URC Round 14 - teams and predictions
SUPER SATURDAY: The Stormers are hoping the return of more spectators will add another advantage to their campaign.
The South African government announced this week that stadiums are now able to accommodate 50 percent of their capacity for matches.
The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers have, to date, only been allowed to welcome 2,000 fans for their United Rugby Championship fixtures, having last hosted unrestricted crowds more than two years ago.
The biggest 'rush' of fans could be on Saturday - when the Stormers welcome Ulster to Cape Town, the Sharks and Edinburgh collide in Durban and the Bulls take on the Dragons in Pretoria.
"The change in regulations has been a big boost for us this week and we are all excited to see more of our faithful supporters in the stands this weekend, which really makes a big difference to the players," Stormers coach John Dobson said.
The Stormers will no doubt look to continue their terrific run of form - their only defeat in their last seven URC matches a 17-19 away loss to Connacht at the end of February.
However, the bar will be raised considerably this weekend.
The Capetonians will be opposed by Springbok No.8 Duane Vermeulen, playing for Ulster.
Stormers skipper Steven Kitshoff was not exactly giving any state secrets away when he said the Irish province, Ulster, is a well-coached side.
"They play a [typical] Northern Hemisphere style," he said, adding: "They have a good contestable kicking game and good defensive structures - almost always with 14 players on their feet."
Kitshoff suggested the "magic" of the Stormers' back three - Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla and Leolin Zas - is key to unlocking the Irish outfit's defences.
"It could become a bit of an arm-wrestle in certain areas of the field," the home team's captain said.
"With Duane [Vermeulen] there they have some physicality," Kitshoff added.
Dobson said the Stormers will still look to play their own brand, despite the obvious challenges - as highlighted by his captain.
"We have the forwards to get into that type of [arm-wrestle] game," the coach said, adding: "We want to play the styler we have been developing and do it better."
Stormers have won their last three home games and have not won four in succession at home since 2018.
However, the Stormers have lost their last two encounters with Irish provinces - both of those matches played in Ireland.
Ulster has won their last five URC matches since their 13-18 reversal to Munster in Limerick on January 8.
These two teams have never met before.
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* The Sharks, the leading South African team, also has a BIG incentive to beat Edinburgh.
A win in Durban would take them above the Scottish outfit and to within a touching distance of the top four of the competition.
The Sharks have won their last four URC matches since they were defeated by Stormers in Cape Town in early February.
This was their only defeat in the Championship since October.
Edinburgh has not won away from home in the Championship since their visit to Dragons at the end of November.
The two teams have also never met before.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt said his team has "gained confidence" from the run of victories, but they are not at their best yet and given how important this game is they need to raise the bar considerably.
"There is a lot at stake," Everitt said, adding: "Edinburgh is just ahead of us [fifth on 39 points from 13 matches against the Sharks' sixth place on 36 points from 123 matches].
"If we keep on marching, who knows what can happen when the play-offs come along."
The Sharks coach said Edinburgh is a mirror image and the Scotland national team in terms of style - keeping the ball moving and using their "dangerous backs" to open up defences.
Edinburgh welcomes back seven Scotland internationalists - Mark Bennett (who skippers the capital side), James Lang (both centre), Blair Kinghorn (flyhalf), Ben Vellacott (scrumhalf), Jamie Hodgson (lock), Magnus Bradbury and Hamish Watson (both back row) are all in the starting XV.
"We've really relish our time in South Africa so far and the squad are all buying into what we're trying to achieve," coach Mike Blair said.
"It's hot, conditions are tricky and we're out of our comfort zones, but that's what makes this challenge so exciting," he added.
"It's really galvanised the playing group.
"We're here to do something special.
"No travelling team has won in South Africa in the URC so far this season and we want to do everything we can to change that.
"But, in saying that, we're under no illusion about the task ahead as Sharks are a quality side, with a number of Springboks in their ranks."
Mike Blair chats ahead of South African #URC test in Durban
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* The Bulls are the other South African side climbing the table nicely and should continue to do so against a Dragons team second-last on the standings.
The Bulls' only loss in their last six URC matches was a 22-29 loss at home to Sharks on February 12.
The Bulls' only other defeat at Loftus Versfeld in the URC was to the Stormers on January 22.
The Bulls have won both previous matches they have played against Welsh regions this season.
The Dragons' only win so far this season was 35-22 over Connacht in Galway on October 9. They have played three previous matches in South Africa, losing two and drawing one (18-all against Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth in April 2019).
