which has been refreshing for us. It has become pretty clear to me these local derbies are really important to the players, and they have been putting their hands up because they really want to play, so it brings excitement. I am excited by the occasion as much as they are.”

Meanwhile, Rassie Erasmus has made three changes to his Munster side. In the front five John Ryan and Mark Flanagan are promoted from the bench this week, with Ryan joining Dave Kilcoyne and Rhys Marshall in the front row as Flanagan links up with his second row partner Billy Holland once again.  Holland has started every game this season, playing the full 80 in each game, bar a 10 minute sin binning period against Glasgow.

The international back row trio of captain Peter O’Mahony, Tommy O’Donnell and CJ Stander complete the pack.

The half-back pairing of Conor Murray and Ian Keatley continue as they were and the only change to the backline is a straight swop as Andrew Conway takes the place of Darren Sweetnam to start on the wing, joining Keith Earls and Simon Zebo in the back three.

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Darragh Leader, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Cian Kelleher, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon (c), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Eoin McKeon, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Denis Coulson, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Mark Flanagan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Liam O’Connor, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Sean McCarthy, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Darren Sweetnam

Date: Friday, October 27
Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens
Assistant referees: David Wilkinson, Frank Murphy
TMO: Brian MacNeice

Glasgow Warriors v Southern Kings

George Horne and Adam Hastings make their first starts for the Warriors as the Southern Kings come to Glasgow for the first time.

Fresh from signing a new two-year contract this week, Nick Grigg starts outside of the half backs and is joined by Sam Johnson in midfield.

At full-back, Stuart Hogg retains his place and Lee Jones and Niko Matawalu start outside of him, the Fijian making his first start of the season.

Rob Harley captains the side and is joined in the back-row by Matt Smith and Matt Fagerson.

The number 8’s older brother Zander starts in the front-row alongside Alex Allan and Pat MacArthur, while Scott Cummings and Jonny Gray pack down behind them.

On the bench BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy player Stafford McDowall could make his Warriors debut and Lelia Masaga is also in line to play his first game at Scotstoun having recovered from a calf injury.

Ryan Grant is involved for the first time since returning to the club, while Greg Peterson and Lewis Wynne also feature for the first time this season.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Adam Ashe will undergo surgery on an ankle injury sustained in last week's game against Leinster and is expected to be out of action for 10-12 weeks.

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie said: "The previous couple of weeks in Europe have been good for us. It has highlighted the shifts we need to make in our game and the importance of accuracy and the patience to build pressure. We’ve been working hard on that part of the game. 

"The Kings provide a similar challenge, an imposing set piece and an ability to hurt you deep in your territory. We see this game as a chance for redemption and have prepared well. There is a fresh look about our side which is exciting." 

Meanwhile, there were call-ups for recent signings Martin du Toit and Mzamo Majola when Southern Kings coach Deon Davids named his squad.
 
Flyhalf Du Toit is included in the run-on XV, while Majola takes his place on the bench as replacement prop forward.
 
Other changes made to the team that did duty for the Kings in their last fixture against Benetton sees wing Yaw Penxe return at the expense of Sibusiso Sithole who has unfortunately sustained a long-term knee injury.
 
Kings fans will breathe a huge sigh of relief upon the news that star fullback Masixole Banda has fully recovered from the knock he sustained in the match against Benetton and retains his status as an ever-present in the Kings side this campaign.

Other changes to the backline see Berton Klaasen and Luzuko Vulindlu re-united as centre pairing with Jacques Nel dropping to the bench and fit-again Rudi Van Rooyen taking over at scrumhalf from Godlen Masimla. Rowan Gouws has been drafted into the squad as replacement scrumhalf.
 
Changes made by Davids to the pack include Rossouw de Klerk returning as tighthead prop in place of Martin Dreyer, whilst Ruaan Lerm is also restored to the starting XV. He comes in at No 8 in place of Dries Van Schalkwyk who is unavailable for selection due to personal reasons.
 
Both coach Davids and captain Michael Willemse were in agreement that the few weeks break the Kings have enjoyed since their last fixture came at a good time for the franchise and allowed them time to work on areas that had not been possible before due to their lack of pre-season preparation.

Davids said he expected a high-tempo game from the Warriors and that they were a team that liked to play off quick turnovers and against unstructured defence.

