URC Round Seven - Teams and Predictions
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PREVIEW: The South African derbies will take centre stage this weekend ahead of the break for the end-of-year international window.
The Lions and Stormers will be the first South African sides to take the field in Round Seven of the competition when the teams meet in Johannesburg on Saturday, with the Bulls hosting the Sharks in Pretoria on Sunday, a replay of one of last season’s four quarterfinals.
While the Bulls are coming off a valuable victory in Treviso, and the Capetonians will look to bounce back from their first defeat in the season last week against Cardiff, the Lions and Sharks will be ready to regain their rhythm after their matches against Glasgow Warriors and Ulster were called off late last Friday following a bout of gastroenteritis infections in the visiting camps.
In Johannesburg, both the Lions and Stormers will have their sights on victories to recover from defeats in their last outings, with the Capetonians searching for their first victory in three matches, as they registered a draw against Ospreys in their second-last outing.
The cancellation of the Johannesburgers’ match last week saw them drop down to eighth place on the standings – a position they will be desperate to improve on – while the Cape side will do their utmost to earn a win to reclaim their position as the top-placed South African team after they dropped below the Bulls on points’ difference last week.
Interestingly, both teams have won three of their five matches so far this season, but the Stormers’ draw and bonus points have allowed them to accumulate four more points than their Gauteng rivals.
The Capetonians will draw confidence from the fact that their defensive record has been the best in the early stages of the season, conceding 99 points to 134 by the Gauteng outfit, while their attack has been marginally better with 16 more points to their name in their matches to date.
The hosts, however, know how to dig deep after winning all three of their Northern Hemisphere tour matches, and they will be determined to tap into that mindset ahead of this important clash.
Lions No.8 Francke Horn said the belief started creeping into the squad after each win on tour.
"I think it started after the Ospreys game," said Horn.
"Beating them with one point away in that first game on tour brought the belief into the team and then we carried that forward.
"We were a little bit disappointed in the Ulster game but we also showed a lot of character and fight, so I think there is belief in the team and we know we can go far.
"It is just about keeping our heads straight and working hard and eventually the results will come our way.
"You don’t win the competition in the first six games. There is a long way to go but I know everybody believes that we can be a dark horse team and cause a few upsets.
Stormers head coach John Dobson knows that his team are up against a different Lions team than the one they beat comfortably in Johannesburg last season.
"They beat Ospreys and Cardiff and we didn’t beat either of those two teams," said Dobson.
"They got massive self-belief with these results.
"They got a very settled team and they do change No.10 occasionally.
"We have gone for a slightly different approach just to try and build as much depth as we can before we go into the Champions Cup and we have done that reasonably successfully.
"They have improved their defence enormously. They are also a very dangerous team as we saw against Ulster.
"They also don’t have to worry about national team disruptions."
Loftus battle
Both the Bulls and Sharks, meanwhile, come off encouraging victories against Benetton and the Glasgow Warriors respectively in their last matches, and they will want to build on these results and gain winning momentum as the competition progresses.
The win for the Pretoria side saw them claim the honours as South Africa’s top-placed side – a position they will want to hold onto after a strong start to the season in which they won their first three matches – but they will go up against a gritty Sharks team that registered confidence-boosting tour wins against Zebre Parma and the Dragons, and who have their sights set on forcing their way back into the top six on the standings.
While the Bulls have posed a greater danger on attack in the first few rounds, the Sharks’ defence has been tighter, which is an area of their game they would like to capitalise on this weekend.
The KwaZulu-Natalians have included Springbok centre Francois Venter to make his debut for them in Pretoria on Sunday, with a few tweaks made to the team that beat the Glasgow Warriors a fortnight ago.
"Francois brings a lot of experience," said Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell.
"He has played at international level and he has played overseas in the UK as well. He also brings a lot of rugby IQ.
"Our attack coach Noel McNamara was very impressed with how quickly he understood what was expected of him and how he got himself on the same page as everybody else in terms of our attacking principles and our attacking shapes.