The two teams have never met before.
Jake White, the Bulls' Director of Rugby, said he is busy building a quality squad - to ensure he can have quality in both the starting XV and on the bench.
"The lesson I have learnt [over my years of coaching] is that the depth of your bench and the experience you have on your bench is vital," the Bulls boss said of players like Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, Morne Steyn and Cornal Hendricks.
However, they can't afford to underestimate the opposition, as that is guaranteed to result in an upset.
White said the South African teams' winning rub on home soil won't last forever, suggesting the first win from a touring team is not too far off.
He added that the Dragons' losses so far have not been blow-outs.
"Generally they been quite competitive," White said.
"I am expecting them to have a full go at us."
He added that they play an 'up-tempo' game, with lots of quick taps and running from anywhere on the field.
"They are not scared to give the ball a bit of air."
THE FORMAT
The 16 teams will be ranked from 1 to 16 in a single-standing league table to decide who reaches the quarterfinals.
Teams will be seeded from one to eight and will receive home advantage according to their seeding. A full round of quarterfinals and semifinals will take place to produce two teams who will qualify for the Final.
Every team will play 18 games in the regular season comprising of:
* Six home AND away fixtures against their regional pool opponents
* Twelve home OR away fixtures against the other 12 teams in the league
Champions Cup Qualification
* Qualification for the Champions Cup will be split between placings in the league table and regional pools
* Each of the four regional pool winners will qualify automatically
* Those four pool winners will be removed from the final league table the four remaining highest ranked teams will also qualify
* Seedings for Champions Cup will be based upon the league ranking of all eight teams
* Subject to the finalisation of contract terms with EPCR, all teams (including the South Africans) will be eligible to qualify for EPCR competitions that are played from 2022/23
* All Saturday's teams and predictions are below!
Saturday 26 March
ZEBRE v SCARLETS
(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma - Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 Ireland & UK time; 13.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Scarlets by five points
Teams
Zebre: 15 Michelangelo Biondelli, 14 Giovanni D’Onofrio, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Luca Andreani, 5 Liam Mitchell, 4 David Sisi (captain), 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Juan Pitinari, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Potu Junior Leavasa, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Junior Laloifi.
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Corey Baldwin, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Jac Price, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Shaun Evans, 1 Kemsley Mathias.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Morgan, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Johnny Williams.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Clara Munarini, Riccardo Angelucci (both Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
STORMERS v ULSTER
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town - Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 Ireland and UK; 13.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Stormers by seven points
Teams
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Rikus Pretorius.
Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Greg Jones, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Ethan McIlroy.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Dylan November (both South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
SHARKS v EDINBURGH
(Kings Park, Durban - Kick-off: 17.05; 15.05 Ireland & UK; 15.05 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Sharks by nine points
Teams
Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khuta Mchunu, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 James Venter, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.
Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Mark Bennett (captain), 12 James Lang, 11 Freddie Owsley, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Harrison Courtney, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Glen Young, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Chris Dean.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Stephan Geldenhuys (both South Africa)
TMO: Egon Seconds (South Africa)
CARDIFF v GLASGOW WARRIORS
(Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff - 17.15; 17.15 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Glasgow by five points
Teams
Cardiff: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 James Botham, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Josh Turnbull, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carré.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ryan Wilson (cc), 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown (cc), 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Stafford McDowall.
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, Simon Rees (both Wales)
TMO: David Rose (England)
BULLS v DRAGONS
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria - Kick-off: 19.15; 17.15 Ireland & UK; 17.15 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Bulls by 18 points
Teams
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Cornal Hendricks.
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Ben Fry, 6 Harri Keddie (captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Huw Taylor, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Lennon Greggains, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Will Reed, 23 Ioan Davies.
Referee: Frank Murphy (England)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Morne Ferreira (both South Africa)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)
CONNACHT v LEINSTER
(The Sportsground, Galway - Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Leinster by eight points
Teams
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Oran McNulty, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Oisin Dowling, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Matthew Burke, 18 Greg McGrath, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Sammy Arnold, 23 Diarmuid Kilgallen.
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Rory O’Loughlin, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Doole.
Replacements: 16 Seán Cronin, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Martin Moloney, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 David Hawkshaw, 23 Chris Cosgrave.
Referee: Chris Busby (England)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross, Peter Martin (both England)
TMO: Leo Colgan (England)
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* Additional reporting by @URCOfficial