URC, Round 14 - Friday's Teams and Predictions

PREVIEW: Round 14 of the United Rugby Championship (URC) promises a crucial weekend as teams battle for valuable points in the race for play-off qualification.

The Sharks kick off Friday’s action against Cardiff in Durban, while league leaders Glasgow Warriors host Benetton. Irish giants Leinster also face the Scarlets in another key clash.

A full preview of Saturday’s fixtures will be published this Friday on Rugby365!!!

With only 15 points separating the log leaders, the Glasgow Warriors, and the ninth-placed Connacht, who are level on 35 log points with the eighth-placed Bulls, and the 11th-placed Sharks trailing them by six points, the race is still wide open for several teams to play themselves into contention for quarterfinal berths.

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The match-up at Kings Park between the Sharks and fifth-placed Cardiff will be crucial for the hosts, as a defeat could deal a huge blow to their play-off hopes, given the intense scramble higher up on the table.

The Durbanites will rely heavily on their shift in form following their 45-0 victory against Munster last week, which was a welcome result after successive defeats in their two previous outings.

They will look to make a strong statement against Cardiff, who come off a heavy 7-40 defeat against the Bulls.

Sharks head coach JP Pietersen believes that the result does not reflect Cardiff’s true quality.

He also praised fellow South African Corniel van Zyl for his impact since taking charge.

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“He is doing a great job at Cardiff; they’ve got the top six locked down,” Pietersen said.

“I was surprised by the performance against the Bulls at Loftus. We know they are a better side. They will definitely bounce back coming into this week.

“They’ve got a good overall game – a good kicking game, and they’re strong in transition. They’ve got a serious fly-half who controls the game nicely.”

Cardiff have won three more matches than the Sharks this season, but the hosts have scored 54 more points overall. However, defence remains a concern for the Durban side, having conceded 333 points compared to Cardiff’s 250.

Pietersen expects a tightly contested battle focused on discipline and set pieces.

“We know it’s going to be a pressure-cycle game,” Pietersen said.

“It’s going to come down to discipline. Obviously, it will also come down to the set piece because with the kicking game, you’re always going to get knock-ons. We’re going to get scrums, so that’s always going to come down to the set piece too.”

Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl admitted it was going to be a big challenge for his side as they look to bounce back from a defeat to the Bulls.

“We were disappointed with last weekend’s defeat to the Bulls and just felt we were one or two seconds, or one or two metres off it.

“That has been reviewed, and we have prepared well in Durban this week. It is another opportunity to fight for this group and for the jersey, and hopefully to put some points on the log.

“There is no question that the Sharks are a quality team. They have an all-round game built on a solid set-piece and physicality up front, with some top-class backs behind.

“They had a big win over Munster last time out and will be fighting to the end to get into the play-off places, so we know it is going to be a very big test.”

Glasgow Warriors will look to stretch their lead at the top when they take on Benetton at Scotstoun.

Having been the head coach of Italy, Franco Smith is all too familiar with the danger Benetton pose.

“We know that Benetton will provide a stern test night – they are in the thick of the race for the play-offs and will compete for every opportunity,” Smith said.

“They will bring a squad full of international-calibre talent, and we must be at our best to meet their challenge.”

Fresh from a huge defeat to Glasgow Warriors, Leinster will want to put in a great performance as they seek to remain with the frontrunners.

“It’s just a challenging time of year. I don’t think there’s any panic, but we want to perform better,” Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal said.

“I haven’t done the mathematics, but our goal is to win all the matches. We’ve got to play teams that are in and around us as well.

“Others have to go to South Africa. But we need to perform better. That starts on Friday.”

Sharks v Cardiff
(Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 19.00; 17.00 GMT; 17.00 UK time)

Prediction

Rugby365: Sharks by 7 points

Teams: 

Sharks: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse / Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan

Cardiff: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Iwan Stephens, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder; 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (Captain), 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Elijah Evans

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Jonathan Lottering (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuisen (South Africa)

Glasgow Warriors v Benetton
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT; 20.45 Italy time)

Prediction

Rugby365: Glasgow Warriors by 16 points

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Fergus Watson, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Macenzzie Duncan, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Patrick Schickerling.
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jack Oliver, 23 Dan Lancaster.

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Louis Lynach, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Tomas Medina, 11 Rhyno Smith, 10 Leonardo Marin, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza (captain), 4 Niccolo Cannonne, 3 Marcon Gallorini, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Destiny Aminu.
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Mattia Midena, 21 Jadin Kingi, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Filippo Drago

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Jonny MacKenzie (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Leinster v Scarlets
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45  GMT)

Prediction

Rugby365: Leinster by 15 points

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrse, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Joshue Kenny, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelon Doris (captain) , 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Alex Soroka, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Robbie Henshaw

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker; 8 Fletcher Anderson (captain), 7 Dan Davis, 6 Jarrod Taylor, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Harry Thomas, 1 Kemsley Mathias.
Replacements: 16 George Roberts, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Ioan Jones, 23 Macs Page

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Chris Lough (Ireland)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)