URC, Round One - Teams and Predictions

URC, ROUND ONE: The United Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend with all 16 teams set to be in action and the opening match sees two local teams, the Lions up against the Stormers.

The action then moves to Limerick in Ireland, where the Sharks get their campaign off on a very tough note, against the defending champions, Munster.

The final match involving a South African team when the Bulls – runners up in 2021 – host the Scarlets from Wales.

The Lions beat the Stormers in their first league fixture in December 2021, by 37-19 in Cape Town. The last time these teams met in Johannesburg, the visitors won by 31-22 in round seven on 29 October 2022.

Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has wasted no time in selecting the journeyman Corne Fourie in their opening match having joined after a long stint at the Pumas.

Centre Marius Louw will again captain the side while Sanele Nohamba and Jordan Hendrikse have been handed the halfback duties.

Forwards coach Barend Pieterse told a media briefing during the week that it has been one of the hardest, toughest pre-seasons the Lions have had in quite a while.

“The thing that has impressed me is the workrate of the guys. When I was still an out-sider looking in, you sort of had this mindset about the Lions and where they are now, but the way the guys train, the work they do off-field before training,” Pieterse said.

“They are in here early, they prehab, they rehab. You can’t fault their effort in all the training I have seen. That has impressed me the most.”

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Stormers coach John Dobson sprung a surprise by picking Clayton Blommetjies at flyhalf, but explained that injuries to certain key personnel necessitated the move.

“We talked about it in the off-season. With Manie [Libbok]  and Damian [Willemse] at the World Cup and Jurie Mathee that got a dead leg just before we played the Sharks so he hasn’t been able to train.

“Dan du Plessis is a blow. We probably would’ve played Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] at ten if we had a real option at twelve but we threw Blomme in and he and Warrick [Gelant]  got a real good understanding,” Dobson explained.

“He fits our game in the way he plays and the way he played against the Sharks.

“It’s a very very long season so an injury or two now for a couple of weeks probably doesn’t mean too much. It’s all about depth.

“Blomme has become an integral part of the team. But he is going to be good, no question.”

Both Dobson and captain Salmaan Moerat were asked about what the Stormers can expect from the Lions.

“They named a youthful side, a very energetic side. You can already tell what their plan is. We are sure they will be moving the ball around,” the captain said.

“Jordan Hendrikse is an excellent ten. It’s tougher to start against teams that you know a little less about. A home game early in the season is pretty much a non-negotiable for them and they want to sort of change their fortunes from the last year or two. That is a threat to us,” Dobson reckons.

“We are expecting them to exploit the altitude”

The Bulls’ director of coaching, Jake White, handed debuts to new recruits Wilco Louw, Sebastian de Klerk, Devon Williams, Akker van der Merwe, Jaco van der Walt and Cameron Hanekom.

White has identified pace as the one area that needed some special attention and as a result has opted for Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen as the halfback combination. Harold Vorster (inside) and David Kriel (outside) form a new midfield combination with Devon Williams at fullback.

The wings duties go to Stravino Jacobs and Sebastian de Klerk.

“We need some pace and now all of a sudden you have Johan Goosen, who is quick for a ten, David is quick for a centre and those outside backs are quick as well.

“It will be interesting how we combine, especially in different phases of attack.”

The coach picked Marcell Coetzee at blindside flank alongside Elrigh Louw who will start at openside flank as Cameron Hanekom makes his senior debut in the competition at eight.

“I have had a chat with Elrigh because I don’t him fixated that he only has to play eight. I am quite keen to see him at seven as well. I don’t want to ring-fence him that he only plays eight for the Bulls,” White explained.

Speaking on what they can expect from the Scarlet, White was under no illusion about the threat the Welsh side will bring.

“The one thing I am not underestimating, is they beat us last year and they beat us convincingly. They are a well coached team, they’ve got Albert van den Berg who joined them from South Africa and he will obviously have some intel on the Bulls players.

“I have no doubt they will be prepared in terms of what they can expect from the Bulls.

“I’d like the players to make a statement on the weekend about all the hard work we put into the new season.

“This is a new group of players, a new group of coaches. And I am excited. We’ve put a lot of effort in, we’ve spent a lot of time getting our game tweaked and I am looking forward to seeing whether all those little pieces come together.”

The Bulls coach opted for the veteran Goosen at flyhalf despite having a multitude of options in the position.

“It’s the best, conditioning wise, that I have seen Johan since he has been here. He was always bandaged up and struggled with niggles and injuries. So far this preseason he’s had time off, he’s had time to get his body right, he doesn’t run with strapping anymore.

“He realises there are three flyhalves that can do the job. And like any sportsperson, as soon as you feel like you aren’t in a comfort zone, it’s a massive boost for any player,” White said.

“He is very important to us, I am not going to underestimate that. He is one of those guys that gives everyone on the field confidence. Our job is just to look after him and make sure that he can play as many games as possible and keep him on the field.”

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The Sharks have a few problems at lock with injuries to Gerbrandt Grobler (broken arm) and Corne Rahl (ankle) keeping them on the sidelines.

Sharks coach John Plumtree told a media briefing on Friday that he is worried about the lock situation and has included Vincent Tshituka on the bench as cover at lock and loose forward.

“The injuries left us a bit thin at lock. Vincent hasn’t had a pre-season game yet so we will either bring him into the game at lock or loose forward. Corne will be back next week and that will help,” the coach revealed.

