URC Team Announcement R6 & R9

The teams for this weekend's rescheduled Round 6 & 9 fixtures of the United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.

TEAM NEWS HEADLINES

#SHAvSCA

• Jeremy Ward will start at outside centre replacing captain Lukhanyo Am. Springbok Siya Kolisi will captain the side
• Corey Baldwin will make his first appearance of season for Scarlets. With 19-year-old Archie Hughes set to make his URC debut from the bench

#BULvMUN

• Vodacom Bulls have made no changes to the starting XV. Morne Steyn returns to the match-day squad
• Munster make seven changes to the side that defeated Dragons last weekend. Two pairs of brothers will line out for the province with the Scannells (Niall & Rory) joining Fineen and Josh Wycherley in the starting XV

#ULSvLEI

• Stuart McCloskey will make his 150th appearance for Ulster & Jordi Murphy could make his 50th appearance if called upon from the bench
• Luke McGrath will captain Leinster for the interprovincial clash

      

#LIOvCAR

• Reinhard Nothnagel makes his return to the Emirates Lions match-day squad
• Jarrod Evans will make his 100th appearance for Cardiff Rugby

#STOvZEB

• DHL Stormers Damian Willemse will make his 50th appearance for the club
• Renato Giammariolo set to captain Zebre Parma

FRIDAY, MARCH 11

Cell C Sharks v Scarlets

Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban  – KO 17.10 IRE & UK / 18.10 ITA / 19.10 SA

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 20^th league game)

AR 1: Marius van der Westhuisen (SARU) AR 2: Morne Ferreira (SARU)

TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)

Live on: SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, TG4 & URC TV

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Gerbrandt Grobler, Reniel Hugo, Siya Kolisi (CAPT), Henco Venter, Sikhumbuzo Notshe

Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Le Roux Roets, Phepsi Buthelezi, Grant Williams, Tito Bonilla, Werner Kok

Scarlets: Tom Rogers, Steff Evans, Johnny Williams, Scott Williams (CAPT), Corey Baldwin, Sam Costelow, Dane Blacker, Steff Thomas, Daf Hughes, Samson Lee, Sam Lousi, Jac Price, Blade Thomson, Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements: Shaun Evans, Kemsley Mathias, Harri O’Connor, Aaron Shingler, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Archie Hughes, Dan Jones, Joe Roberts

Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “We have had a couple of good training days here. The boys have enjoyed their stay so far and are looking forward to a good occasion on Friday night. The Sharks are a star-studded team with a lot of Springbok internationals. Physicality is something that’s taken for granted here - if you don’t turn up with good physicality you are going to be in trouble. Sharks also have pace out wide in abundance. Their back-three players are able to hurt you with speed. The starting point for us is to match physicality, then we have to limit opportunities for their outside backs because they are world stars who are dangerous. So we have to be clinical, disciplined and take our opportunities when they come. We are the first team from the north to travel down to play, it is a game everyone is looking forward to. I am sure the experience the guys will gain from this game will be huge moving forward.”

SATURDAY, MARCH 12

Vodacom Bulls v Munster

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  – KO 14.05 IRE & UK / 15.05 ITA / 16.05 SA

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 81^st league game)

AR 1: Cwengile Jadezweni (SARU) AR 2:  Griffon Colby (SARU)

TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sport & URC TV.

Vodacom Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Walt Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Arno Botha, Elrigh Louw

Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, WJ Steenkamp; Zak Burger, Morne Steyn, Canan Moodie

Munster: Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Chris Farrell, Rory Scannell, Simon Zebo, Ben Healy, Neil Cronin, Josh Wycherley, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Jack O'Donoghue (C), Chris Cloete, Alex Kendellen

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Mark Donnelly, John Ryan, Eoin O'Connor, John Hodnett, Paddy Patterson, Jack Crowley, Damian de Allende

Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said: “We have a tough challenge ahead of us this weekend against a quality outfit in Munster Rugby. They have been one of the standout sides in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship so far this season. To manage to claim a record of eight wins in their 11 matches is no small feat. Munster Rugby may be without some of their internationals this week, but they remain a strong side with other international players like Springbok World Cup winner, Damian de Allende, in their squad. This is a great opportunity for our players to test themselves against some of the best players in the world."

Ulster v Leinster

Kingspan Stadium, Belfast  – KO 19.35  IRE & UK / 20.35  ITA / 21.35 SA

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 57^th league game)

AR 1: Eoghan Cross AR 2: Oisin Quinn (IRFU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Live on: Premier Sports, TG4 & URC TV.

