The 2023/24 United Rugby Championship season continues until round 10 and includes the much-awaited clash between leaders Leinster and second-placed Benetton on Saturday.
The former have been boosted by the return of Ireland prospect Tommy O’Brien and will be hoping to make a good impression while doubts remain over the suitability of Six Nations star Hugo Keenan.
Elsewhere, Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi returned from injury sustained in the 2023 World Cup final and was on the bench for the Sharks’ match against the Stormers.
Check out team news for all the weekend’s games here.
Friday
scarlets v munster
team:
scarlet: 15 Johnny McNicol, 14 Tomi Lewis, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Yoan Nicolas, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Dan Davies, 6 Jarrod Taylor, 5 Sam Luci (c), 4 Alex Craig, 3 Harry O’Connor, 2 Edouan Swart, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacement: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jack Price, 20 Teddy Leatherborough, 21 Effan Jones, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Steph Evans
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Sean O’Brien, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankibel, 11 Shane Daly 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombs, 7 Alex Kenderen (c), 6 Ruadan Quinn, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Oli Jaeger, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Rahman.
Replacement: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Feenen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Sullivan, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Shay McCarthy
venue: park and scarlets
kick off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ian Kenny (Scotland)
Assistant referee: Adam Jones (Wales), Tom Spurrier (Wales)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Zebre Parma v Edinburgh
team:
Zebre Palma: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Luca Morisi (c), 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Jessi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Davide Ruggieri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Bautista Stabile, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Mateo Canali, 3 Mateo Nocera, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Muhamed Hasa
replacement: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Dylan De Leeuw, 20 Taina Fox-Matumua, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Scott Gregory, 23 Giovanni Licata
Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Bofferi, 14 Harry Patterson, 13 Matt Curry, 12 James Lang, 11 Chris Dean, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliam Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie ( c), 5 Glenn Young, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 WP Nell, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacement: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Luan de Bruyn, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Tom Dodd, 20 Conor Boyle, 21 Ben Verracott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Nathan Sweeney
venue: Stadio Lanfranchi
kick off: 20:35 local time (19:35 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referee: Gianluca Gnecki (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: John Mason (Wales)
Saturday
lions v bulls
team:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Low (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Moen van den Berg, 8 Franke Horn, 7 Ruan Ventel, 6 Hanl Silgel, 5 Reinhard Nosnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathy Ntlabakaniye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith
Replacement: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Konrad van Vuuren, 19 Darian Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrickse, 23 Erik Cronje
Bull: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canaan Moody, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ellie Rowe , 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Luan Nortje (c) ), 4 Reinhard Ludwig, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacement: 16 Simphiwe Matanzima, 17 Acker van der Merwe, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Marcel Coetzee, 21 Keegan Johannes, 22 Johan Goossen, 23 Mpilo Gumede
venue: emirates airline park
kick off: 15:00 local time (13:00 Greenwich Mean Time)
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Dylan November (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
📥 | 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬!
here it is #leinsterrugby The team to play has been selected @Benetton Rugby tomorrow #BKTURC origin round#Leben #FromTheGroundUp #FromGrassrootsToGreatness pic.twitter.com/dCiUfOszyc
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) February 16, 2024
leinster v benetton
team:
Leinster: 15 Henry McElean, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Rob Russell, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny (c), 6 Will Connors, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Moloney, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacement: 16 John Mackie, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Michael Araratoa, 19 Brian Deeney, 20 Reece Ruddock, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Ben Brownlee
Benetton: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Onisi Latabe, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Woolen, 8 Henry Time Stowers, 7 Toa Harafihi, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Eli Snyman (c), 4 Gideon Kugelenberg, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacement: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Filippo Allongi, 19 Riccardo Fabret, 20 Alessandro Izecol, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Filippo Drago
venue: RDS arena
kick off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Holly Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Thomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
sharks v stormers
team:
shark: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Koc, 13 Lucanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Kerwin Bosch, 9 Jaeden Hendrickse, 8 Fepsi Bushelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Louroots, Hanro Jacobs 3, Fez Mbatha 2, Ox Nche 1
Replacement: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntukho Mchunu, 18 Corny Oosthuizen, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Vincent Situka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Aphiwe Dianthi.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Geraint, 14 Ben Roeder, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Sasha Feinberg-Mgomezulu, 11 Leolin Szas, 10 Julie Massey, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hajiba Deimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Marcel Teunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Addresssmith, 3 Niesling Fouch (c), 2 Josef Dweba, 1 Ari Vermaak
Replacement: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Suti Cihor, 18 Brock Harris, 19 Salman Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Wandisir Simelane, 23 Angelo Davids
venue: hollywood bets stadium
kick off: 17:05 local time (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referee: Kwengile Jadesweni (South Africa), Stefan Geldenhuis (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Close (South Africa)
cardiff v connacht
team:
Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Ray Leelow, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summersill, 10 Tinas de Beer, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 3 Will Davies-King, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Reece Carre.
Replacement: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Reece Barratt, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Alan Lawrence, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Arwel Robson, 23 Willis Haraholo
Connaht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Shane Bolton, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Cathal Ford, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Kaolin Blade (c), 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Connor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Jacques Angier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Dennis Buckley
Replacement: 16 Tad McElroy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisin Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Tom Farrell
venue: Cardiff Arms Park
kick off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referee: Craig Evans (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Glasgow Warriors v Dragons
team:
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Facundo Cordero, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Jamie Dobbie, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Ewan Ferry, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Lucio Soldoni, 2 Jonny Matthews, 1 Jamie Batty
Replacement: 16 Angus Fraser, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Ruaride Hart, 20 Sintu Manjezi, 21 Gregor Hiddleston, 22 Sean Kennedy, 23 Duncan Weir
dragon: 15 Kai Evans, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Steph Hughes (c), 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Oli Andrew, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 George Young, 6 Sean Lonsdale, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davis, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 James Benjamin, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacement: 16 Brody Coghlan, 17 Aki Seiuri, 18 Luke Yendl, 19 Bernie Langton-Crier, 20 Sam Scarfe, 21 Che Hope, 22 Will Reid, 23 Joe Westwood
venue: scotstown
kick off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referee: Johnny Perriam (Scotland), Michael Todd (Scotland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
🚨 @URCofficial team news
Ulster side takes on the challenge @osprey This Sunday is Swansea 🔥 #suftam pic.twitter.com/txb9XJiSHe
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) February 16, 2024
Sunday
Ospreys v Ulster
team:
Osprey: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Matt Protheroe, 13 Dom Morris, 12 Kieran Williams, 11 Kieran Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Ruben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Hari Deeves, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 James Ratty, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacement: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Will Hickey, 21 Cameron Jones, 22 Alex Cuthbert, 23 Evaldi Boshoff
Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Mike Lawrie, 13 James Hume, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 David McCann, 5 Ian Henderson (c), 4 Harry Sheridan 3 Marty Moore, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacement: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Stephen Kitshoff, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Iztyuk, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy
venue: swansea.com stadium
kick off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referee: Michael English (Wales), Kerwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Matteo Ripperini (Italy)
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