URC, Round 18 - Saturday's Teams and Predictions
SPOTLIGHT: The Bulls and Lions will go flat out in their final United Rugby Championship league matches this weekend to ensure they host their top-eight encounters.
Five matches will be played on Saturday, with three South African teams in action. The fourth-placed Bulls (54 points) take on the 13th-placed Benetton in Pretoria, while the fifth-placed Lions (53 points) cross paths with sixth-placed Munster in Ireland in matches that will be decisive in determining their final log positions heading into the quarterfinals.
The 10th-placed Sharks will meet bottom-placed Zebre Parma in their closing match of the competition after both sides dropped out of the play-off race in the preceding rounds.
In the other matches, defending URC champions and third-placed Leinster host Ospreys, while in a battle for pride, 14th-placed Scarlets take on 15th-placed Dragons.
The Bulls will have everything to play for in their clash against Benetton at Loftus Versfeld, with a home quarterfinal at stake, and even a possible top-two finish if the Stormers and Leinster slip up and they register a bonus-point victory.
“We can’t afford to lose,” Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann stated.
“I think our energy as coaches this week was to prepare the team well, to make sure our focus is on Benetton and not focus too far ahead.”
There is no doubt that the Sharks’ dismantling of Benetton last week will give the men from Pretoria extra confidence going into the match.
The Bulls – nine log positions above their visitors and having scored an impressive 521 points to Benetton’s 308, while also boasting a better defensive record – will be determined to finish the league stage with an impressive six wins in a row and build the momentum and confidence they need heading into the play-offs.
However, Ackermann warned against complacency.
“They are a quality side, with some good-quality players and internationals,” Ackermann stated.
“And the fact that it’s their last game of the season makes them even more dangerous as they’ve got almost nothing to lose.
“They can come out and just play, throw the ball around.
“So it’s very important that we don’t fall into that trap and don’t underestimate them. First of all, respect the players we have, and then play to the standards we saw last week.
“Last week against Zebre there were too many errors for us, and we just have to be a bit more clinical [on Saturday].”
The coach explained: “The areas I’m referring to are the easy balls in contact that we lost, the knock-ons we had. We had one or two attacking opportunities where we didn’t finish.
“And then even if you look at us as a pack of forwards, we know when we get to the play-offs, you can’t afford easy entries through poor discipline, and then teams kick to the corner and score maul tries that easily.
“So we have to tighten up a bit on our set-piece defence and then our general defence. There weren’t a lot of missed tackles, but I still think we can be a bit more dominant in our tackling.
“So there are a lot of things to work on. Benetton possess a lot of threats all over the park if you analyse them. So one, we need to win to secure a home quarterfinal.
“And two, if we can put in a good performance, then obviously that will give us confidence going into the play-offs.”
The Lions will have the luxury of knowing exactly what they need to do to secure a home quarterfinal for the first time in the cross-hemisphere competition when they line up against Munster at Thomond Park in the closing match of the round on Saturday night in Limerick.
Captain Francke Horn admitted he would be keeping an eye on the other fixtures.
“I’m a guy who enjoys rugby, so I’ll definitely be watching.
“I just don’t know which game yet.
“But some of the other guys try to get away from the game and just focus on their own match the next day. To each their own. If you want to watch rugby, you can. If not, then that’s also not a massive issue.
“We all just want to make sure we’re ready for our own game on Saturday. Then it doesn’t matter what any other team does.”
The Johannesburgers may be in pole position among the teams placed between fifth and ninth to finish in the top eight, as they hold a valuable two-point lead over Munster on the table, but depending on the other results this weekend, they may still need at least two log points to secure a play-off place.
They will also be determined to put their frustrating defeat to Leinster last week behind them, which brought their six-match winning streak to an end, and regain their winning momentum with a likely quarterfinal looming.
The Lions will enter the final round with the second-best attack in the competition, having scored 143 points more than Munster, but they will be mindful that the Irish side have conceded 90 fewer points and boast a formidable home record.
The hosts will also want to make amends for their disappointing defeat against Connacht last week, setting the stage for an epic encounter.
See all Saturday’s predictions below…
Sharks v Zebre Parma
(Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 13.45; 11.45 GMT)
Prediction:
@Rugby365: Sharks by 20 points
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan
Zebre Parma: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco (Captain), 8 Samuele Locatelli, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Matteo Canali, 4 Franco Carrera, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa,
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Luca Franceschetto, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 David Odiase, 20 Giampietro Ribaldi, 21 Iacopo Bianchi, 22 Migael Prinsloo, 23 Martin Roger Farias.
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa) and Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Paul Larter (Scotland)
Bulls v Benetton
(Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – Kick-off: 16.00; 14.00 GMT)
Prediction:
@Rugby365: Bulls by 30 points
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Devon Williams, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sergeal Peterson, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Stravino Jacobs
Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Tomas Medina, 11 Federico Zanandrea, 10 Rhyno Smith, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Lorenzo Cannone, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza (captain), 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Giulio Marini, 21 Jadin Kingi, 22 Cristiano Tizzano, 23 Leonardo Marin
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa) and Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Leinster v Ospreys
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT)
Prediction:
@Rugby365: Leinster by 25 points
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 James Culhane, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan (captain), 5 Diarmuid Mangan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jerry Cahir
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Max Deegan, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 James Lowe
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Iestyn Hopkins, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Ben Warren, 2 Efan Daniel, 1 Garyn Phillips
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Cam Jones, 18 Kian Hire, 19 Ben Roberts, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Luke Morgan
Referee: Ru Campbell (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland) and Dan Carson (Ireland)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Scotland)
Scarlets v Dragons RFC
(Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT)
Prediction:
@Rugby365: Scarlets by five points
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Jones, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Macs Page, 12 Joe Roberts, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Jarrod Taylor, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Jac Price, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Josh Morse
Replacements: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Dan Davis, 20 Osian Williams, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Jac Davies
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 David Richards, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Niall Armstrong, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Harrison Keddie, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales) and Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
Munster v Lions
(Thomond Park, Limerick – Kick-off: 19.45; 20.45 SA time; 18.45 GMT)
Prediction:
@Rugby365: Munster by five points
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Ben O’Donovan, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Alex Kendellen
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Rynhardt Jonker
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland) and Jonathan Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
