Will Addison at 15 as Billy Burns skippers Ulster

Adam Kyriacou
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There’s two games scheduled on Friday in the PRO14 as Munster and Ulster face Ospreys and Cardiff Blues respectively in intriguing matches.

Munster v Ospreys

Munster head coach Johann van Graan has made some alterations to his starting line-up to take on the Welsh region at Irish Independent Park.

There are five changes to the side beaten by Cheetahs last time out as Calvin Nash, Neil Cronin, James Cronin, Jed Holloway and Jack O’Sullivan all come into the side, with first PRO14 starts for Academy number eight O’Sullivan and short-term signing Holloway.

Neil Cronin, James Cronin and Nash all make their first starts of the season.

Mike Haley is named at full-back with Nash and Shane Daly on either flank. The centre partnership of Rory Scannell and Dan Goggin is unchanged with Neil Cronin and Tyler Bleyendaal in the half-backs.

Rhys Marshall, James Cronin and Stephen Archer pack down in the front-row with Holloway and captain Billy Holland in the engine room.

Back-row trio Jack O’Donoghue, Tommy O’Donnell and O’Sullivan complete the side.

Craig Casey and Sammy Arnold are set to make their first appearances of the season off the bench.

Meanwhile, Ospreys captain and Wales back-row Dan Lydiate will make his 50th appearance for the Welsh region in this match. Lydiate leads the team from the second-row where he packs down alongside Lloyd Ashley.

Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke has made two changes to his run-on side which beat Benetton a fortnight ago.

Both of those come in the back-line where Hanno Dirksen and Tom Williams are promoted from the replacements bench and will be the starting wings. Dirksen comes in for Luke Morgan on the right wing while Williams takes over from Keelan Giles on the other flank.

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Jack O’Sullivan, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Liam O’Connor, 18 Jeremy Loughman, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Craig Casey, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Sammy Arnold

Ospreys: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Luke Price, 9 Matthew Aubrey, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Lloyd Ashley, 4 Dan Lydiate (c), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Lesley Klim

Date: Friday, October 25
Venue: Irish Independent Park, Cork
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)

Ulster v Cardiff Blues

Will Addison will make his first appearance this season when Ulster host Cardiff Blues at Kingspan Stadium on Friday.

Addison is named at full-back and is one of five changes to the starting team who recorded a bonus-point win over the Southern Kings last time out.

He will be joined in the back three by Louis Ludik and Craig Gilroy – Ulster’s current most-capped player who will make his 172nd appearance. James Hume returns to partner Luke Marshall in midfield.

John Cooney starts at scrum-half and will be one step closer to his 50th cap milestone, making his 49thappearance. He will play alongside Billy Burns at fly-half, who will captain Ulster for the first time in a competitive game.

There are three changes in the pack; Jack McGrath returns to start at loosehead, along with John Andrew at hooker and Tom O’Toole anchoring the tighthead position. Kieran Treadwell comes in to join the PRO14’s top tackler in Round 3, Alan O’Connor, in the second-row.

The back-row remains unchanged with Matthew Rea at blindside flanker, Sean Reidy at openside, and Marcell Coetzee at number eight.

Nick Timoney has completed his recovery from a hand injury sustained in pre-season and is available off the bench, along with fellow forwards Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane and Sam Carter. David Shanahan, Bill Johnston and Matt Faddes make up the backline replacements.

Meanwhile, Nick Williams returns to the number eight jersey as one of four changes made to the Cardiff Blues line-up for the PRO14 trip.

Williams will captain the Blues at his former stomping ground as the Welsh region look to respond following back-to-back defeats to Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors.

Three of John Mulvihill’s changes are made in the pack, with Liam Belcher returning to the starting line-up at hooker and Welsh international, Scott Andrews, set for his first start of the campaign, replacing the injured Dmitri Arhip.

Elsewhere, Jason Harries will make his first appearance of the campaign on the wing, after Owen Lane linked up with the Wales squad, who prepare for a crucial Rugby World Cup semi final against South Africa in Japan on Sunday.

The changes sees Will Boyde shifting to the blindside, with Josh Turnbull combining with Rory Thornton at lock, replacing Seb Davies who is named on the bench.

Centre Willis Halaholo will make his 50th PRO14 appearance, just short of three years since making his Championship debut out in Treviso in 2016.

Arhip’s injury puts Keiron Assiratti in the frame for his first competitive appearance of the season.

He’s named on the bench alongside two international forwards in Kristian Dacey and Seb Davies, with seven of the eight replacements products of the Cardiff Blues academy.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 James Hume, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Billy Burns (c), 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Matt Faddes

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams (c), 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Will Boyde, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh Turnbull, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Harri Millard

Date: Friday, October 25
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), David Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Cardiff Rugby