URC, Round Nine - teams and predictions
PREVIEW: The Sharks will look to claim their first double over the Stormers in their final United Rugby Champions match of the year at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Last month, the Sharks recorded their first-ever URC win over the Stormers at Kings Park in Durban.
John Plumtree’s men are gradually establishing their home base as a fortress but they know it is just as important to win away from home.
The last time the Sharks were successful in Cape Town was during the Rainbow Cup in May 2021, where they secured a 33-30 win over the Capetonians.
As for the Stormers, they are in a must-win scenario. The side is currently 13th on the log with just three wins from their seven matches.
However, a good result will get their season in the right direction.
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Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson made three changes to the matchday squad that secured a crucial win 29-10 over the Lions last week.
The injured Leolin Zas is replaced on the left wing by Seabelo Senatla, while tight forwards Andre-Hugo Venter and Ruben van Heerden are included among the replacements for the last match of the year.
A big crowd of over 43,000 is expected for this match.
“After the Lions match we said we are only halfway done, and these two home games are absolutely fundamental to get our URC back on track,” Dobson said.
“Last week does not ease the pressure, it is all about both these games.
“We are playing a team, that has six internationals in the starting pack and they are the big galactico of South African rugby.
“We have to play above the sum of our parts to win it, which we intend to do. ”
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Sharks coach John Plumtree is hopeful his team will be ready despite injuries and the limited time for training due to Christmas.
“It has been a mixture of preparation the last couple of weeks and for both camps, I think Christmas would have upset preparations,” Plumtree said.
“But both teams will be fired up and ready to go in front of a bumper crowd in Cape Town.
“We know what a massive challenge it is to play the Stormers away from home. It has been a while since the Sharks have won there.”
He added: “I know the Stormers have been really focused on winning the last two games of the year, and we are the second, so we know how tough it’s going to be.
“Both teams play a pretty expansive game, so it will be exciting to watch.
“Upfront we know the boys, we know the boys have played well set-piece time and looking forward to it.”
The Sharks also received a massive boost as Springbok captain Siya Kolisi along with Scotland hooker Dylan Richardson, lock Emile van Heerden return from injury.
Kolisi will lead his team against his former side.
Commenting on Kolisi’s return, Stormers captain Deon Fourie said: “Siya and I have come along the road since he arrived at the Western Province and Stormers [in 2010].
“I spoke to him last week Friday, so we are still in contact and looking forward to playing against him again.”
The other batch of derbies sees, Zebre facing Italian rivals Benetton. In Scotland defending champions Glasgow Warriors take on Edinburgh, while Connacht and Ulster conclude proceedings in Ireland.
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* All the Saturday and Sunday teams and predictions follow below …
Stormers v Sharks
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 17.00; 15.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Stormers by three points
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nicholas Hatton, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter.
Referee: Aimee Barret-Theron (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) and Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Zebre Parma v Benetton
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Benetton by 15 points
Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli 14 Scott Gregory 13 Giulio Bertaccini 12 Fetuli Paea 11 Simone Gesi 10 Giacomo Da Re 9 Gonzalo Garcia 8 Giovanni Licata 7 Bautista Stávile 6 Giacomo Ferrari 5 Andrea Zambonin 4 Leonard Krumov 3 Ion Neculai 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo 1 Danilo Fischetti (C
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi 17 Luca Rizzoli 18 Muhamed Hasa 19 Matteo Canali 20 Samuele Locatelli 21 Thomas Dominguez 22 Filippo Drago 23 Giovanni Montemauri
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Michele Lamaro (C), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Thomas Gallo,
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Lorenzo Cannone, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Leonardo Marin, Ignacio Brex
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Fillipo Russo (Italy) and Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
(Edinburgh Stadium, Murrayfield – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Glasgow Warriors by five points
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ben Healy, 23 James Lang
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Steyn (C), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Grant Stewart, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Duncan Weir
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland) and Jonny Perriam (Scotland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Connacht v Ulster
(Sportsground, Galway – Kick-off 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Connacht by three points
Connacht: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (C), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckle
Replacement: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Shane Jennings, 23 Conor Oliver
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Rory Telfer, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Alan O’Connor (C), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sulliva
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Corrie Barrett 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 David McCann, 21 John Cooney, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Wilhelm De Klerk
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland) and Tomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
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