URC, Round 16 - Teams and Predictions
FRIDAY PREVIEW: The headline game of the weekend is surely Friday’s match between the table-topping Leinster and the champions, the Stormers, in Dublin.
The clash is expected to serve as a good benchmark for where the teams lie a few weeks out from the quarterfinals, as both sides will want to build winning momentum going into the closing stages of the competition.
With the Irish giants boasting a 12-point lead in the standings over the Capetonians, the spotlight will on the visitors to see if they can end Leinster’s mammoth unbeaten run.
What’s more, the Stormers can feel the heat from Ulster, who are chomping at the bit to work themselves into the best position to possibly claim a home semifinal if they were to progress to the top four.
Leinster will bank on their home ground advantage and superior attack and defence in the first 15 rounds of the competition to give them an edge, but with everything to play for and the Cape side coming off morale-boosting back-to-back wins, they will have all the motivation they need to deliver a top-class performance.
The Capetonians also have a number of Springboks back in their starting team, while, Leinster are without several big names after a gruelling Six Nations campaign with Ireland.
The Stormers will be close to full strength, at least in a manner of speaking. The qualification is an acknowledgement that while Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie and Damian Willemse have just completed their resting protocols and are back in training and will play in Dublin, they won’t have the sharpness and momentum that comes with having played recently.
For Stormers coach John Dobson the appearance of his Boks in Friday’s game is more about getting them ready for the following week’s important home Round of 16 Champions Cup face-off against Harlequins.
That’s not to say the Stormers won’t be going to the RDS with every intention of winning, and Dobson said a few weeks back that his men will give it their best shot.
Also, all the Stormers’ defeats this season have come in the north and that is something they would like to get right on Friday.
“We are aware that all our defeats have been in the Northern Hemisphere, so we want to try and turn that around if we want to be at the top table of World Rugby,” said Dobson.
“Playing Leinster away and with a lot of our players off for two months, we must be slightly realistic about it.
“We are here to try and win it, but our main focus is to produce an outstanding performance in front of 50 000 of the faithful next week against Harlequins.
“Getting everybody ready for that is as important to me.
“It is just a massive occasion for Cape Town.
“We want our team to use tomorrow [Friday] to get into the best shape we can.
“If we get the win, which we will certainly go for, it will be another big step but the main thing is a fit strong team for next Saturday.”
Rain is expected on Friday in Dublin and that could be an issue for the Stormers as it played a role in some of their defeats.
“If you look at our results, it rained in Glasgow, it rained in Cardiff and we drew with Ospreys in a monsoon,” said the Stormers coach.
“We are just not used to it to the extent they are.
“I think we got reasonable plans, but I don’t think the rain generally suits any of the South African teams.
“That is part of the journey when I say we want to plant a stake in the ground in the Northern Hemisphere with one of these games in these conditions.
“It is important for our growth. We can’t just be those guys who rely on sunshine and hard fields to get wins.”
One thing that is certain is that the Stormers will not move away from their adventurous style of play.
“We want to play a high-paced game and we want to try and impose our plan on them,” Dobson explained.
“I don’t think we are going to creep into our shells. That is not the plan.
“They [Leinster] are a multiphase team. With those phases they can get quick ball and put your defence under pressure, so we will probably look to try and compete physically at certain areas and slow down their ball.
“In terms of how we play, we certainly want to give it a crack and move the ball a bit.”
A serious test
Meanwhile, Leinster’s assistant coach Andrew Goodman said his team are well aware of the challenge that comes with facing the champions.
“It’s a serious test. The Stormers are bringing over their full-strength squad. We like the challenge of welcoming the URC champs from last year,” he said.
“It’s been a while since we have played South African opponents as well, so you are coming up against a different style of play which brings excitement into the building.
“It’s the last league game of the season at the RDS, so we are looking to put on a good show in front of our faithful crowd. There’s been a good buzz around the place and everyone is really excited about getting stuck in on Friday.”
Friday’s other match will see Zebre at home to Cardiff.
If Cardiff are to keep alive their hopes of making the end-of-season play-offs, they simply have to beat the bottom-of-the-table team out in Italy.
Dai Young’s team are currently tenth, five points adrift of Connacht who sit in that all-important eighth spot. If they can win this weekend, it would set up a huge clash in Galway on April 15.
As well as looking up, Cardiff will also be casting an eye over their shoulder as they bid to remain the highest-placed Welsh team, which would guarantee them Champions Cup rugby next season. They are currently just four and five points ahead of the chasing Ospreys and Scarlets respectively, so can’t afford any slip-ups.
They are boosted by having Thomas Young, James Botham, Rhys Priestland and Liam Belcher back from injury, while Wales Six Nations squad members Mason Grady, Rhys Carre and Teddy Williams are also available.
For Zebre Parma, it’s their final home game of the season before they round things off with two matches out in South Africa, so they will doubtless be targeting this one big-time as they look to avoid going through the whole season without a league win.
See below for Friday’s teams and predictions!
Friday, March 24:
Zebre Parma v Cardiff
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 20.10; 19.10 UK & Ireland time; 19.10 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Cardiff by 13 points.
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin (captain), 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Luca Andreani, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Jacques Du Toit, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 David Sisi, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 James Botham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh Turnball (captain), 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Riccardo Angelucci (Italy), Matteo Locatelli (Italy)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Leinster v Stormers
(RDS Arena, Dublin – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT; 21.35 SA time)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Leinster by five points
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Rob Russell, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 John McKee, 1 Michael Milne.
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Will Connors, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Ben Brownlee.
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Keane Davison (Ireland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
