URC, Round 16 - Friday's Teams and Predictions
PREVIEW: JP Pietersen is looking forward to facing his former coach Sean Everitt when the Sharks meet Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship Round 16 tie at the Hive Stadium.
The Sharks will enter the match with their play-off hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads.
They are currently 11th in the standings, 11 points behind the Bulls in eighth, with just three rounds left to play.
A win in Edinburgh with a bonus point is a must, and the makeup of the respective coaching teams will add a bit of spice.
The preview continues below…
That is a half-a-century of caps in the colours of the Sharks for Siya Kolisi 🖤
Fifty times wearing the badge with honour
Siya-bulela Gqwashu! pic.twitter.com/RDmzzeOFmu
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) April 23, 2026
Edinburgh’s Everitt spent most of his coaching career in Durban, while his assistant coach, Scott Mathie, will be joining the Sharks ahead of the 2026/2027 season.
“I played under Sean, so I know his philosophy and the way he thinks about the game,” said Pietersen, who took the reins at the Sharks from John Plumtree earlier in the season.
“On Scotty, I played against him when he was at Griquas, and he will be joining the Sharks. It’s exciting to match up against them tomorrow [Friday].
“It will be weird going up against Sean. I think we understand each other’s philosophy of the game.
“Edinburgh is very good with their kicking game, with their exits, and they’ve got a pack with Pierre Schoeman.
“They want to be physical, and they’ve got a good maul, so when they get into the 22, they can convert it into points.
“They’ve also got a good phase attack – they can hold the ball for long, and we have prepped for that.”
The Durbanites have a devastating injury list at moment, which means flyhalf Siya Masuku will play in the No.12 jersey. Captain Andre Esterhuizen shifts to outside centre.
Makazole Mapimpi comes in for injured Ethan Hooker on the wing.
Spicing up the match, the KwaZulu-Natalians have registered only one more victory than the hosts in the competition thus far, and although they will draw comfort from the fact that they have scored 39 more points, their defence has been evenly matched.
Edinburgh have experienced mixed results on their home patch this season, which will give the Sharks hope of finishing their tour on a positive note, although they will have to place a massive emphasis on converting their point-scoring chances into points – an area that has let them down at crucial times this season – to change their fortunes and return to winning ways.
Meanwhile, Everitt will be eager to test some of his youngsters against a “fired-up” Sharks side.
Twelve current Edinburgh academy players or graduates are named in the matchday 23.
“Last week’s win [against Zebre] gave us a huge lift. It went right to the wire, but the character the group showed – and particularly some of the younger players – to see it out was incredibly pleasing,” he said.
“We’re excited to give Hector [Patterson] another shot at nine – he showed last week exactly what he’s capable of.
“Cammy [Scott] has been outstanding in training and fully deserves his opportunity to start.
“The Sharks come to Edinburgh knowing they need to win, and they’ll be fired up for that. They bring genuine international experience across the park, and we know how dangerous they can be. We won’t be underestimating them for a second.”
*In Friday’s other matches, Cardiff will be out to strengthen their position in the play-off spots when they face Welsh rivals the Ospreys at Cardiff Arms Park.
There’s also the bottom-of-the-table clash between Zebre and the Dragons in Parma.
See below for Friday’s teams and predictions!
Friday, April 24:
Cardiff v Ospreys
(Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – Kick-off: 19:00 BST; 18.00 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Cardiff by 11 points.
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Ben Thomas, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Rhys Barratt.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 George Nott, 20 Evan Lloyd, 21 Alex Mann, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Ioan Lloyd.
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Harri Deaves, 22 Kieran Hardy, 23 Max Nagy.
Referee: Christopher Allison (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Zebre Parma v Dragons
(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 20.45 CEST; 19.45 BST; 18.45 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Zebre Parma by three points.
Teams:
Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata (captain), 7 Davide Odiase, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Alessandro Ortombina, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Bautista Stavile, 20 Samuele Locatelli, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 14 David Richards, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes (co-captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rodrigo Martinez.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Owain James, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Seb Davies, 21 Morgan Lloyd, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson.
Referee: Ru Campbell (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
Edinburgh v Sharks
(Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – Kick-off: 19:45 BST; 20.45 SAST; 18.45 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Sharks by five points.
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mosese Tuipulotu, 12 Findlay Thomson, 11 Malelili Satala, 10 Cammy Scott, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Tom Currie, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Glen Young, 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 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Jack Brown.
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 12 Siya Masuku, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 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 Nick Hatton, 21 Siya Kolisi, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Marnus Potgieter.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Scotland), Jonny MacKenzie (Scotland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)
