URC Round Three - teams and predictions

SATURDAY PREVIEW: The Bulls and Lions have gone ‘full metal jacket’ and named the bulk of their Springboks, while the Stormers and Sharks were more ‘economical’ with the return of their internationals.

Almost an entire Springbok team will be featured in Round Three of the United Rugby Championship.

Players like Edwill van der Merwe, Morné van den Berg, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (captain), Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jordan Hendrikse, Andre Esterhuizen, Jaden Hendrikse, Trevor Nyakane, Damian Willemse and Ben-Jason Dixon all feature in Round Three.

The Lions and Bulls are at home to Edinburgh and Ulster respectively, while the Sharks face the Dragons and the Stormers front up to Zebre in away matches.

The other Saturday games will see Benetton at home to Leinster and Munster hosting Ospreys.

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said it is the strongest team has selected since he arrived at Loftus Versfeld four year ago.

“I am looking forward to seeing how we play because there is everything there, we have good forwards and good backs with good pace, skill and a bit of everything,” White said.

“This will be the strongest team we have fielded in four years from an experience point of view and an achievement point of view.

“We have Springboks in key positions and even on the bench.

“We all know that just because you have a strong team does not make anything automatic but it is exciting to see that our four years are coming together now.

“We have a front row and a backline of Springboks.

“There is still a job to be done, this is a big game against Ulster, who have also managed not to roll over because they are a good team.

“They may not have got the results but they have toured South Africa very well in the past and I expect it to be a tough game.”

(Article continues below the Jake White interview …)

* After picking up a bonus point win in their opening URC outing, the Lions start as favourites to make it two from two when they host Edinburgh in Johannesburg.

However, backline coach Ricardo Loubscher cautioned against a side that pushed the Bulls all the way last week.

“If you look at the back three, they are quite unstructured, so you don’t want to give them too much time and space to have a go at you,” Loubscher said.

“We plan to make sure that we take the time and space away.

“In saying that, we need to be on point on our defence by making sure that we reset quickly by getting our defensive lines organized because they are a dangerous team in broken field.”

He said they need to be ‘more clinical’ in their execution, facing a team that is very different to the Irish opposition from last week.

Squad rotation also comes into the picture for a Lions team that will lose a handful of players to the Boks in November.

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt made four changes, with a new-look half-back partnership of Ben Healy and Ben Vellacott (as co-captain) replacing benched duo Ross Thompson and Ali Price.

The capital coach also confirmed that Emiliano Boffelli faces four to five months on the sidelines following a recurrence of the back issue which brought the Argentinean fullback’s 2023-24 season to an early end, while centre Mark Bennett will be out for several weeks with a quad injury suffered against the Bulls.

“This will be another testing encounter for us,” Everitt said, adding: “However, we feel that, from our performances against Leinster and the Bulls, we’re more than
capable of securing a positive result.

“The Lions are a tough team, with a good set piece and exciting backs, especially in transition, so we know that we’ll be in for a fight.”

* Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said Zebre is a different team from previous seasons, with a new coaching staff and game plan.

“We will have to be as sharp as ever and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way,” Dobson said.

“Traditionally they are one of the weaker teams, but I don’t think it will be the case this year.

“I don’t see them in that category at all.

“It is a challenge we are all looking forward to.”

Dobson revealed that he is unlikely to rush any more of his Springboks back before the Glasgow Warriors Round Six face-off at the end of the month.

“We want to get ahead of the curve in terms of resting our Springboks,” he said, adding: “We want to be proactive with our player welfare.”

Manie Libbok is getting married this weekend, while a few others are carrying injuries according to Dobson – like Evan Roos, Salmaan Moerat, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Steven Kitshoff.

“There isn’t much left in the [Springbok] cupboard, but guys like Frans [Malherbe] and Manie [Libbok] could come into contention for [the encounter with] Glasgow.”

Dobson confirmed that the Springboks are likely to return to national duty after the Warriors game, which means they won’t get much value out of them before December.

* Meanwhile the Sharks are looking to maintain their 100 percent success rate against the Dragons .

However, according to forwards coach Warren Whiteley, they take no expectation into this game based on past results.

“We have high standards for ourselves and regardless of who we play, we put that pressure on ourselves to perform,” Whitely said.

“We were disappointed in our second half performance against Connacht, but what’s great about this competition is that we have another opportunity this week.

“The Dragons gave Leinster a good go last week and beat Ospreys in the first round, so they’re a quality side, particularly at home, and they’ll be determined to get a victory there, so we know what we’re up against.

“But we’re focusing on bettering our game, on improving the execution of our game model.”

All the Saturday teams and predictions are below …

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Lions v Edinburgh
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 13.45; 12.45 UK & Ireland time; 11.45 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Lions by 12 points

Teams

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 Johannes Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Henco van Wyk.

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Ross McCann, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (co-captain), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (co-captain), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Ali Price, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Mosese Tuipulotu.

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Henru van Rooyen (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)

Bulls v Ulster
(Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 UK & Ireland time; 14.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bulls by nine points

Teams

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Celimpilo Gumede, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Ben Carson, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 James McNabney, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Corrie Barrett, 2 James McCormick, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Alan O’Connor, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 James Humphreys, 23 Ben Moxham.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: JD Jadezweni (South Africa), Dylan November (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (Wales)

Benetton v Leinster
(Stadio Monigo, Treviso – Kick-off: 18.15; 17.15 UK & Ireland time; 16.15 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Leinster by 15 points

Teams

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Michele Lamaro (captain), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Riccardo Favretto, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo.
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Enzo Avaca, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Giulio Marini, 21 Lorenzo Cannone, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Leonardo Marin.

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Brian Deeny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Scott Penny.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Federico Vedovelli (Italy), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)

Dragons v Sharks
(Rodney Parade, Newport – Kick-off: 17.15; 18.15 SA time; 16.15 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Sharks by eight points

Teams

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (captain), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood.

Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales); Nathan James (Wales)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Munster v Ospreys
(Musgrave Park, Cork – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Munster by nine points

Teams

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bryan Fitzgerald, 11 Shay McCarthy, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Jack Daly.

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Iestyn Hopkins, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Phil Cokanasiga, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Steffan Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Keiran Williams.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Chris Lough (Ireland)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Zebre v Stormers
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 20.35; 20.35 SA time; 18.35 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stormers by seven points

Teams

Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Fetuli Paea, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giacomo Ferrari, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (captain).
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Scott Gregory, 23 Giovanni Montemauri.

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Louw Nel, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Warrick Gelant, 23 Angelo Davids.

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Fillipo Russo (Italy), Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)

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