URC Round 17 - Teams and Predictions

SATURDAY PREVIEW: From play-off hopes to Champions Cup qualification and a unique South African clean sweep – it is all still to play for.

Remarkably little has been decided as we head into the penultimate round of fixtures.

Apart from knowing that Leinster will contest the play-offs, the full Final Eight picture is still far from clear.

The Stormers, Munster, Sharks, Ulster, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh all have an opportunity to seal their own progress this weekend but with three all-top-eight matches on the programme, not all of them will celebrate come the end of the round.

Saturday’s action kicks off in Johannesburg when the Lions host Italian side Benetton.

The clash is followed by another exciting match between Sharks and Connacht in Durban.

Zebre host the Dragons in Italy.

And in what is probably the match of the weekend, Leinster are in Cape Town to face the in-form Stormers.

Other matches will see Ospreys face Scarlets and Edinburgh take on Ulster.

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Leinster could clinch the top spot in both the overall standings and Irish Shield, securing a home quarterfinal in the process, if they beat the Stormers.

A draw or two bonus points in defeat would also be enough while one point would be sufficient should the Stormers win but fail to collect a bonus point themselves.

On the other hand, the Stormers could put themselves in a position to snatch the top seeding in Round 18.

John Dobson’s men will be looking to claim a bonus-point win over Leinster and hope Edinburgh and the Bulls are the only other teams in the top eight to pick up a victory.

Despite their incredible winning run, the Stormers will have to be on top of their game against Leinster, who are missing a couple of big names.

The Irish giants narrowly missed out on a win after a late comeback by the Sharks made sure the Durban side recorded a 28-23 victory.

The Stormers on the other hand recorded their sixth straight win and the seventh consecutive at home with a 32-7 thumping of Glasgow Warriors.

“We are fully aware of the dangers of this game and the importance of it to both them and us,” Dobson said.

“For the occasion, it is a pity that Johnny Sexton, Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Furlong aren’t here.

“But, in terms of the level of rugby, this is an on-merit, first-versus-second clash with lots to play for.”

He added: “We are trying to make the play-offs and mathematically we are not there yet. Theoretically, Scarlets can still knock us out if they get four points and we drop.”

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Elsewhere a win for the Sharks will see them book a spot in the Final eight.

The Sharks will host Connacht, who secured a hard-fought win over the Lions last weekend.

“It is a very important game for us,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said.

“I think we don’t want to travel to Ulster in Round 18 under pressure to qualify.”

The Sharks boss has been very happy with his team, stating his side are peaking at the right moment.

“Things are coming together very nicely now,” Everitt said.

“What let us down last week was our alertness on the field. And obviously, in tight games, we can’t afford to give away soft opportunities.

“Our breakdown defensively and on attack has improved a lot. We are not conceding as many turnovers on the ground as we use to. Going into this game against Connacht, they are a massive threat on the floor, and we focused on that so we can improve by the time we get to Ulster.”

He added: “Anything can happen in this competition and we have to get the full house of points.

“And then go to Ulster and get a win. We have worked it out if you can finish with 58 points you have the opportunity to finish second.”

Commenting on the match, Connacht head coach Andy Friend said: “Beating all four South African teams would be a tremendous achievement but we’re fully aware we have a significant task ahead of us on Saturday.

“The Sharks have named a side full of Springbok internationals and will have a large and passionate fanbase behind them in Durban.

“That said, the group has taken huge confidence from the win in Johannesburg and the atmosphere around the camp all week has been really positive.”

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* The Saturday predictions and teams are below …

Saturday, April 30 

Lions v Benetton
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 Italy time; 12.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Lions by 15 points

Teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Francke Horn, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Sithembiso Sithole, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel.

Benetton:  15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Filippo Drago, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (captain), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Irnè Herbst, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Matteo Meggiato, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Andries Coetzee

Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) & Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Sharks v Connacht
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 16.05; 15.05 UK time; 14.05 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Sharks by 10 points

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phendulani Buthelezi, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Thomas du Toit (captain), 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Jeandré Labuschagne, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Henry Chamberlain.

Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Conor Fitzgerald, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler (captain), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Leva Fifita, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Oisín Dowling, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Tiernan O’Halloran

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa) & Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

Zebre v Dragons
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 16.05; 15.05 UK time; 14.05 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Dragons by five points

Teams:

Zebre: : 15 Junior Laloifi, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Antonio Rizzi, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi (captain), 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Gabriele Venditti, 20 Luca Andreani, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Timothy O’Malley, 23 Michelangelo Biondelli

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams; 8 Taine Basham, 7 Ben Fry, 6 Harri Keddie (captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Taylor Davies, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Lennon Greggains, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Will Reed, 23 Josh Lewis

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Riccardo Angelucci (Italy) & Dario Merli (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

Stormers v Leinster
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 18.15; 17.15 UK time; 16.15 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stormers by three points

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Juan de Jongh.

Leinster:  15 Max O’Reilly, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Rory O’Loughlin, 11 Rob Russell, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Cormac Foley, 8 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Seán O’Brien, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Martin Moloney

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) & Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Crouse (South Africa)

Ospreys v Scarlets
(Swansea Stadium, Swansea – Kick-off: 17.05; 16.05 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Scarlets by four points

Teams:

Ospreys: 15 Mat Protheroe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Rhys Webb (captain), 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas,
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Ethan Roots, 21 Reuben Morgan Williams, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 George North

Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Corey Baldwin, 13 Jonathan Davies (captain), 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Josh Macleod, 5 Jac Price, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Steff Thomas,
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Rob Evans, 18 WillGriff John,19 Morgan Jones, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Steff Evans

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales) & Rhys Jones (Wales)
TMO: Wayne Davies (Wales)

Edinburgh v Ulster
(The DAM Health Stadium, Edinburgh – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Edinburgh by five points

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman,
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Harrison Courtney, 18 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Matt Currie

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Marcus Rea, 5 Iain Henderson (captain), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick,
Replacements: 16 Brad Roberts, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Matty Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Rob Lyttle

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ian Kenny (Scotland) & Dunx McClement (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)