URC, Round One - Teams and Predictions

PREVIEW: South African eyes will be on Galway, Johannesburg, Durban and Parma this weekend as the Stormers, Lions, Sharks and Bulls launch their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaigns.

After almost 100 days without URC rugby, the 2026/27 season begins with all four South African franchises in action across Ireland, South Africa and Italy. While it’s only round one, every team will already have the June 2027 Grand Final in their sights.

The Stormers are first up on Friday evening against Connacht in Galway. Saturday sees the Lions host two-time defending champions Leinster in Johannesburg, the Sharks welcome Ospreys to Durban, and the Bulls travel to Parma to face Zebre.

Stormers look to start strongly in Galway

The Stormers face a Connacht side that surged into the playoffs last season under Stuart Lancaster after a remarkable turnaround in form.

John Dobson’s team has won four of the last five URC meetings between the sides, including a victory in Galway in 2024, but Connacht claimed last season’s clash in Cape Town and are on a five-match home winning streak.

The match also marks a major milestone for winger Leolin Zas, who is set to make his 100th Stormers appearance.

Lions face the defending champions

The Lions begin with arguably the toughest assignment of the opening weekend against reigning champions Leinster.

Ivan van Rooyen’s side reached the playoffs for the first time last season, while Leinster eliminated them in the 2025 quarterfinals. However, the Lions have fond memories of this fixture after hammering Leinster 44-12 at Ellis Park in 2024.

Leinster have won just one of their last eight matches in South Africa but still arrive with a strong squad despite several high-profile departures.

Sharks banking on home advantage

The Sharks will look to improve on last season’s disappointing 10th-place finish when they host Ospreys in Durban.

Kings Park has become a fortress, with the Sharks losing only once in their last eight URC home matches. Ospreys, meanwhile, have lost their last five matches in South Africa, while the home side has won each of the last four meetings between the teams.

Bulls wary of tricky Italian opener

The Bulls travel to Italy to face Zebre Parma looking to start another title challenge on the right foot after finishing runners-up in the last two URC seasons.

Johann Ackermann’s side has never lost to Zebre and has won its opening URC fixture in each of the last four seasons. But Zebre showed signs of improvement last season and will be eager to upset one of the competition favourites.

Irish provinces remain among the contenders

*Continues below….

Leinster start the season as defending champions, while Connacht will look to build on last year’s playoff run under Lancaster.

Munster have strengthened their front row with Springbok hooker Marnus van der Merwe among their new arrivals, while Ulster begin a new era with former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt joining the province as coach development adviser.

With several Springboks still on mandatory rest after the Rugby Championship, the opening rounds will also provide an opportunity for new signings and emerging players to make an early impression.

Welsh teams fighting on two fronts

The Welsh regions enter the new season under the cloud of the Welsh Rugby Union’s plans to reduce the number of professional teams before 2028.

Cardiff, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons are all targeting playoff qualification while uncertainty continues over which region could ultimately lose its professional status.

Ospreys start with a demanding South African tour against the Sharks and Lions, while Cardiff and Scarlets renew their rivalry in the opening Welsh derby of the season.

South African teams ready for another playoff push

The South African franchises were among the busiest teams in the transfer market during the off-season, but the opening rounds will be shaped as much by squad depth as star power.

With several Springboks unavailable, the first weekend presents an opportunity for new signings and fringe players to make an immediate impact as the race for the URC playoffs begins.

Scottish clubs chasing different goals

Scotland’s two URC sides head into the new season with contrasting expectations, but both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh believe they have the squads to challenge for the playoffs.

Glasgow will once again be among the title favourites after finishing top of the regular-season standings last season under Franco Smith. However, the Warriors have undergone a significant refresh, with experienced Scotland internationals Huw Jones, Adam Hastings and Jack Dempsey among the high-profile departures.

Edinburgh, coached by Sean Everitt, have taken a different approach by investing in younger talent with international pedigree as they continue their push to become genuine playoff contenders.

With less than a year until the 2027 Rugby World Cup, both Scottish clubs will also be crucial proving grounds for players hoping to cement their places in Scotland’s World Cup squad.

One of the biggest stories of the off-season is Jamie Ritchie’s move from Edinburgh to Glasgow, while Edinburgh’s headline signing is scrumhalf Louie Chapman, who arrives from New Zealand’s Crusaders system. The 25-year-old qualifies for Scotland through his Elgin-born grandmother and is expected to add quality and depth in the No 9 jersey.

Italian derby takes on World Cup significance

Italian rugby continues to build momentum through its two URC franchises, with Benetton and Zebre Parma both looking to strengthen their positions in the competition.

Benetton have become Italy’s standard-bearers in recent seasons, consistently challenging for playoff places and Champions Cup qualification, while Zebre have steadily improved around a talented young core of Italian internationals and emerging prospects.

Their derby clashes this season carry extra significance with the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon.

Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada is expected to keep a close eye on both fixtures, with many of the Azzurri’s leading internationals and rising stars lining up on opposite sides as they compete for places in Italy’s World Cup plans.

*Find all the teams and predictions below!