“We will need to be very organised on defence against them and try to make sure that we play the game in the right areas. Then we need to be more ruthless in using our opportunities when we get quality ball. These are the things we’ve been working on at training,” he said.
 
Saturday’s match at Scotstoun Stadium will be played on an artificial surface and despite the Kings not having had too much experience in this regard Davids did not think it would prove to be too much of a factor.

“We trained on artificial surfaces in both Wales and Ireland recently and there really isn’t that much of a difference. It only gets tricky if conditions are extremely wet but on the plus side it can make the set pieces easier and also assists in building continuity on attack,” he said.

The teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Matt Smith, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alex Allan 
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Lewis Wynne, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Lelia Masaga

Southern Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Martin Du Toit, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Rossouw De Klerk, 2 Michael Willemse (c), 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Tango Balekile, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Khaya Majola, 21 Rowan Gouws, 22 Oliver Zono, 23 Jacques Nel

Date: Friday, October 27
Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson
Assistant Referees: Lloyd Linton, Sam Grove-White
TMO: Neil Paterson

Ospreys v Dragons

The Ospreys field Sam Davies at full-back with former Dragon Dan Evans on the wing while Brynmawr’s Sam Cross, a shock selection in the Wales squad this week, makes his PRO14 debut at openside flanker.

Tandy said ahead of the derby clash:

“This is another derby match, another big game, something for supporters and players to get excited about again. The Dragons have got a real energy about them this season with some good young players starting to make an impression so they’ll come here full of belief that they can get a result.

“In the last three games we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the PRO14 champions, the French champions and the European champions and shown that we can compete at that level, really making a positive impression and starting to build some momentum.

“The challenge for us all now is to build on the good form we’ve shown over the last three weekends and make sure that our hard work and effort is reflected on the scoreboard on Friday and beyond that in the coming weeks.

“It promises to be a cracking derby match, with two teams full of positive intent and interesting match-ups across the pitch. We have to kick-start our PRO14 campaign. There’s plenty of work to be done to ensure we are where we want to be in the conference table, and that work started as soon as the final whistle went against Saracens.

“The supporters who were there on Saturday did a fantastic job of lifting the boys in some difficult circumstances, everyone pulling together in adversity. We need that collective spirit on and off the field moving forward, with the supporters playing their part.”

Dragons Head Coach Bernard Jackman has made six personnel and two positional changes to the side that secured a bonus point victory over Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup last weekend. 

Two changes in the back three see wing Jared Rosser move to the left wing as Ashton Hewitt returns to the starting XV; Welsh International Hallam Amos retains his position as fullback. There is a change in the centre partnership as Jack Dixon joins Tyler Morgan who makes his 50th start for the Dragons. The half-backs see the return of Gavin Henson at fly-half and scrum-half Sarel Pretorius retains his position.

Experienced prop Brok Harris returns to the front row to join hooker Elliot Dee and tight-head prop Leon Brown, who yesterday signed a long-term deal with the region, as the second row remains unchanged. Ollie Griffiths will miss the Welsh derby as he recovers from the broken jaw he sustained last weekend, with fellow flanker James Thomas returning and James Benjamin moving from number 8 to make way for Lewis Evans who returns from injury to make his first Dragons appearance of the season.

The bench has three changes made to it as Aaron Wainwright, Angus O’Brien and Pat Howard join Gerard Ellis, Thomas Davies, Lloyd Fairbrother, Rynard Landman and Charlie Davies.

Dragons Head Coach Bernard Jackman commented: “We have that away win under our belt in Europe so now we are looking for the away win in the Guinness PRO14.

“We know that these derby matches are unbelievably tough as it’s another step up.

“I think that the Ospreys have hit form and we have massive respect for them. I thought that the performance against Saracens was a step up again from what they did the week before. We understand that this match is going to be a huge challenge for us, as they are one of the best squads in Europe so we are going to have to show massive improvement from what we have done in the last few weeks to be competitive, but that’s the challenge.”

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Dan Evans, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Brendon Leonard, 22 James Hook, 23 Cory Allen

Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 James Benjamin, 6 James Thomas, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Joe Davies, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Pat Howard

Date: Friday, October 27
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Ian Davies
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones, Dewi Phillips
TMO: Jon Mason