Scotland trio return for Edinburgh in 1872 Cup game

David Skippers
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There are four PRO14 matches scheduled to take place on Saturday with Benetton, Edinburgh, Ulster and Leinster hosting Zebre, Glasgow Warriors, Munster and Connacht in their respective games.

Benetton v Zebre

Benetton head coach Kieran Crowely has named his matchday squad for Saturday’s derby against Zebre in Treviso.

In the backline, Jayden Hayward starts at full-back with Luca Sperandio and Monty Ioane joining him as the wings in the back three, while Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Benvenuti are the centre pairing.

Tommaso Allan captains the side from fly-half and Callum Braley partners him in the half-backs.

Up front, Marco Barbini packs down at number eight with Manuel Zuliani and Giovanni Pettinelli the two flankers, while Niccolò Cannone and Marco Lazzaroni start in the engine room.

Gianmarco Lucchesi is the starting hooker and he is joined in the front-row by props Simone Ferrari and Ivan Nemer.

Meanwhile, Zebre name the same starting XV that was due to face Benetton in the postponed Round Nine fixture in Parma last weekend.

Lock David Sisi captains the side and he is joined in the second-row by Leonard Krumov, while Renato Giammarioli starts at number eight alongside Maxime Mbandà and Jimmy Tuivaiti, who are the flankers.

Giosuè Zilocchi and Danilo Fischetti are the starting props and Luca Bigi packs down at hooker.

In the backline, Carlo Canna and Nicolò Casilio start as the half-back duo while Tommaso Boni and Federico Mori form the midfield combination. The back three comprises Junior Laloifi (full-back) and wings Pierre Bruno and Mattia Bellini.

Italian international Johan Meyer recovers from a shoulder injury to take his place on the replacements bench.

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Luca Sperandio, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Benvenuti, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan (c), 9 Callum Braley, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Niccolò Cannone, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Ivan Nemer
Replacements: 16 Thomas Gallo, 17 Cherif Traoré, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Alberto Sgarbi, 22 Luca Petrozzi, 23 Paolo Garbisi

Zebre: 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Federico Mori, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Nicolò Casilio, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Maxime Mbandà, 6 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi (c), 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Johan Meyer, 21 Joshua Renton, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Michelangelo Biondelli

Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Marius Mitrea (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has made five changes to his starting team to face Glasgow Warriors in Saturday’s 1872 Cup derby at Murrayfield.

Rested Scotland trio Darcy Graham (wing), Henry Pyrgos (co-captain and scrum-half) and Jamie Ritchie (back-row) return to the front-line for the PRO14 fixture, having missed the club’s away win over Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup.

Graham and Pyrgos are straight replacements for Jack Blain and Charlie Shiel – who drop out of the matchday 23 – while back-row Magnus Bradbury moves to the bench to accommodate Ritchie.

Props Pierre Schoeman (loosehead) and WP Nel (tighthead) switch places with Rory Sutherland and Simon Berghan – who join the replacements – to complete the changes.

Returning wing Graham reforms a familiar back-three trio with full-back Blair Kinghorn and wing Duhan van der Merwe, with fly-half Jaco van der Walt linking up with Pyrgos at half-back.

Centres Mark Bennett and club centurion Chris Dean return to form the midfield once more.

Hooker Stuart McInally – who made his 150th club appearance in the Sale Sharks win – joins Schoeman and Nel in the front-row, in front of reselected locks Ben Toolis and Jamie Hodgson, with Hamish Watson and Viliame Mata completing the back-row with Ritchie.

The remaining change to the squad sees Mike Willemse replace David Cherry as the replacement hooker on the bench.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors head coach Danny Wilson is able to call upon the services of Richie Gray for the 1872 Cup clash, following the second-row’s recovery from concussion.

Gray is one of five changes to the starting line-up that took the field away to Exeter three weeks ago, as Wilson’s men look to kick 2021 off with a bang.

In the front-row Aki Seiuli replaces the unavailable Oli Kebble and is joined at the coal face by Zander Fagerson and hooker George Turner.

Fresh from signing a new long-term deal with the club, Scott Cummings packs down with fellow Scotland second-row Richie Gray in the boiler house.

Wilson has opted for an unchanged back-row with captain Ryan Wilson at six, Tom Gordon at seven and Matt Fagerson at eight.

In an all Scottish qualified backline, Brandon Thomson makes his first start of the season at fly-half and is joined by Ali Price at scrum-half.

In the midfield, Sam Jonson starts at inside centre and is once again paired up with Nick Grigg outside him at 13.

Lee Jones retains his place in the back three and is joined by Ratu Tagive on the opposite wing with Huw Jones at full-back.

On the bench Glasgow academy fly-half Ross Thomson is in line to make his professional debut and become 319th player to take the field for Glasgow Warriors.

George Thornton is named on the bench with the loosehead in line to make his first appearance for the club in almost 14 months as he is named alongside Enrique Pieretto and Johnny Matthews as front-row cover.

TJ Ioane and Lewis Bean complete the forward replacements, with the latter returning to the Warriors on loan from Northampton Saints.

