URC, Round 10 - Teams and Predictions
SATURDAY PREVIEW: Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson believes the “shackles are off at the Sharks” since JP Pietersen took over as interim head coach.
The Capetonians will welcome the Durban-based side to DHL Stadium on Saturday for a mouthwatering United Rugby Championship Round 10 clash.
The Stormers are unbeaten in the tournament with eight wins from eight matches, but they will be wary of a Sharks side that has shown signs of improvement under Pietersen.
Some of those signs were evident in the Sharks’ 50-12 win over Clermont in the Champions Cup last weekend.
“Their set-pieces were always good. I think you can see them working a bit more off the ball, and that might be the change of environment,” said Dobson.
“I don’t know how much you read into it, but against Clermont, they were fantastic. We also know that was not Clermont’s top team, but they [the Sharks] seemed to have the shackles off a bit.
“When I get fired here for a couple of losses in a row, the first guy that comes in will get a couple of wins. That’s the bounce-back syndrome across all sports. But it does seem the shackles are off.”
The Stormers received a boost with Cobus Reinach, Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant all returning to the starting line-up.
However, they will be without Evan Roos, who has been rested as a precaution.
“He has got a hip pointer [injury], and he is a bit sore from last week,” Dobson explained.
“If you get a knock straight on it, even if you pad it, it is extremely painful. The whole plan gets disrupted if he goes [out injured] in minute six.
“The consequence would be that he would be out for quite a bit longer, and we got quite a big match next week as well [against the Sharks in Durban]
“It’s the old cliche, if it were a final, he probably could have played, but we are also very keen to get Louw Nel involved. We feel he is a special talent as well.”
The preview continues below…
Meanwhile, the Sharks also have several key players back, and they’ve unveiled a strong bench, which includes Ox Nche, Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi and Grant Williams.
“I won’t say it is a ‘Bomb Squad’. I think Phatu [Ganyane] and Vinny [Vincent Koch] put their hands up last week,” said Pietersen.
“They made a real great impact after starting the second half – they were outstanding.
“Phepsi [Buthelezi] was good off the bench, too, and he deserves a start.
“Siya [Kolisi] just came back from his Bok rest. Vincent Tshituka had a week off last week. If you look at the mix, it is a good team that starts and a great team to finish off the game.”
*Saturday’s other games will see Scarlets at home against Ulster before an Irish derby between Connacht and Leinster.
Zebre will welcome Glasgow Warriors to Parma, while Cardiff will be at home against Benetton.
See below for Saturday’s teams and predictions!
Saturday, January 24:
Scarlets v Ulster
(Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Ulster by five points.
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Fletcher Anderson, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Harvey Cuckson, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Jac Price, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Johnny Williams, 23 Macs Page.
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Bryn Ward, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 David McCann, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Matthew Dalton, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Jude Postlethwaite.
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Connacht v Leinster
(Dexcom Stadium, Galway – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Leinster by 12 points.
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Harry West, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Paul Boyle, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Billy Bohan.
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitléar, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Bundee Aki.
Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Joshua Kenny, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 James Lowe, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 James Ryan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Niall Smyth, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Andrew Sparrow, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Diarmuid Mangan, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Luke McGrath, 23 Ruben Moloney.
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Tomás O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Stormers v Sharks
(DHL Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 19.30 SAST; 17.30 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Stormers by three points.
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (captain), 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ruben van Heerden, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Jurie Matthee.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa), Jonathan Lottering (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 20.45; 19.45 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Glasgow by 10 points.
Teams:
Zebre Parma: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Albert Batista, 10 Martin Roger Farias, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 David Odiase, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Bautista Stavile, 5 Leonard Krumov (captain), 4 Franco Carrera, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Juan Pitinari.
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Luca Franceschetto, 18 Hasa, 19 Alessandro Ortombina, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Luca Morisi.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Ben Afshar.
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alberto Favaro (Ireland), Lorenzo Negro (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Ireland)
Cardiff v Benetton
(Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – Kick-off: 19.45 GMT; 20.45 CET)
Prediction
Rugby365: Cardiff by four points.
Teams:
Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Iwan Stephens, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 George Nott, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Rhys Barratt.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady.
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Nicolas Roger Farias, 9 Andy Uren (captain), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Giulio Marini, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Destiny Aminu.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 21 Jadin Kingi, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Filippo Drago.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
