Challenge Cup, Round Two - teams and predictions

SATURDAY PREVIEW: One of the big EPCR showdowns this weekend takes place in Bloemfontein when the Cheetahs host the Sharks in Round two of Pool 1 on Sunday.

There will be five Challenge Cup games on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Both the Cheetahs and Sharks won their opening Challenge Cup fixtures with the former beating Zebre Parma 33-15 and the latter crushing Section Paloise (Pau) 45-5 at home, scoring the joint-most tries in the round (six).

The home-side’s Jeandre Rudolph will play in his 50th match for the Cheetahs in this challenge.

Cheetahs captain Victor Sekekete, when prompted about the strong Sharks team laden with Springboks, said they will be ready for the fight.

“Yes they’ve got a good team on paper, we will give credit where credit is due. But for us, we are chasing our processes as it is, we said we want to focus on each and every game as it comes,” Sekekete said.

“This is a true benchmark for us. We are keen for a good forward battle. It is a game where we can see how far we are. It’s been a while since we had a good forward battle but for us we are always looking for a good battle, whether it’s a maul and scrums.

“And we know this weekend with their Springboks they will get that boost and it’s going to be good encounter up front.”

Forwards coach Izak van der Westhuizen did not want to make a big fuss about the Sharks.

“Zebre is gone, this is the next game. We are going to treat it the way we want to play it, we aren’t going to make a big fuss about it or anything special. For us we want to chase our processes and make sure we play the way we want to play.

“In the game over the weekend we showed that, even though we didn’t get a lot of game time before that, we are well oiled and I think we did a lot of things well. So we are looking forward to the challenge against the Sharks,” he said.

He explained how they will approach the game: “I think slowing down their ball is going to be very important for us. They want to play an expansive game, so the slower we can make the breakdowns, the better for us.

“And that again will give our defence, which has been operating very well the last couple of games and in the Currie Cup, the opportunity to get in their faces.

“We are expecting a physical onslaught up front, I think they are building confidence in their forwards pack so I think they are going to come at us in the scrums and try and maul us,” Van der Westhuizen concluded.

Sharks coach John Plumtree only made two changes to the side that will face the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. This sees Le Roux Roets getting his first start after making his long-awaited return from injury last week.

Wing Werner Kok has been cleared to start and takes over from Marnus Potgieter in the back three.

Young Ethan Hooker gets another chance to impress after a strong showing in his team’s 45-5 drubbing of Pau last week.

“The game against the Cheetahs will be another derby. They had a good win. So that’s going to be a challenge for us. We have to maintain our consistency,” Plumtree said.

“It’s not about the result, it’s about how we play. We have a nice eight day turn-around because we have Sunday kick-off.”

Jeandre Rudolph will be playing his 5oth match for the Toyota Cheetahs on Sunday against the Hollywoodbets Sharks! 👏🏉🧡#EPCRChallengeCup @ToyotaSA pic.twitter.com/04sEUOYZLH

— Toyota Cheetahs (@CheetahsRugby) December 14, 2023

*Meanwhile the Lions, who reached last year’s quarterfinals, proved a stubborn outfit for their French hosts Perpignan and led throughout.

They host the Newcastle Falcons at Ellis Park on Saturday.

TOP14 side Perpignan struggled to break through their visitors with all of their points coming from kicker Jean-Pascal Barraque.

The sides traded early penalties with Hendrikse striking the visitors ahead before fullback Barraque kicked his side level on six minutes.

The Lions scored the game’s only try on nine minutes when fullback Andries Coetzee ran onto his chipped kick before then releasing wing Rabz Maxwane to dot down, converted from a difficult angle by Hendrikse.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen made wholesale changes for this encounter, opting to bring back his big names.

Part of the changes sees Sanele Nohamba take the role of flyhalf, linking up with scrumhalf Morne van den Berg again.

Centre Marius Louw captains the side again, partnering with Rynhardt Jonker in the midfield.

Quan Horn has been given the nod at fullback, with Richard Kriel at the right wing and Rabz Maxwane moving the left.

After heartbreak at home last week the Newcastle Falcons narrowly lost their opening fixture against Montpellier Herault Rugby, 19-24, with wing Adam Radwan beating a total of ten defenders – more than any other player in the round.

Drillz and skillz to pay the billz 👌 pic.twitter.com/Ofci8aZzG3

— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) December 15, 2023

*Two teams seeking their first wins in the Cup this season meet at the Stadio Monigo on Saturday as Benetton Rugby face USAP in Pool 2.

Benetton Rugby narrowly lost 34-43 to Ospreys in Round 1, with flank Sebastian Negri making four dominant tackles (the only player in the round to make that many) and lock Niccolo Cannone making three.

USAP were defeated 12-28 at home by the Lions, conceding 16 penalties and failing to score a single try. Flyhalf Jean-Pascal Barraque scored all of their points with a quartet of penalties.

All the teams and predictions:

Saturday, December 16

Oyonnax v Zebre
(Stade Charles Mathon, Oyonnax – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Oyonnax by eight points

Teams:

Oyonnax: 15 Darren Sweetnam, 14 Gavin Stark, 13 Leo Treilles, 12 Theo Millet, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Justin Bouraux, 9 Ilan El Khattabi, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Hugo Hermet, 6 Kevin Lebreton, 5 Hugo Fabregue, 4 Ewan Johnson, 3 Ali Oz, 2 Teddy Durand-Pradere, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Geledan, 17 Antoine Abraham, 18 Christopher Vaotoa, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Loic Credoz, 21 Yvan David, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Maxime Salles

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli (captain), 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Jake Polledri, 7 Taina Fox-Matamua, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Luca Rizzoli
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Alessio Sanavia, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Dylan De Leeuw, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Giovanni Licata

Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Sara Cox, Jon Meredith
TMO: Dean Richards

Edinburgh v Castres
(Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Castres by 15 points

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Glen Young, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Darcy Graham

Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Nathanael Hulleu, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Andrea Cocagi, 11 Antoine Bouzerand, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Gauthier Doubrere, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Baptiste Cope, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Gauthier Maravat, 3 Aurelien Azar, 2 Pierre Colonna, 1 Lois Guerois-Galisson
Replacements: 16 Loris Zarantonello, 17 Wayan de Benedittis, 18 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Baptiste Delaporte, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Theo Chabouni

Referee: Adam Jones
Assistant referees: Tom Spurrier, Elgan Williams
TMO: Sean Brickell

Benetton v Perpignan
(Stadio Monigo, Treviso -Kick-off: 16.15, 15.15 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Benetton by 12 points

Teams:

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Odogwu, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Edoardo Iachizzi, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Henry Time-Stowers, 22 Nicolò Casilio, 23 Leonardo Marin

Perpignan: 15 Boris Goutard, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Eddie Sawailau, 11 Mathieu Acebes, 10 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 9 Matteo Rodor, 8 Valentin Moro, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Lucas Bachelier, 5 Shahn Eru, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Arthur Joly, 2 Vakhtang Jincharadze, 1 Akato Fakatika
Replacements: 16 Victor Montgaillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Nemo Roelofse, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Mathieu Tanguy, 21 Ewan Bertheau, 22 Lenny Viola, 23 Nicola Bozzo

Referee: Eoghan Cross
Assistant referees: Dan Carson, Robbie Jenkinson
TMO: Leo Colgan

Lions v Newcastle Falcons
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off 17.15; 15.15 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Lions by nine points

Teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne Van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Williem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 Hanry Sirgel, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Gianni Lombard.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Nathan Greenwood, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Louis Brown, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Josh Barton, 8 John Kelly, 7 Josh Bainbridge (captain), 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Mark Tampin, 2 Charlie Maddison, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Adam Scott, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Ben Douglas, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 George Wacokecoke

Referee: Benoit Rousselet
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira & Filippo Russo
TMO: Eric Gauzins

Pau v Dragons
(Stade du Hameau, Pau – Kick-off: 19.30, 17.30 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Dragons by 13 points

Pau: 15 Axel Desperes, 14 Aminiasi Tuimaba, 13 Nathan Decron, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Thomas Carol, 10 Thibault Debaes, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Thibaut Hamonou, 7 Martin Puech, 6 Mehdi Tlili, 5 Brent Liufau, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Facundo Gigena
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Paul Tailhades, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Mickael Capelli, 20 Josselin Bouhier, 21 Thomas Souverbie, 22 Emilien Gailleton, 23 Theo Attissogbe

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Steff Hughes (captain), 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Cai Evans, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Harri Keddie, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 George Young, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Corey Baldwin, 23 Ewan Rosser

Referee: Federico Vedovelli
Assistant referees: Alex Frasson, Manuel Bottino
TMO: Stefano Roscini

Sunday, December 17

Cheetahs v Sharks
(Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Sharks by nine points

Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 George Lourens, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Laurance Victor, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Sibabalo Qoma, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Ali Mgijim

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Le Roux Roets, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ethan Hooker

Referee: Andrea Piardi
Assistant referees: Benoit Rousselet, Filippo Russo
TMO: Eric Gauzins

Montpellier v Ospreys
(GGL Stadium, Montpellier – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:
@Rugby365: Montpellier by five points

Teams:

Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 George Bridge, 13 Pierre Lucas, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Leo Coly, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Clement Doumenc, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Tyler DuGuid, 4 Marco Tauleigne, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Enzo Forletta, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Masi Dakuwaqa, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 23 Auguste Cadot

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 George North, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris (c), 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Tristan Davies, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Fender, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Luke Scully

Referee: Anthony Woodhope
Assistant referees: George Selwood, James Clarke
TMO: David Rose