PRO14 Preview: Saturday
Five PRO14 games take place on Saturday with the Scarlets versus Glasgow Warriors at Parc y Scarlets the pick of the action.
Leinster v Zebre
There are a number of changes and a potential debut off the bench but most significantly Leinster boss Leo Cullen has appointed Devin Toner as captain for the game. It is the first time he will lead his home province on the occasion of his 213th cap.
Elsewhere Barry Daly starts at full-back with Adam Byrne on the right wing and James Lowe on the left.
Academy back Conor O’Brien starts alongside Rory O’Loughlin in the centre. It’s the second start of a breakthrough season for Mullingar man O’Brien and his first start at the RDS.
In the half-backs Jamison Gibson-Park is joined by Ross Byrne.
Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong are the starting props this week with James Tracy getting the nod at hooker. Toner captains the side from second-row alongside Mick Kearney.
In the back-row, Josh Murphy starts at blindside, with Dan Leavy at openside and Max Deegan who made his European debut last Sunday, starts at eight.
On the bench, Gavin Mullin is in line to make his debut should he be introduced. The 20-year-old Academy back is a son of Leinster, Ireland and British & Irish Lions player Brendan, who won 56 caps for Ireland.
Meanwhile, there will be nine new faces for Zebre on Saturday.
Six of the changes are all Italian internationals who played the last Six Nations match, with a total of eight Azzurris as starters.
At full-back Matteo Minozzi – fresh from the bid for MVP of the Six Nations 2018 – returns to the back three with Gabriele Di Giulio and Mattia Bellini.
Giulio Bisegni returns to wear the number 13 jersey and will pair with with Faialaga Afamasaga, while the half-back pairing will be Carlo Canna and Marcello Violi.
In the pack, Valerio Bernabò switches to the back-row and will take to the field alongside Jacopo Sarto and David Sisi, who moves from the second-row to number eight.
Leonard Krumov will again be deployed at lock unit together with captain George Biagi. The front-row will feature three Italian internationals: Oliverio Fabiani, Andrea Lovotti and Dario Chistolini.
This is a special match in Dublin for the tighthead prop Chistolini, who will earn his 100th cap with the club.
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Barry Daly, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Conor O’Brien, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Mick Kearney, 4 Devin Toner (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Peadar Timmins, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Gavin Mullin
Zebre: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Gabriele Di Giulio, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Faialaga Afamasaga, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 David Sisi, 7 Jacopo Sarto, 6 Valerio Bernabò, 5 George Biagi (c), 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Roberto Tenga, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Cruze Ah-Nau, 19 Eduardo Bello, 20 Luhandre Luus, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Serafin Bordoli, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti
Date: Saturday, April 7
Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)
Television match official: Jon Mason (Wales)
Cheetahs v Cardiff Blues
Coach Rory Duncan has announced his Cheetahs team with some changes from last week. Clinton Swart will be wearing the number 12 jersey, Niel Marais moves to fly-half with Fred Zeilinga providing cover on the bench.
Carl Wegner will be running onto the field in his 50th match for the Cheetahs. He will be replacing the injured Justin Basson. Rynier Bernardo will be providing cover on the bench.
Meanwhile, Gareth Anscombe will captain Cardiff Blues this weekend.
Wales' capital region head into the game on the back of eight consecutive victories in domestic and European competition, and a win would put pressure on the South African-outfit, as the race for the PRO14 Final Series heats up.
26-year-old Anscombe replaces Jarrod Evans at fly-half for the Free State Stadium clash, and he has previous experience of playing at the Bloemfontein venue following his time in Super Rugby with the Chiefs.
Anscombe is part of a new-look half-back partnership, with Lloyd Williams introduced to the starting XV as one of 11 changes from last week's Challenge Cup quarter final win over Edinburgh.
Elsewhere in the backs, Matthew Morgan and Garyn Smith, who were unused replacements at Murrayfield last week, are recalled, while Alex Cuthbert returns from injury to take his place on the wing.
The Welsh international is looking to finish the season on a high, ahead of a summer move to Premiership champions, Exeter Chiefs.
Seven changes are made in the pack, with last week's man-of-the-match, Josh Navidi, retaining his place in the back-row. He moves to number eight and is joined by openside Olly Robinson, who recovers from a short-term injury lay-off, and Macauley Cook, who edges closer to his 150th appearance for the region.
Seb Davies and Damian Welch combine in the second-row, while Rhys Gill, Kirby Myhill and Anton Peikrishvili are given the nod in the front-row.
Cardiff Blues have plenty of firepower to introduce from the bench, as the likes of Josh Turnbull, Ellis Jenkins, Dillon Lewis, Tomos Williams and Rey Lee-Lo have impressed over the past few weeks.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Sibhale Maxane, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 AJ Coertzen
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Gareth Anscombe (c), 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Rey Lee-Lo
Date: Saturday, April 7
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 local (14:00 BST)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Scarlets v Glasgow Warriors
Scarlets return to PRO14 action at Parc y Scarlets this weekend as they take on Conference A leaders Glasgow Warriors.
The West Wales region will welcome the Scots to the Parc following last weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final victory over La Rochelle.
Scarlets are currently second in Conference B, positioned three points behind leaders Leinster, whilst Glasgow are storming away at the top of Conference A.
Wayne Pivac’s men will be looking to continue with their winning momentum and return to winning ways in the PRO14 after going down to a defeat to Munster at Thomond Park in the last round.
With only three regular games remaining in the championship Scarlets will be keen to remain at the top of the table to ensure a place in the Final Series.
Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors welcome back a further six Scotland internationals to their squad as they take on the reigning champions.