Ulster: Mike Lowry, Robert Baloucoune, Stewart Moore, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Billy Burns, Nathan Doak, Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (CAPT), Sam Carter, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney, Duane Vermeulen

Replacements: Tom Stewart, Eric O’Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Mick Kearney, Jordi Murphy, John Cooney, Ian Madigan, Ben Moxham

Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien,  Adam Byrne, Rory O'Loughlin, Jamie Osborne, Tommy O'Brien, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (CAPT), Ed Byrne, James Tracy, Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony, Joe McCarthy, Rhys Ruddock, Scott Penny, Max Deegan

Replacements: Seán Cronin, Peter Dooley, Thomas Clarkson, Devin Toner, Dan Leavy, Nick McCarthy, David Hawkshaw, Martin Moloney

SUNDAY, MARCH 13

Emirates Lions v Cardiff Rugby

Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg  – KO 14.00 IRE & UK / 15.00  ITA / 16.00 SA

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 18^th league game)

AR 1: Cwengile Jadezweni (SARU) AR 2:  Griffin Colby (SARU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports & URC TV.

Emirates Lions: Quan Horn, Stean Pienaar, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal, Edwill van der Merwe, Jordan Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg, Sithembiso Sithole, Jaco Visagie, Carlu Sadie, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel, Jaco Kriel (CAPT), Vincent Tshituka, Francke Horn

Replacements: PJ Botha, JP Smith, Ruan Dreyer, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka, Nico Steyn, Manuel Rass, Tiaan Swanepoel

Cardiff Rugby: Matthew Morgan; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Ben Thomas, Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Corey Domachowski, Kirby Myhill, Dmitri Arhip, Josh Turnbull (CAPT), Matthew Screech, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Will Boyde, James Botham

Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Brad Thyer, Will Davies-King, Rory Thornton, Ellis Jenkins, Jamie Hill, Max Llewellyn, Hallam Amos

Emirates Lions Head Coach Ivan van Rooyen: “We’re pretty pleased to have Notties back. Our lineout stocks have been quite thin due to injuries, so to have him at number 5 is quite exciting. Cardiff Rugby will be an interesting tussle this Sunday. They will be our first international team we face at home in the competition. We had prepared quite intensely for them previously, so this week has been focused on tweaking a few things having analysed their play over the past two months. It's a home game so we are backing ourselves for a positive result. The players are feeling upbeat attitude-wise, especially after our spirited performance away to Leinster a fortnight ago.”

Cardiff Rugby Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “It wasn’t just a case that I wasn’t happy with last week’s defeat, but the players are honest enough with themselves as well. The first thing you have to do is look at yourself. I put my hand up and said that I couldn’t have got it right. The reality is that 1 to 23 weren’t at the races, so preparations couldn’t have been right. In saying that, the players were also honest enough to put their hands up. They knew that wasn’t good enough and we’ll have to bounce back this week. We’re very respectful of the team that we’re facing and we know these are real quality teams. I know it’s a cliché, but we know we’ll need to be at our best to come away from South Africa with anything. A big focus has been on getting ourselves right and back up to the performance levels that we’re happy with. If we adhere and play to those standards but aren’t good enough on the day, then so be it. We’re very respectful of them, and know their strengths, but we also want to play to our strengths.”

DHL Stormers v Zebre Parma

Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  – KO 16.05 IRE & UK / 17.05  ITA / 18.05 SA

Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 16^th league game)

AR 1: Marius van der Westhuisen (SARU)  AR 2: Morne Fereirra (SARU)

TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

Live on: SuperSport, Mediaset, Primer Sports & URC TV.

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Brok Harris, Scarra Ntubeni, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie (CAPT), Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos.

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Sazi Sandi, Ernst van Rhyn, Junior Pokomela, Paul de Wet, Tim Swiel, Rikus Pretorius

Zebre Parma: Jacopo Trulla, Junior Laloifi, Erich Cronje’, Timothy Paul O’Malley, Asaeli Tuivuaka, Carlo Canna, Nicolo’ Casilio, Paolo Buonfiglio, Massimo Ceciliani, Ion Neculai, Liam Mitchell, Andrea Zambonin, Luca Andreani, Iacopo Bianchi, Renato Giammariolo (CAPT)

Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Andrea Lovotti, Juan Pitinari, Potu Junior Leavasa, Mazime Mbanda, Guglielmo Palazzani, Antonio Rizzi, Giulio Bisegni

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said: “We want to make the most of the special atmosphere at the Danie Craven Stadium on Sunday and produce some good rugby. It is great to be back on home soil and the team has worked very hard this week. We know this is the start of an important run of home games for us and we want to make sure we are as accurate as possible in all areas,"