Friday, September 26

Benetton v Dragons RFC
(Stadio Monigo, Treviso – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45 GMT; 20.45 ITA time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Benetton by 10 points

Teams

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 François Mey, 12 Paolo Odogwu, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Sebastian Blacks, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Giulio Marini, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Matias Medrano
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Piero Gritti, 20 Antony Miranda, 21 Siua Maile, 22 Louis Werchon, 23 Jean Smith

Dragons: 15 Huw Anderson, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen (co-captain), 11 Anzelo Tuitavuki, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Evan Minto, 8 Thomas Young (co-captain), 7 Ryan Woodman, 6 Seb Davies, 5 Barny Langton-Cryer, 4 Chris Coleman, 3 Oli Burrows, 2 Rodrigo Martinez, 1 Rhodri Williams
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Harry Beddall, 21 Che Hope, 22 Jac Lloyd, 23 Fetuli Paea

Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU, 11th league game)
Assistant referees: Alex Frasson (FIR) and Dario Merli (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Connacht v Stormers
(Dexcom Stadium, Galway – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45; 20.45 SA time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Stormers by three points

Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 John Devine, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Eoin de Buitléar, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Matthew Victory, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 David O’Connor, 20 Max Flynn, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 Shayne Bolton

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Evan Roos, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Riley Norton, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Adré Smith, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 23 Yaqeen Ahmed.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 63rd league game)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (IRFU) and Tomas O’Sullivan (IRFU)
TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)

Ulster v Edinburgh
(Affidea Stadium, Belfast – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Ulster by six points

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jamie Benson, 11 Aitzol Arenzana-King, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Conor McKee, 8 James McNabney, 7 Martin Moloney, 6 David McCann, 5 Ben Donnell, 4 Eli Snyman, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 James McCormick,1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Tom McAllister, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 James McKillop, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Zac Ward

Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Malelili Satala, 13 Matt Currie (co-captain), 12 Kienan Higgins, 11 Geordie Gwynn, 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Glen Young, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Harri Morris, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Euan McVie, 20 Tom Currie, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Rory McHaffie

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR, 22nd league game)
Assistant referees: Max Weston (IRFU) and Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Vincenzo Schipani (FIR)

Saturday, September 27

Lions v Leinster
(10bet Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 13.30; 11.30 GMT; 12.30 IRE & UK time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Lions by four points

Teams

Lions: 15 Boeta Chamberlain 14 Kelly Mpeku 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Richard Kriel 11 Erich Cronje 10 Chris Smith 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain) 7 Batho Hlekani 6 Siba Mahashe 5 Ruan Delport 4 Etienne Oosthuizen 3 Sebastian Lombard 2 PJ Botha 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 JC Pretorius, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Zian Cilliers, 23 Ethan Adam

Leinster: 15 Todd Lawlor, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Caspar Gabriel, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Josh Ericson, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan (c), 5 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Alex Usanov
Replacements: 16 Stephen Smyth, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Niall Smyth, 19 Brian Deeney, 20 Dylan McNeice, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Ciarán Mangan

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU, 21st league game)
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU) and Jonathan Lottering (SARU)
TMO: Craig Evans (WRU)

Sharks v Ospreys
(Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 16.00; 14.00 GMT; 15.00 IRE & UK time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Sharks by eight points

Sharks: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 Esethu Mnebelele, 17 Nemo Roelofse, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Zekhethelo Siyaya.

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Owen Watkin (co-captain), 12 Lalakai Foketi, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Lawson Creighton, 9 Luke Davies, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Ross Moriarty, 6 Liam Wright, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry (co-captain), 1 Steffan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Ryan Smith, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Evardi Bosho
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 49th league game)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (SARU) and Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Fillipo Russo (FIR)

Munster v Glasgow Warriors
(Thomond Park, Limerick – Kick-off: 17.30; 18.30 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Glasgow by 15 points

Teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Seán O’Brien, 11 Ben O’Connor, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Ben O’Donovan, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Evan O’Connell, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 1 Michael Milne,
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Jake O’Riordan, 22 Charlie O’Shea, 23 Dan Kelly

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Stafford McDowall (captain), 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Angus Fraser, 21 Macenzzie Duncan, 22 Callum Reidy, 23 Bayley Kuenzle

Referee: Morné Ferreira (SARU, 24th league game)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU) and Padraic Reidy (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Zebre Parma v Bulls
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 18.30; 16.30 GMT; 18.30 SA time)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Bulls by 12 points

Teams

Zebre: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi,10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco (captain), 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Ignacio Castellano, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Federico Pisani,
Replacements: 16 Francisco Minervino, 17 Sergio Pelliccioli, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Franco Carrera, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Giovanni Montemauri

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Alu Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Cheswill Jooste, 23 Hakeem Kunene

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 115th league game)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (FIR) and Alberto Favaro (FIR)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Scarlets v Cardiff
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45 GMT)

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Scarlets by seven points

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Macs Page, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Osian Williams, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Sam Lousi, 5 Will Evans, 4 Harvey Cuckson, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1Sam O’Connor, Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Gabe Hawley, 19 Alex Groves, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Joe Hawkins, 23 Ioan Jones

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Le Roux Malan, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James Botham, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Harri Millard

Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 51st league game)
Assistant referees: Carwyn Sion (WRU) and Lloyd Edwards (WRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)