Glasgow ran in ten tries in their last outing against Zebre with four players who played for Scotland in their final Six Nations against Italy featuring at Scotstoun.
Head coach Dave Rennie has selected six more internationals knowing that victory will guarantee his side top spot in Conference A and a home semi-final.
Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour return to the back three, joining DTH van der Merwe who scored two tries against Zebre, his first game since re-joining the club from Newcastle.
Ali Price and Finn Russell are the starting half-backs, while Sam Johnson and Nick Grigg combine in midfield.
Captain Ryan Wilson starts alongside Callum Gibbins and Rob Harley in the back-row.
In front of them, Jonny Gray partners with Tim Swinson and Oli Kebble and Zander Fagerson pack down either side of George Turner.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Ioan Nicholas, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Steff Hughes
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson (c), 7 Callum Gibbins, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Siua Halanukonuka, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Lelia Masaga
Date: Saturday, April 7
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 16:15 BST
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: David Wilkinson (Ireland), Gywn Morris (Wales)
Television match official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Benetton v Dragons
After more than a month of absence from the Stadio Monigo, Benetton Rugby return home to face the Dragons on Saturday.
There are four changes to the XV that played in their last match against Southern Kings.
Full-back will be Jayden Hayward and he is joined on the wings by Luca Sperandio and Monty Ioane. Tommaso Benvenuti and captain Alberto Sgarbi will be in the centres while Tito Tebaldi is at scrum-half and Tommaso Allan at fly-half.
The front-row will consist of Federico Zani, Tomas Baravalle and Simone Ferrari, the locks are Federico Ruzza and Marco Lazzaroni while Marco Barbini, Abraham Steyn and Robert Barbieri complete the XV in the back-row.
Meanwhile, the Dragons have made four changes to the side that faced the Cheetahs at Rodney Parade in March.
There is one change made to the back three as Jared Rosser joins fellow wing Ashton Hewitt and full-back Zane Kirchner, seeing him replace Welsh International wing Hallam Amos, who is currently with Wales Sevens in the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games.
The centre partnership remains unchanged as Sam Beard and Connor Edwards get the nod, however there is one change in the half-backs as Arwel Robson is joined by 20-year-old scrum-half Owain Leonard.
The front-row has one change made to it as Gerard Ellis links up with fellow prop Lloyd Fairbrother and hooker Elliot Dee, whilst the second-row sees the return of experienced lock Rynard Landman as he is paired up with skipper Cory Hill. In the back-row, Harrison Keddie and Aaron Wainwright start, with Lewis Evans packing down at number eight.
The teams:
Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Luca Sperandio, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (c), 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Marco Lazzaroni, 4 Federico Ruzza, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tomas Baravalle, 1 Federico Zani
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Nasi Manu, 22 Tommaso Iannone, 23 Marty Banks
Dragons: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Sam Beard, 12 Connor Edwards, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Arwel Robson, 9 Owain Leonard, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Cory Hill (c), 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gerard Ellis
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Adam Warren, 23 Rio Dyer
Date: Saturday, April 7
Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 18:00 local (17:00 BST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Joy Neville (Ireland), Robert O'Sullivan (Ireland)
Television match official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Southern Kings v Munster
Southern Kings will take on Munster in an historic PRO14 encounter at Outeniqua Park in George on Saturday.
It will be first time ever that the picturesque Garden Route city hosts an international franchise fixture and organisers have gone all out to ensure there is a festive air to the occasion that will appeal to the whole family.
Kings head coach Deon Davids, originally from the Southern Cape himself, has left intact the entire forward pack that did duty in the narrow 36-35 defeat against Benetton last weekend but the backline and bench show some changes.
As expected, Martin du Toit returns to the starting line-up in place of Kurt Coleman who was ruled out for the rest of the season after fracturing his left leg against Benetton and there are also changes at wing and centre. Yaw Penxe returns at left wing in place of Alshaun Bock. Michael Makase retains his spot on the opposite flank. Jacques Nel gets a rare opportunity to start in the number 12 jersey, switching with Luzuko Vulindlu who moves to the bench.
The big story amongst the replacements is the inclusion of Justin Forwood in the squad for the first time this season. The talented front-row returns after long-term injury. In other changes Dukisa Ntabeni, Rudi van Rooyen and Alandre van Rooyen take over as replacements from Tango Balekile, Rowan Gouws and Du Toit.
Meanwhile, George native CJ Stander, who turned 28 on Thursday, will captain Munster and is one of five players to retain their place from last weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final win against Toulon in Thomond Park.
In ringing the changes head coach Johann van Graan introduces an all-international front-row with James Cronin, Niall Scannell and John Ryan starting.
Jean Kleyn continues in the second-row and is joined by Gerbrandt Grobler for his second start of the campaign, while the back-row sees Dave O’Callaghan and Conor Oliver on either side of captain Stander.
Dan Goggin links up with Rory Scannell in midfield with full-back JJ Hanrahan and academy winger Calvin Nash joining Alex Wootton in the back three.
Scrum-half James Hart partners Ian Keatley in the half-back pairing.
The teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Jacques Nel, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira (c)
Replacements: 16 Alandre Van Rooyen, 17 Justin Forwood, 18 Luvuyo Pupuma, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Lusanda Badiyana, 21 Rudi Van Rooyen, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Luzuko Vulindlu
Munster: 15 JJ Hanrahan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 James Hart, 8 CJ Stander (c), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Brian Scott, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Jack Stafford, 22 Stephen Fitzgerald, 23 Robin Copeland
Date: Saturday, April 7
Venue: Outeniqua Park, George
Kick-off: 19:35 local (18:35 BST)
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman (South Africa), Ruhan Meiring (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)