"He has got an amazing work ethic. We are all happy that he caught up quickly in terms of our systems and our principles and we are looking forward to seeing how he goes against the Bulls."
Powell knows that his team will have to be at their best in Pretoria for the full 80 minutes.
"It is going to be a physical battle, especially up front in the forwards and the way they play the game.
"I think it is going to take an 80-minute game from us and not just a good start and a good finish at the end.
"If we don’t play for 80 minutes, we will definitely find ourselves in trouble and if we can’t stand up to what they will bring in the physical department then we are also going to be in trouble."
Meanwhile, Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee is expecting a fierce battle in the set-pieces.
"When you get two teams with strong set-pieces and the attack is functioning and the defence is tight, it is going to come down to big moments," said Coetzee.
"Hopefully we can identify those big moments and implement our game early on and not wait for the second half because the Sharks are a great set-piece side.
"The biggest thing is starting well and you want to implement your plan and just put pressure on them.
"We are playing at home but you can't always rely on that. You still have to show up. It is going to be a clash of the titans."
This weekend will also see a big Irish derby with Munster hosting Ulster on Saturday.
Munster find themselves in a precarious position already and desperately need a win if they are to have any hope in the Irish conference this year.
Already struggling since the departure of South African-born coach Johann van Graan, new coach Graham Rowntree has notched up just two wins in six outings - against Italian side Zebre and a rampant win over the Bulls - to be happy about.
But in their other games, they lost comprehensively against pace-setters Leinster this past weekend, and also lost their other derby game to Connacht, along with two losses to Welsh sides Dragons and Cardiff along the way.
Ulster will present their final opportunity to get a victory against a fellow Irish side ahead of the November internationals break and they may see an opportunity after Ulster left South Africa still feeling the effects of gastroenteritis and may not be 100 percent ready for the Irish interpro.
Ulster have had a fantastic season up to now, scoring the second most tries in the competition and have only lost one game against Leinster in their run early in the season.
*See Saturday and Sunday's teams and predictions below!
Saturday, October 29:
Lions v Stormers
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 16.00; 14.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Stormers by five points.
Teams:
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Zander du Plessis.
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) & Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Dragons v Zebre Parma
(Rodney Parade, Newport – Kick-off: 17.15; 18.15 Italy time; 16.15 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Dragons by 12 points.
Teams:
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 David Richards, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Max Clark, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Harrison Keddie (captain), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Ben Fry, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Aneurin Owen.
Zebre: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Latu Latunipulu, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Andrea Zambonin, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Jacques Du Toit (captain), 1 Juan Pitinari.
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Alessio Sanavia, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23 Lorenzo Pani.
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wales) & Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Munster v Ulster
(Thomond Park, Limerick – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Munster by three points.
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Shane Daly, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Patrick Campbell, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Alex Kendellen, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (captain), 5 Eoin O’Connor, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 John Ryan, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Cian Hurley, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Simon Zebo.
Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Ben Moxham, 13 James Hume, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 David McCann, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Andy Warwick.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
Ospreys v Connacht
(Swansea Stadium, Swansea – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Connacht by nine points.
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Reuben Morgan Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Baldwin (captain), 1 Rhys Henry.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Jack Regan, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Luke Scully, 23 Cai Evans.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Alex Wootton, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 David Hawkshaw, 11 John Porch, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Darragh Murray 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Adam Byrne.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Mark Butcher (Wales)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Sunday, October 30:
Bulls v Sharks
(Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Bulls by seven points.
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Johan Goosen, 14 David Kriel, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gerard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Ruan Vermaak, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Stravino Jacobs, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Henry Chamberlain, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Phendulani Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Thomas du Toit (captain), 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Justin Basson, 20 James Venter, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Marnus Potgieter.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuisen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) & Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Cardiff v Edinburgh
(Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Edinburgh by five points.
Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh Turnbull (captain), 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carré.
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Gwilym Bradley, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Aled Summerhill, 23 Cameron Winnett.
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Charlie Savala, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie (captain), 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Jack Blain.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Mike English (Wales), Lewis Harrison (Wales)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)