Ruan Pienaar captains Cheetahs in PRO14 opener

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The first round of the PRO14 starts on Friday with the Cheetahs hosting Glasgow Warriors before Ulster take on Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium.

Cheetahs v Glasgow Warriors

Cheetahs head coach Hawies Fourie has named a strong starting line-up for their opener against the Warriors in Bloemfontein.

In the back-line, new recruit Rhyno Smith lines up at full-back alongside flyers William Small-Smith and Anthony Volmink in the back three, while Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Dries Swanepoel are the centre combination.

Veteran scrum-half Ruan Pienaar and Tian Schoeman form the half-back pairing and Pienaar will also captain the side.

In the forwards, Henco Venter starts at number eight while Junior Pokomela and Gerhard Olivier are the two flankers while Walt Steenkamp and Sintu Manjezi pack down in the second-row.

Joseph Dweba is the starting hooker and will line up in the front-row alongside Erich de Jager and Ox Nche, who are the run-on props.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has named a starting XV containing no fewer than nine internationals, following victory over Ulster in their final pre-season fixture a fortnight ago.

Callum Gibbins will captain the side from openside flanker, the man from New Plymouth having been confirmed as one of the club’s co-captains for a second successive season.

He will be joined in the back-row by a brace of Scotland internationals, as Rob Harley and Matt Fagerson pack down at blindside flanker and number eight respectively.

Andrew Davidson will make his first appearance since re-joining the club on a permanent basis over the summer as he lines up alongside Tim Swinson in the second-row, with Grant Stewart between Oli Kebble and D’arcy Rae in the front-row of the scrum.

Nick Frisby will partner Brandon Thomson at half-back, whilst Huw Jones and Nick Grigg form the centre partnership.

Kyle Steyn and Rory Hughes will look to provide a clinical edge on the wings, with Glenn Bryce pulling on a Glasgow Warriors shirt for the first time in this competition since 2016.

There are two men in line to make their competitive debuts for the club off the bench, as Johnny Matthews and Jamie Dobie are rewarded for their impressive showings in pre-season with a place in the matchday squad.

Bruce Flockhart joins fellow Inverness man Dobie amongst the replacements, with Alex Allan and Adam Nicol completing the front-row substitutes alongside Matthews.

Robbie Nairn is also named on the bench alongside two club centurions, with Ruaridh Jackson and Chris Fusaro bringing a combined 315 caps of experience to proceedings.

The teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Dries Swanepoel, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar (c), 8 Henco Venter, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Erich de Jager, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Reinach Venter, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Sias Koen, 21 Jasper Wiese, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Louis Fouche

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Callum Gibbins (c), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Andrew Davidson, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Bruce Flockhart, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Jamie Dobie (0), 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Robbie Nairn

Venue: Free State Stadium
Kick-off: 18:05 BST (17:05 GMT)
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Ulster v Ospreys

New signings Jack McGrath, Sam Carter and Matt Faddes will earn their first Ulster caps in Friday’s clash with Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium.

McGrath starts in the front-row alongside captain Rob Herring and Tom O’Toole, with Carter partnering Kieran Treadwell in the second-row.

Matthew Rea, Jordi Murphy and Sean Reidy are selected as the loose forwards.

Last season’s pivotal half-back partnership of John Cooney and Billy Burns continues, with James Hume and Luke Marshall paired in the Ulster midfield.

Following impressive showings in pre-season, Craig Gilroy will make his first competitive outing in over 11 months, and he joins Rob Lyttle and Faddes in the back three.

John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Alan O’Connor and Greg Jones will provide the forward options from the bench, with David Shanahan, Michael Lowry and Louis Ludik covering the backline.

Meanwhile, Ospreys will be led by flanker Dan Lydiate as they, like many other sides, begin the new season without several internationals.

Adam Beard, Aled Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, George North, Nicky Smith, Justin Tipuric and Owen Watkin and all away with Wales while Lesley Klim (Namibia) Ma’afu Fia (Tonga) are also at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The team does, however, include Dan Evans at full-back, Cory Allen and Scott Williams in the centre and the dangerous Keelan Giles on the wing.

Up front there’s starts for hooker Sam Parry, second-row James King and Gareth Evans at number eight.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Matt Faddes, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 James Hume, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Greg Jones, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Michael Lowry, 23 Louis Ludik

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Luke Price, 9 Matthew Aubrey, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Olly Cracknell, 6 Dan Lydiate (c), 5 James King, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Gheorghe Gajion, 19 Sam Cross, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Cai Evans, 23 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

Glasgow Warriors