The replacements are completed by full-back Glenn Bryce and young scrum-half Jamie Dobie.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Henry Pyrgos (cc), 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (cc), 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Andries Ferreira, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Nathan Chamberlain, 23 James Johnstone

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Huw Jones, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Ratu Tagive, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Ryan Wilson (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Johnny Mathews, 17 George Thornton, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Jamie Dobbie, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Glenn Bryce

Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Blain (Scotland), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Ulster v Munster

Ulster’s starting XV to take on Munster at Kingspan Stadium sees 11 changes to the side that defeated Connacht last Sunday.

Jacob Stockdale returns to assume the full-back role and will be joined on the wings by Ethan McIlroy and Matt Faddes.

Stuart McCloskey comes in to partner James Hume in midfield. Billy Burns and John Cooney return to make up the half-back pairing this week.

In the front-row, Eric O’Sullivan and Marty Moore will pack down at loosehead and tighthead prop, with Rob Herring at hooker. Sam Carter will captain the Ulster men from the second-row, and will pair up with Kieran Treadwell.

Academy back-row, David McCann will make his first senior start for Ulster at openside flanker, and will be joined by Matty Rea at blindside and Nick Timoney at Number eight.

Ulster Academy loosehead, Callum Reid could make his senior debut if called upon, and is named alongside Adam McBurney, Tom O’Toole, David O’Connor and Marcell Coetzee in the forward replacements.

Reid’s Academy colleague, scrum-half Nathan Doak could also make his debut from the bench – he is named with Ian Madigan and last week’s debutant, Ben Moxham, in the backline reinforcements.

Meanwhile, head coach Johann van Graan makes a raft of changes for the interprovincial clash with Niall Scannell and Liam Coombes earning their first appearances of the season, while Academy fly-half Ben Healy has successfully rehabbed the shoulder injury sustained against Harlequins to start in the number 10 jersey.

In the replacements there is a welcome return for Dave Kilcoyne who is included in his first matchday squad since injuring his ankle against Leinster in August.

Shane Daly, who is the only player to retain his starting position from the Clermont game, makes the switch to full-back for his second appearance of the season and joining him in the back three are wingers Coombes and Calvin Nash.

Rory Scannell and Dan Goggin form the centre partnership while Craig Casey joins Healy in the half-back pairing.

It’s a new front-row combination with Liam O’Connor, Niall Scannell and John Ryan starting together for the first time, and behind them are Fineen Wycherley and captain Billy Holland in the second-row.

Completing the pack is a back-row of Jack O’Donoghue, Chris Cloete and Jack O’Sullivan.

Another young Academy fly-half, Jack Crowley, is in line to make his Munster debut if sprung from the bench.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Matt Faddes, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 David McCann, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 David O’Connor, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Ben Moxham

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Liam Coombes, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Sullivan, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Liam O’Connor
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Thomas Ahern, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Darren Sweetnam

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Rob O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

Leinster v Connacht

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has named his team to face Connacht in their PRO14 derby at the RDS Arena on Saturday.

Luke McGrath will captain the side with Academy duo Max O’Reilly and Andrew Smith making their debuts from the start.

20-year-old O’Reilly, who is in year one of the Leinster Rugby Academy, starts his first senior game in the number 15 jersey.

In the back three with O’Reilly is Smith, who is also making his debut on the right wing, and Dave Kearney who is on the left.

Smith, who is also 20 years of age and in year one of the Academy, has represented Ireland U20s as recently as the 2020 Six Nations.

Rory O’Loughlin and Jimmy O’Brien form the centre partnership for Cullen while McGrath will skipper the side from scrum-half with Johnny Sexton back from injury beside him in the number 10 jersey.

The front-row consists of Peter Dooley, James Tracy, and Michael Bent, the latter making his 150th appearance in Leinster colours, with Ross Molony and Devin Toner behind them in the second-row.

The back-row sees Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, and Dan Leavy selected to start in Cullen’s first matchday XV of 2021.

On the bench, Ed Byrne and Jack Conan make a welcome return from injury.

Meanwhile, Australian Ben O’Donnell is in line to make his Connacht debut in this fixture in Dublin.

The former World Sevens Player of the Year nominee joined the province last summer but has been forced to wait for his first appearance after recovering from a serious knee injury.

The back three player is named among the replacements and there are five changes to the starting XV that lined out against Ulster last weekend.

Dominic Robertson-McCoy comes into the front-row alongside Denis Buckley and Shane Delahunt, while Gavin Thornbury returns in the second-row beside Quinn Roux who is named as captain.

The back-row features both Masterson brothers, with Sean at number eight and Eoghan at blindside flanker, while Conor Oliver completes the pack from the opposite flank.

Caolin Blade and Jack Carty continue to partner-up at nine and 10 respectively, as do Tom Daly and Sammy Arnold at centre. The final change comes in the back three with Peter Sullivan starting on the wing, with Alex Wootton and John Porch completing the side.

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Max O’Reilly, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 Jimmy O’Brien, 12 Rory O’Loughlin, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath (c), 8 Dan Leavy, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Seán Cronin, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Liam Turner, 23 Will Connors

Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Peter Sullivan, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Sean Masterson, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 Quinn Roux (c), 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Matthew Burke, 18 Conor Kenny, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 23 Ben O’Donnell

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Benetton Treviso