The United Rugby Championship continues this weekend and it’s another pivotal round with three games on Friday night before five take place on Saturday.
Check on all the URC team news, our predictions, the match officials and more below.
Friday
Sharks v Cardiff
Prediction: Sharks by 15
Sharks: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (c), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse / Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan
Cardiff: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Iwan Stephens, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Elijah Evans
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 48th league game)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Jonathan Lottering (SARU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuisen (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Glasgow Warriors v Benetton
Prediction: Glasgow by 14
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Fergus Watson, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Macenzzie Duncan, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jack Oliver, 23 Dan Lancaster
Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Tomas Medina, 11 Rhyno Smith, 10 Leonardo Marin, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza (c), 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marcos Gallorini, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Destiny Aminu
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Mattia Midena, 21 Jadin Kingi, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Filippo Drago
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU, 18th league game)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (SRU), Jonny MacKenzie (SRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Leinster v Scarlets
Prediction: Leinster by 20
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Joshua Kenny, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Alex Soroka, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Robbie Henshaw
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Fletcher Anderson (c), 7 Dan Davis, 6 Jarrod Taylor, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Harry Thomas, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 George Roberts, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Ioan Jones, 23 Macs Page
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU, 14th league game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Chris Lough (IRFU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Live on: Premier Sports, S4C, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Saturday
Bulls v Munster
Prediction: TBC
Bulls: TBC
Munster: 15 Ben O’Connor, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey (c), 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 John Hodnett
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 12.00 IRE & UK / 13.00 ITA / 14.00 SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 27th league game)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Jonathan Lottering (SARU)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Connacht v Ospreys
Prediction: TBC
Connacht: TBC
Ospreys: TBC
Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway
Kick-off: 14.15 IRE & UK / 15.15 ITA / 16.15 SA
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR, 20th league game)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (IRFU), Tomás O’Sullivan (IRFU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Lions v Dragons
Prediction: TBC
Lions: TBC
Dragons: TBC
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 14.30 IRE & UK / 15.30 ITA / 16.30 SA
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU, 2nd league game)
Assistant Referees: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU), Stephen Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
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Stormers v Edinburgh
Prediction: TBC
Stormers: TBC
Edinburgh: TBC
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 37th league game)
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma v Ulster
Prediction: TBC
Zebre Parma: TBC
Ulster: TBC
Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 73rd league game)
Assistant Referees: Fillipo Russo (FIR), Dario Merli (FIR)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv