United Rugby Championship: Tiernan O’Halloran to play 200th game for Connacht

Colin Newboult

The United Rugby Championship continues this weekend as a full round of eight matches takes place, so check out the teams and predictions.

Friday

Dragons v Benetton

Prediction: Dragons by 7

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Ross Moriarty (c), 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Harri Keddie, 5 Joe Maksymiw, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Taylor Davies, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jared Rosser, 23 Ioan Davies

Benetton: 15 Giacomo Da Re, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Filippo Drago, 12 Joaquin Riera, 11 Tommaso Benvenuti, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Matteo Meggiato, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Nahuel Tetaz, 2 Corniel Els, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Nicola Piantella, 20 Braam Steyn, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Tommy Bell

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Jason Bessant (Wales), John Darcy (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Ulster v Scarlets

Prediction: Ulster by 12

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Ben Moxham, 12 Angus Curtis, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Greg Jones, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 John Andrew, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements:
16 Brad Roberts, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 David McCann, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Aaron Sexton

Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Steff Hughes, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 7 Shaun Evans, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Morgan Jones, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Daf Hughes (c), 1 Steff Thomas
Replacements:
16 Marc Jones, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Josh Helps, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Steff Evans

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Peter Marin (Ireland), Andrew Cole (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Saturday

Lions v Bulls

Prediction: Bulls by 15

The teams:

Lions: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Willem Alberts, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Sibusiso Sangweni, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Muller Uys, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 David Kriel

Venue: Emirates Airline Park
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)

Connacht v Glasgow Warriors

Prediction: Glasgow by 3

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Alex Wootton, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 10 Cathal Forde, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Jarrad Butler (c), 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 Leva Fifita, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Greg McGrath, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Tietie Tuimauga, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Seán Masterson, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Shayne Bolton, 23 Oran McNulty

Glasgow: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Ryan Wilson (cc), 5 Richie Gray, 4 Kiran McDonald, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Fraser Brown (cc), 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Stafford McDowall

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 14:55 GMT
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Stuart Douglas (Ireland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

Sharks v Stormers

Prediction: Sharks by 10

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Jeandre Labuschagne, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Tito Bonilla, 23 Jeremy Ward

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c)
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Nama Xaba, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Dan du Plessis, 23 Warrick Gelant

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park
Kick-off: 17:05 local (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Zebre Parma v Munster

Prediction: Munster by 9

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Timothy O’Malley, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Liam Mitchell, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi (c), 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio
Replacements:
16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Joshua Zilocchi, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Potu Junior Leavasa, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Giulio Bisegni

Munster: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Liam Coombes, 12 Dan Goggin, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Jack O’Sullivan, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Keynan Knox, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements:
16 Scott Buckley, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Thomas Ahern, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Chris Farrell

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 18:00 local (17:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (Italy), Maria Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)

Ospreys v Edinburgh

Prediction: Edinburgh by 7

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Mat Protheroe, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Ethan Roots, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 Lloyd Ashley, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Reuben Morgan Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Tiaan Thomas Wheeler

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Cammy Hutchison, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 8 Mesulame Kunavula, 7 Connor Boyle, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Glen Young, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Angus Williams, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Harrison Courtney, 18 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Mark Bennett

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Mike English (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)

Cardiff v Leinster

Prediction: Leinster by 6

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Botham, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh Turnbull (c), 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Max Llewellyn, 23 Garyn Smith

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Rory O’Loughlin, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (c), 8 Scott Penny, 7 Will Connors, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Tommy O’Brien

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Aled Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)