{"id":372883,"date":"2025-12-26T11:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372883\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T11:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T11:30:07","slug":"predictions-teams-kick-off-times-how-to-watch-and-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372883\/","title":{"rendered":"Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The United Rugby Championship (URC) season gets back underway on Friday with two games before there\u2019s another four matches on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the team news, match officials, predictions and how to watch the action.<\/p>\n<p>Friday<\/p>\n<p>Cardiff v Dragons<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"118\" data-end=\"378\">Prediction: Cardiff by 20<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"118\" data-end=\"378\">Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Rhys Barratt<br \/>Replacements:16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 George Nott, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 James Botham, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Jacob Beetham<\/p>\n<p>Dragons: 15 Angus O\u2019Brien (cc), 14 Huw Anderson, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Che Hope, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Ben Carter (cc), 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 George Roberts, 1 Rodrigo Martinez<br \/>Replacements: 16 Sam Scarfe, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Harri Keddie, 21 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 22 Rhodri Williams, 23 David Richards<\/p>\n<p>Venue:\u00a0Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff<br \/>Kick-off: 15.00 IRE &amp; UK \/ 16.00 ITA \/ 17.00 SA<br \/>Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)<br \/>Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU)<br \/>TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)<br \/>Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby &amp; URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Scarlets v Ospreys<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Draw<\/p>\n<p>Scarlets: 15 Ellis Mee, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Joe Roberts, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Fletcher Anderson, 7 Taine Plumtree, 6 Max Douglas, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Ryan Elias (c), 1 Alec Hepburn<br \/>Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Tristan Davies, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Elis Price, 23 Macs Page<\/p>\n<p>Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Ryan Conbeer, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Willians, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Steffan Thomas<br \/>Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Iestyn Hopkins<\/p>\n<p>Venue:  Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli<br \/>Kick-off:\u00a017.30 IRE &amp; UK \/ 18.30 ITA \/ 19.30 SA<br \/>Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)<br \/>Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Carwyn Sion (WRU)<br \/>TMO: Keith David (WRU)<br \/>Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport,\u00a0Flo Rugby\u00a0&amp;\u00a0URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Saturday<\/p>\n<p>Zebre v Benetton<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Benetton by 5<\/p>\n<p>Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Giulio Bertaccini, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 David Odiase, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Bautista Stavile, 5 Leonard Krumov (c), 4 Giacomo Ferrari, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa<br \/>Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Alessandro Ortombina, 20 Matteo Canali, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Malik Faissal, 23 Giovanni Licata<\/p>\n<p>Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Michele Lamaro (c), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Riccardo Favretto, 3 Giosu\u00e9 Zilocchi, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo<br \/>Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccol\u00f2 Cannone, 20 So\u2019otala Fa\u2019aso\u2019o, 21 Federico Ruzza, 22 Louis Werchon, 23 Rhyno Smith<\/p>\n<p>Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma<br \/>Kick-off: 14.30 IRE &amp; UK \/ 15.30 ITA \/ 16.30 SA<br \/>Referee:  Clara Munarini (FIR)<br \/>Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (FIR), Lorenzo Pedezzi (FIR)<br \/>TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)<br \/>Live on: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport,\u00a0Flo Rugby\u00a0&amp;\u00a0URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Glasgow by 10<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/edinburgh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Edinburgh<\/a>: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Cammy Scott, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Harri Morris, 1 Pierre Schoeman<br \/>Replacements:16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Jack Brown<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/glasgow-warriors\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Glasgow Warriors<\/a>: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Kyle Steyn (capt), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Angus Fraser, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Patrick Schickerling<br \/>Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Rory Darge, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster<\/p>\n<p>Venue: Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh<br \/>Kick-off: 15.00 IRE &amp; UK \/ 16.00 ITA \/ 17.00 SA<br \/>Referee:  Hollie Davidson (SRU)<br \/>Assistant Referees: Rob McDowell (SRU), Jonny Mackenzie (SRU)<br \/>TMO:  David Sutherland (SRU)<br \/>Live on:  Premier Sports, SuperSport,\u00a0Flo Rugby\u00a0&amp;\u00a0URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Connacht v Ulster<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Ulster by 7<\/p>\n<p>Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Daniel Ryan, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen (c), 7 Cian Prendergast, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 David O\u2019Connor, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley<br \/>Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Se\u00e1n O\u2019Brien, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Hugh Gavin<\/p>\n<p>Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Conor McKee, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Nick Timoney (c), 6 David McCann, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Sam Crean<br \/>Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom O\u2019Toole, 19 Joe Hopes, 20 Bryn Ward, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Jude Postlethwaite<\/p>\n<p>Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway<br \/>Kick-off: 17.30 IRE &amp; UK \/ 18.30 ITA \/ 19.30 SA<br \/>Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)<br \/>Assistant Referees: \u00a0Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU), Max Weston (IRFU)<br \/>TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)<br \/>Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport,\u00a0Flo Rugby\u00a0&amp;\u00a0URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Munster v Leinster<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Munster by 12<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/munster\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Munster<\/a>:\u00a015 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O\u2019Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (c), 5 Tom Ahern, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 Michael Ala\u2019alatoa, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Michael Milne<br \/>Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Fineen Wycherley, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Dan Kelly, 23 John Hodnett<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/leinster\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Leinster<\/a>:\u00a015 Ciar\u00e1n Frawley, 14 Tommy O\u2019Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 R\u00f3nan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter<br \/>Replacements:\u00a016 John McKee, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Andrew Osborne<\/p>\n<p>Venue:  Thomond Park, Limerick<br \/>Kick-off: 19.45 IRE &amp; UK \/ 20.45 ITA \/ 21.45 SA<br \/>Referee:  Peter Martin (IRFU)<br \/>Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRFU), Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)<br \/>TMO:  Mark Patton (IRFU)<br \/>Live on:  Premier Sports, SuperSport,\u00a0Flo Rugby\u00a0&amp;\u00a0URC.tv<\/p>\n<p>Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=planetrugby.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/ranking-the-15-best-test-debutants-in-2025-all-blacks-big-success-edges-out-rising-springboks-star-with-england-also-well-represented\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ranking the 15 best Test debutants in 2025: All Blacks\u2019 \u2018big success\u2019 edges out rising Springboks star with England also well represented<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United Rugby Championship (URC) season gets back underway on Friday with two games before there\u2019s another four&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,178371,45840,179194,4027,58385,201597,818,6265,136041,44,193328,760,59697,85,178372,134441,136780],"class_list":["post-372883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-benetton-treviso","tag-cardiff-rugby","tag-connacht","tag-dragons","tag-edinburgh","tag-glasgow-warriors","tag-home-page","tag-leinster","tag-munster","tag-news","tag-ospreys","tag-rugby","tag-scarlets","tag-sports","tag-ulster","tag-united-rugby-championship","tag-zebre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}