URC, Round One - Teams and Predictions

FRIDAY PREVIEW: Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson has described his side’s United Rugby Championship opener against Leinster as an “angst-ridden” challenge.

The match at Cape Town Stadium is the first of three matches on Friday night to kick off the new season.

The Sharks are in Scotland for a tough encounter against Glasgow Warriors, while Ulster are at home against the Dragons.

Leinster are the defending champions, but they might be ripe for the picking at such an early stage of the season.

They arrived in South Africa without their 2025 British and Irish Lions stars, but they do have the best depth in the competition. That depth helped them reach a total of 16 wins out of 18 matches in last season’s league phase before the play-offs.

Meanwhile, the Stormers will also be without a number of their top Springboks, and they also suffered a few injury blows ahead of Friday’s encounter.

Squad captain Salmaan Moerat is out with a knee injury, while Deon Fourie will only be available for their tour in a few weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in a Currie Cup match against Boland.

Fullback Warrick Gelant is out with a very small calf strain, and he could return to action next weekend.

The Stormers also have several props on the sidelines due to hamstring injuries, with Oli Kebble being one of them.

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“It’s not the start you would script because they [Leinster] are so good with their squad management and they are so good with their systems,” said Dobson.

“We’ve got boundless respect for them. There is a lot of respect for that organisation and massive respect for Jacques [Nienaber] and Leo [Cullen].

“They are masters of eking out results, no matter which team they bring, so it makes for a very angst-ridden Friday night for us because we absolutely have to start with a win.

“It’s only game one of 18. But it feels quite a bit more than that, doesn’t it?

“We’ve got to set a tone for the season. It’s a new Stormers era coming in.

“The ownership has settled in, and now they are taking away rugby’s excuses. We have to perform on the field now.”

Leinster’s match against the Stormers is the first of three against South African opposition in the opening rounds, and senior coach Nienaber is relishing the challenge.

“We have a tough start. We play the Stormers and Bulls, then we play the Sharks, who lost in the semifinal to the Bulls, who we then played in the Final,” said Nienaber.

“Three South African teams — the team that ended fifth, the team that ended second, and then the team that finished third.

“It’s teams that normally challenge at the back end of the competition.

“We will have a very good idea where we are after these three games, and then it’s Munster at Croke Park. So, our first month is a blockbuster month, which is great.”

The Sharks will be underdogs when they take on Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors.

Plumtree’s side contains several debutants due to the Boks being away and injuries. There will also be a big spotlight on Springbok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who will start in the No.10 jersey.

“I’m happy with the way we’ve prepared with some real challenges, we’re good to go,” Plumtree admitted on the eve of the match.

“The front row hasn’t played together, the same with the locks, the nine-ten combination too, so there are some challenges, but we have prepared well.

“We’ve put the players under pressure as much as we can based on what they’re going to be exposed to in Scotland.

“We’ve relied on other unions to help us out, and hopefully we’ve done enough.”

The leadership of Vincent Tshituka as captain is a plus for the side that has a mix of old faces and new signings.

“Vinny is the sort of guy who leads by example; he’s such a consistent rugby player: he’ll talk about it and then do it. Those are the best leaders to play for,” Plumtree added.

“It’s a ‘follow-me’ mindset, certainly, he does that.

“He also has some good support around him, with Phepsi Buthelezi there, his brother Manu, Marvin Orie, Ruan Dreyer, and then Swys Venter and Lukhanyo Am in the back, all of whom have been around for a long time.

“So, he has a good blend of leadership there.”

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith believes Plumtree has built a powerful squad that can compete even when their big names are away.

“Even without their South African internationals, the Sharks are proof that there are no underpowered teams in the URC – their squad is built to perform and their depth was a key factor in them finishing in the top four last season,” said Smith.

See below for Friday’s teams and predictions!

Friday, September 26:

Stormers v Leinster
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 19.00; 18.00 UK & Ireland time; 17.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stormers by three points.

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Clinton Swart.

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Mangan, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Andrew Sparrow, 19 Max Deegan, 20 Will Connors, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Hugh Cooney.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Sean Muller (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Adam Jones (Wales)

Glasgow Warriors v Sharks
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 20.05; 21.05 SAST; 19.05 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Glasgow Warriors by 11 points.

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Stafford McDowall (captain), 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Adam Hastings.

Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Christie Grobbelaar, 10 Jaden Hendrikse, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Bathobele Hlekani, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Jean Smith, 22 Jurenzo Julius, 23 Hakeem Kunene.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)

Ulster v Dragons
(Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast – 20.05; 19.05 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Ulster by 20 points.

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Zac Ward, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Harry Sheridan, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Reid.
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Matthew Dalton, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Ben Carson.

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Ben Carter (co-captain), 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Rob Hunt, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Wyn Jones.
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Che Hope, 22 Fine Inisi, 23 Huw Anderson.

Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Chris Allison (South Africa)