{"id":386997,"date":"2026-01-02T14:22:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/386997\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T14:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:22:07","slug":"predictions-teams-kick-off-how-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/386997\/","title":{"rendered":"Predictions, teams, kick-off, how to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Round Nine of the United Rugby Championship (URC) is already underway after Thursday\u2019s two games but there\u2019s much more to come over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Ahead of Friday\u2019s Ulster v Munster clash and the five fixtures taking place on Saturday, here\u2019s the team news, our predictions, how to watch and the match officials.<\/p>\n

Friday<\/p>\n

Ulster v Munster<\/p>\n

Prediction: Ulster by 5<\/p>\n

Ulster<\/a>: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Bryn Ward, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Joe Hopes, 4 Iain Henderson (c), 3 Tom O\u2019Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Eric O\u2019Sullivan, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 David McCann, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Jude Postlethwaite<\/p>\n

Munster<\/a>: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Alex Kendellen, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Michael Ala\u2019alatoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron (c), 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Conor Bartley, 19 Jack O\u2019Donoghue, 20 Brian Gleeson, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Se\u00e1n O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Venue: Affidea Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK \/ 20.45 ITA \/ 21.45 SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 94th league game)
Assistant Referees: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU), Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/p>\n

Sharks v Lions<\/p>\n

Prediction: Sharks by 10<\/p>\n

Sharks<\/a>: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (c), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Siya Masuku<\/p>\n

Lions<\/a>: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Eddie Davids
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Conrad van Vuuren, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Hassiem Pead, 23 Richard Kriel<\/p>\n

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 13.30 IRE & UK \/ 14.30 ITA \/ 15.30 SA
Referee: Chris Allison (SARU, 6th league game)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Egon Seconds (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse BACK for Stormers ahead of Bulls showdown<\/a><\/p>\n

Stormers v Bulls<\/p>\n

Prediction: Stormers by 12<\/p>\n

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouch\u00e9, 2 Andr\u00e9-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adr\u00e9 Smith, 20 Ruben van Heerden, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Jurie Matthee<\/p>\n

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Khuta Mchunu, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Reinhardt Ludwig, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Embrose Papier, 23 Devon Williams<\/p>\n

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 16.00 IRE & UK \/ 17.00 ITA \/ 18.00 SA
Referee: Griffin Colby (SARU, 10th league game)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

Evan Roos puts Springboks ambitions on the backburner despite \u2018physical\u2019 derby clash being perfect platform to impress Rassie Erasmus<\/a><\/p>\n

Benetton v Edinburgh<\/p>\n

Prediction: Benetton by 4<\/p>\n

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Niccol\u00f2 Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Giosu\u00e9 Zilocchi, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 So\u2019otala Fa\u2019aso\u2019o, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Rhyno Smith, 23 Malakai Fekitoa<\/p>\n

Edinburgh: 15 Jack Brow, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Tom Dodd, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Harri Morris, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Liam McConnell, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Piers O\u2019Conor<\/p>\n

Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 17.30 IRE & UK \/ 18.30 ITA \/ 19.30 SA
Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU, 11th league game)
Assistant Referees: Alberto Facaro (FIR), Riccardo Bonato (FIR)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

Leinster v Connacht<\/p>\n

Prediction: Leinster by 10<\/p>\n

Leinster: 15 Ciar\u00e1n Frawley, 14 Tommy O\u2019Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Joshua Kenny, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Diarmuid Mangan, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan (c), 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Conor O\u2019Tighearnaigh, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Josh van der Flier, 22 Luke McGrath, 23 Harry Byrne<\/p>\n

Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Cian Prendergast (c), 6 Josh Murphy, 5 David O\u2019Connor, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitlear, 17 Billy Bohan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Harry West, 23 Cathal Forde<\/p>\n

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17.30 IRE & UK \/ 18.30 ITA \/ 19.30 SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 112th league game)
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRFU), Chris Lough (IRFU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

Glasgow Warriors v Zebre Parma<\/p>\n

Prediction: Glasgow Warriors by 15<\/p>\n

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Duncan Munn, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Macenzzie Duncan, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Jack Oliver, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Dan Lancaster<\/p>\n

Zebre Parma: tbc 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Albert Einstein Batista, 10 Martin Roger Farias, 9 Thomas Dominguez, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Franco Carrera, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Shilo Klein, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio (c)
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Luca Franceschetto, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Giacomo Milano, 20 David Odiase, 21 Migael Prinsloo, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Luca Morisi<\/p>\n

Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK \/ 20.45 ITA \/ 21.45 SA
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU, 16th league game)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (SRU), Sam O\u2019Neil (SRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ulster v Munster teams: Ireland international returns as skipper while visitors make TEN changes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Round Nine of the United Rugby Championship (URC) is already underway after Thursday\u2019s two games but there\u2019s much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,178371,36177,45840,179194,4027,58385,201597,818,6265,4127,136041,44,193328,7708,760,59697,1042,85,134440,178372,134441,136780],"class_list":["post-386997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-benetton-treviso","tag-bulls","tag-cardiff-rugby","tag-connacht","tag-dragons","tag-edinburgh","tag-glasgow-warriors","tag-home-page","tag-leinster","tag-lions","tag-munster","tag-news","tag-ospreys","tag-predictions","tag-rugby","tag-scarlets","tag-sharks","tag-sports","tag-stormers","tag-ulster","tag-united-rugby-championship","tag-zebre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386997","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=386997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}