“I just expect maximum effort. We’ve talked a lot around the team we want to become. We are going to make mistakes. We want to be ambitious with the ball.

“We feel that we have some good structure and we’ve worked really hard on that. So hopefully you will see that and see what we are trying to do.

“I don’t want the players to become predictable. We want to become an attacking threat so we are on that journey but what I do expect is maximum effort.

He also spoke about the champions and what his players can expect from Munster.

“They are very skillful players, the provinces are playing very similar to the national team.

“They ‘ve got lots of threats all over the park. Their attack is, like we saw in the URC last year against the Stormers, and in those conditions, and it doesn’t matter in what conditions, they will play.

“And they’ve still got those old traditional values of Munster rugby that were developed by Paul O’Connell over the years. They’re tough and their set-piece is important to them.

“They are missing some players, but you know they’ve got a squad that’s been playing together for a fair while.”

Newly appointed captain Francois Venter admits that he is proud of the leadership role he has been entrusted with and has enjoyed working with the new head coach.

“It’s a massive honour for me to be named tour captain, it comes with a huge responsibility, but I’m honoured to be part of this group. Fortunately, we have great leaders who can give me a hand.

“I just want to give my all for the team.”

Saturday, October 21

Lions v Stormers
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off 16.05; 14.05 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Stormers by eigth points

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Ruan Venter, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Henco van Wyk, 23 Andries Coetzee.

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Ben Loader.

Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Zebre Parma v Ulster
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 14.00; 12.00; 13.00 Ireland & UK time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Ulster by ten points

Zebre Parma: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Ben Cambriani, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Giovanni Licata (captain), 7 Giacomo Ferrari, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio,
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Tiff Eden, 23 Scott Gregory

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Michael Lowry, 13 James Hume, 12 Angus Curtis, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Nathan Doak; 8 David McCann, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Matty Rea, 3 Greg McGrath, 2 Tom Stewart (captain), 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Reid,18  James French, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Stewart Moore.

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Manuel Bottino (Italy) & Lorenzo Imbriaco (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Connacht v Ospreys
(The Sportsground, Galway – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Connacht by 12 points

Connacht: 15 Andrew Smith, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Byron Ralston, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade (captain), 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Jack Aungier, Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1. Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Seán O’Brien, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Liam McNamara

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Will Griffiths, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Ethan Lewis, 1 Garyn Phillips,
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Dom Morris

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referees: Dan Carson (Ireland) & Tomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

Dragons v Edinburgh
(Rodney Parade, Newport – Kick-off: 15.05; 14.05 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Dragons by four points

Dragons: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Corey Baldwin, 13 Sio Tomkinson, 12 Steff Hughes (captain), 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Rhodri Williams; 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Harri Keddie, 6 George Nott, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Rodrigo Martinez,
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Jack Dixon

Edinburgh: 15 Cammy Scott, 14 Ross McCann, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11. Wes Goosen, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (captain), 8 Tom Dodd, 7 Cameron Neild, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Glen Young, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Jordan Edmunds

Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wales) & Simon Rees (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Cardiff v Benetton
(Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT; 18.15 Italy time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Benetton by ten points

Cardiff:  15 C Winnett, 14 O Lane, 13 R Lee-Lo, 12 W Halaholo, 11 T Cabango; 10 T de Beer, 9 E Bevan; 8 S Davies, 7 E Jenkins, 6 A Mann, 5 T Williams, 4 S Lewis-Hughes, 3 K Assiratti, 2 L Belcher (captain), 1 R Carré,
Replacements: 16 E Daniel, 17 J Reynolds, 18 C Parker, 19 R Thornton, 20 L de la Rua, 21 M Aubrey, 22 A Robson, 23 H Millard

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy , 13 Joaquin Riera, 12 Filippo Drago,
11 Edoardo Padovani, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Henry Time-Stowers, 7 Manuel Zuliani , 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Edoardo Iachizzi, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Marco Zanon

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mike English (Wales) & Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Mark Patton (Wales)

Munster v Sharks
(Thomond Park, Limerick – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT; 18.15 SA time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Munster by 15 points

Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Murray Koster, 12 Francois Venter (captain), 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 George Cronje, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Emile van Heerden, Coenie Oosthuizen, 2. Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 23 Aphelele Fassi

Munster: 15 Shane Daly; 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Calvin Nash; 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Ethan Coughlan; 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (captain), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Scott Buckley, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 John Ryan, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Brian Gleeson, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Shay McCarthy.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Jonathan Erskine (Ireland) & Andrew Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

Sunday, October 22

Bulls v Scarlets
(Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT; 14.00 Ireland and UK time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Bulls by three points

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 1 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8. Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp,
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Stedman Gans

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl; 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Jonathan Davies (captain), 11 Ryan Conbeer; 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Kieran Hardy; 8 Ben Williams, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Shaun Evans, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Isaac Young, 17 Steff Thomas, 18 Wyn Jones, 19 Jac Price, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Ioan Nicholas.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) & Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Glasgow Warriors v Leinster
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Leinster by five points

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Angus Fraser, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Thomas Gordon, 22 George Horne, 23 Duncan Weir

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Ngatai,
11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny (captain), 6 Max Deegan, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Will Connors

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland) & Jonny Perriam (Scotland)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)