URC, Round 15 - Friday's Teams and Predictions

FRIDAY PREVIEW: The Bulls head to Rodney Parade on Friday night looking to solidify their playoff ambitions in a high-stakes United Rugby Championship clash against the Dragons.

The Bulls currently sit in eighth position with 40 points, just one point ahead of a chasing Connacht.

The Dragons find themselves at the opposite end of the table, sitting second from bottom with 21 points. While they have struggled for consistency in the URC, they arrive with newfound confidence following a historic run in the Challenge Cup, where they secured back-to-back away wins against Stade Francais and Zebre to reach the semifinals.

The Bulls have been clinical in the league lately, winning five of their last six URC outings. Their only recent blemish was a hard-fought Champions Cup exit at the hands of Glasgow (21-25). Before that, they dismantled Cardiff 40-7 and edged out a resilient Munster side 34-31 at Loftus.

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann explained the reshuffle of the backline with Canan Moodie moving to the wing, Stedman Gans coming in at centre and Devon Williams being entrusted at fullback, which were all forced through injuries.

“It’s forced through injury because Kurt-Lee [Arendse] (finger) and Cheswill [Jooste] (foot) are injured.

“Canan [Moodie] and David [Kriel] are both quite good in the aerial game and have played on the wing at the highest level, so we felt that they were our best options there.

“Cheswill is a three-four week injury, but he responded well to treatment last week, and this week, so we’re going to keep him with us and see how he tracks. Scarlets are three weeks away, and just maybe he’ll be ready to play,” the coach told reporters on Thursday.

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According to Ackermann, Arendse is also two to three weeks away from match fitness.

The coach was adamant that they would not underestimate the Dragons and that this game was a must-win for his side.

“The reality is we have to win, and we know it. I don’t even care about the bonus point. Of course, a bonus-point win will be the best-case scenario, but we just need to win.

“Where they lie on the log is not a true reflection of who they are as a team. They are up there when it comes to their stats. They’re good in the air, have a good set-piece and they play an exciting brand,” he said.

“We saw how they pushed the Stormers and the Lions all the way. We also saw what they did in Europe and now they’re through to the semi-finals of the [EPCR] Challenge Cup. They’re a quality side and they’ll back themselves at home, so we know it’s going to be a big challenge.”

The Dragons may be winless in their last five URC matches, but they proved they can be a handful for South African opposition during their recent tour. They pushed the Stormers to the brink in Cape Town (29-21) and showed grit against the Lions in Johannesburg. Notably, they also held the Sharks to a 17-17 draw earlier in the season.

*Also read related article The Pretoria-born flyhalf that can dent Bulls’ URC play-offs campaign

But Dragons coach Fia Tiatia has warned against the euphoria of the European competition dominating their focus going into this game.

“We must park Europe now – that is the message,” he said.

“We celebrated what we did in Europe, but now we are back on the horse in the URC and we have a good Bulls side coming.

“They have been over here for a while, after they played Glasgow a few weekends ago, and have been together for several weeks and are a good group. We’re excited to see them on Friday.

“We’re happy to come away with the win (from Zebre) and we’ve reviewed the game and the last ten minutes, there are definitely areas to tidy up, both sides of the ball.

“But now it’s all about the Bulls coming to Rodney Parade and we’re looking forward to hosting them.

“They are a physical team; they have strengths in terms of their game, but also we’ve seen opportunities as well.”

History heavily favors the men from Pretoria. The sides have met four times in the competition, with the Bulls boasting a perfect 100% win record. The Dragons’ last victory over a South African franchise dates back to February 2020 against the Cheetahs.

The Dragons are hunting for three consecutive wins in all competitions for the first time since December 2015.

The Dragons’ last URC victory came at this venue on New Year’s Day against the Scarlets.

The other clash on Friday sees Ulster welcome Leinster in what promises to be one of the standout fixtures in the URC calendar, with both sides bringing strong form, elite attacking threats, and plenty of recent history into the clash.

Ulster’s form has been inconsistent, with three wins and three losses, but their victories have been convincing, particularly the 40–19 win over Edinburgh.

Leinster arrive with four wins from six, showing strong attacking output, scoring 52 and 36 points in recent fixtures. They have won five of the last six meetings, often by comfortable margins.

Furthermore, Leinster’s long-term dominance in the competition is clear, boasting a significantly higher win rate.

However, on paper, Ulster are strong at home and Leinster’s away performances have been less consistent.

Ulster have the home edge and enough firepower to win this. But Leinster’s dominance in this fixture, combined with their superior consistency over time, is hard to ignore.

The third game on Friday is Edinburgh vs Zebre Parma. Edinburgh’s only victory in their last eight URC games came against Scarlets at Hive Stadium in Round 12.

This late-season clash is vital for Edinburgh, with forwards coach Stevie Lawrie emphasizing that the final four games of the season are crucial for the team.

“The last four games are definitely an opportunity,” Lawrie said. “Let’s see our fight. Let’s see our care for the club and see what growth we can show. What we’ve produced hasn’t been good enough. If you keep doing the same stuff, you get the same results.

“I think it’s quite an exciting challenge over the next four weeks to show that growth in our game model.”

“Everyone says we’ve got nothing to play for,” Lawrie said. “No – we’ve got everything to play for.”

The Scots have lost twice to Zebre Parma in their last three meetings. That being said, after winning their first two games for the first time in the URC, Zebre Parma have gone on to lose their last 12 matches on the bounce.

The last time the Italians managed to get one over Edinburgh was in September 2025, while they also grabbed a draw against their Shield rivals in April 2025.

Edinburgh v Zebre Parma

(Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – Kick-off: 19.45 BST; 20.45 CEST; 18.45 GMT)

Prediction: 

@Rugby365: Edinburgh by 10 points

Teams: 

Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mosese Tuipulotu, 12 Findlay Thomson, 11 Malelili Satala, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Connor Boyle, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Glen Young, 20 Tom Currie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Jack Brown.

Zebre Parma: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata (c), 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Alessandro Ortombina, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Giovanni Quattrini, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Martin Roger Farias, 23 Enrico Lucchin

Referee: Christopher Allison (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), David Young (Scotland)
TMO: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)

Ulster v Leinster

(Affidea Stadium, Belfast – Kick-off 19.45 BST; 19.45 IST; 18.45 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Leinster by five points

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 David McCann, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Bryn Ward, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Jude Postlethwaite.

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Joshua Kenny, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 James Ryan (captain), 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Jerry Cahir.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Will Connors, 22 Fintan Gunne, 23 Ciarán Frawley.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Tomás O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Dragons RFC v Bulls

(Rodney Parade, Newport – Kick-off: 19.45 BST; 20.45 SAST; 18.45 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Bulls by nine points

Teams:

Dragons:

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcelle Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Sergeal Petersen.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Lucas Yendle (Wales)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)