Team Announcements Round 14

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18

Emirates Lions v Cell C Sharks

Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg  – KO 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA / 15.00 SA

Referee: JD Jadezweni (SARU, 5th league game)

AR 1: Morne Ferreira (SARU) AR 2:  Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)

TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

Live on: SuperSport, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, Discovery + & URC.tv

Emirates Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Manuel Rass, Marius Louw (CAPT), Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Morne van den Berg, JP Smith, PJ Botha, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Willem Alberts, Ruben Schoeman, Jaco Kriel, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka

Replacements: Michael van Vuuren, Morgan Naude, Ruan Dreyer, Ruan Delport, Sibusiso Sangweni, Ruhan Straeuli, Sanele Nohamba, Rynhardt Jonker

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Francois Venter, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Thaakir Abrahams, Curwin Bosch, Grant Williams, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Dan Jooste, Carlu Sadie, Reniel Hugo, Gerbrandt Grobler, James Venter, Henco Venter, Phepsi Buthelezi (CAPT)

Replacements: Fez Mbatha, Dian Bleuler, Hanro Jacobs, Vincent Tshituka, Dylan Richardson, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Ben Tapuai

Emirates Lions Head Coach Ivan van Rooyen said: “The aim for us is to be more dynamic on attack as well as with our kicking game. If you look at the top teams in this competition, their point of difference is their attacking-kicking game as well as their defensive kicking game. It’s been a work on for us on tour because of the conditions and circumstances, but especially back here at home where we’ve worked hard on the aspects I’ve mentioned. Being back home we feel we need to play differently whether it’s on attack or defence. The system is not just going to do for you; there are intricacies in there that require attention. In terms of energy and excitement, the guys have trained well and hard over the past two weeks and are raring to go at home after being away for six weeks. There’s a real excitement for this weekend.”

Vodacom Bulls v DHL Stormers

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA / 17.05 SA

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU, 16th league game)

AR 1: AJ Jacobs (SARU) AR 2: Griffon Colby (SARU)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Live on: SuperSport, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, Discovery +,  & URC.tv

Vodacom Bulls: David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Wandisile Simelane, Harold Vorster, Sbu Nkosi, Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Mornay Smith, Jacques Du Plessis, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Marco van Staden, Cyle Brink, Elrigh Louw

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Ruan Vermaak, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Morne Steyn, Lionel Mapoe

DHL Stormers: Clayton Blommetjies, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Seabelo Senatla, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Brok Harris, Scarra Ntubeni, Neethling Fouche, Ruben van Heerden, Gary Porter, Deon Fourie (CAPT), Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen

Replacements: Joseph Dweba, Ali Vermaak, Sazi Sandi, Ernst van Rhyn, Ben-Jason Dixon, Junior Pokomela, Paul de Wet, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said: "It is quite rare at this stage of the season to have such continuity and we are also very happy to have some experienced players like Scarra and Ernst added to the mix this week as well. It has been a good week of training after the players got some deserved rest last week and we are ready for what will be another tough derby game."

Zebre Parma v Connacht

Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA / 17.05 SA

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 88th league game)

AR 1: Clara Munarini (FIR) AR 2: Francesco Meschini (FIR)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Live on: Discovery +, TG4, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, SuperSport & URC.tv

Zebre Parma: Lorenzo Pani, Kobus van Wyk, Erich Cronjé, Enrico Lucchin (CAPT),  Simone Gesi, Tiff Eden, Chris Cook, Luca Rizzoli, Marco Manfredi, Matteo Nocera, Leonard Krumov, Josh Furno, Luca Andreani, Matt Kvesic, Giovanni Licata

Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Paolo Buonfiglio, Muhamed Hasa, Jan Uys, Davide Ruggeri, Ratko Jelic, Antonio Rizzi, Richard Kriel

Connacht: Tiernan O’Halloran, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Tom Farrell, Cathal Forde, John Porch, Jack Carty (CAPT), Caolin Blade, Denis Buckley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jack Aungier, Josh Murphy, Niall Murray, Cian Prendergast, Conor Oliver, Jarrad Butler

Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Jordan Duggan, Sam Illo, Darragh Murray, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Kieran Marmion, Tom Daly, Adam Byrne

Zebre Parma Head Coach Fabio Roselli said: "It will be an exciting game: Connacht play good rugby, they love to impose themselves in the territorial battle but this opens up a lot of opportunities for Zebre in the counter-attacks, although we know we have to improve the efficiency of our play. We are very proud to play in front of our families and our public and we are very happy to welcome back to the team Antonio Rizzi, back after a long injury. We have the opportunity to involve several players from the national team in the match, we have everything we need to be able to compete for the result from the first to the last minute, just as we did in the previous matches without succeeding.”

Connacht Director of Rugby Andy Friend said: “Everyone enjoyed a well-earned break after the Lions game, and now it’s all about getting back to work and playing our best rugby. We travel to Italy conscious that we'll be up against a good Zebre side eager to get their first win of the season, but also confident that we can get the job done if we play to our abilities.”

Scarlets v Edinburgh Rugby

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 31st league game)

AR 1: Jason Bessant (WRU) AR 2: Simon Mills (WRU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Live on: ViaPlay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv

Scarlets: Johnny McNicholl, Steff Evans, Joe Roberts, Ioan Nicholas, Ryan Conbeer, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Shaun Evans, Sam Wainwright, Morgan Jones, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni (CAPT)

Replacements: Taylor Davies, Steff Thomas, Javan Sebastian, Ben Williams, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Dane Blacker, Dan Jones, Eddie James

Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Damien Hoyland, Mark Bennett, James Lang, Jack Blain, Charlie Savala, Charlie Shiel, Boan Venter, Dave Cherry (CAPT), Murray McCallum, Glen Young, Jamie Hodgson, Nick Haining, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata

Replacements: Adam McBurney, Jamie Jack, Lee-Roy Atalifo, Marshall Sykes, Connor Boyle, Ben Vellacott, Jaco van der Walt, Chris Dean

Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “The boys are excited about playing again. It is a big game and an important game for us. Edinburgh are a side who like to play football, we are fully respectful of them, but for us it is about focusing on ourselves and maintaining momentum. We have to make sure that areas of our game improve and we know we have to be at our best on Saturday.”

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Mike Blair said: “We’ve had a really focussed week of training and the guys are excited to return to league action. That short break during the Six Nations window has given us the opportunity to take stock and reflect on what we’re doing well and what we can do better as a team. The internationals have come back into training this week and brought a brilliant buzz. We’ve got a great dynamic across the squad and we feel energised as a group heading into tomorrow night’s match at Parc y Scarlets. Scarlets have been going really well of late and are always strong at home. However, we’ve had some terrific results on the road so far this season – with URC wins at Cardiff and Zebre – which gives us some confidence heading into a fixture which is hugely important for us as a club.”

Cardiff Rugby v Benetton

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 28th league game)

AR 1: Adam Jones (WRU) AR 2: Stephen Allsop (WRU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Live on: S4C, Eurosport, Discovery +, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, & URC.tv

Cardiff Rugby: Ben Thomas, Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Max Llewellyn, Jason Harries, Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams, Corey Domachowski, Kristian Dacey, Dmitri Arhip, Lopeti Timani, Seb Davies, Josh Turnbull (CAPT), Ellis Jenkins, James Ratti

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Brad Thyer, Keiron Assiratti, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Ellis Bevan, Aled Summerhill, Matthew Morgan

Benetton: Rhyno Smith, Onisi Ratave, Marco Zanon, Filippo Drago, Mattia Bellini, Tomas Albornoz, Dewaldt Duvenage (CAPT), Nahuel Tetaz, Siua Maile, Tiziano Pasquali, Marco Lazzaroni, Riccardo Favretto, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Izekor, Henry Time-Stowers

Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Thomas Gallo, Filippo Alongi, Carl Wegner, Toa Halafihi, Alessandro Garbisi, Jacob Umaga, Joaquin Riera

Cardiff Rugby Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “It’s great to be back here at the Arms Park, and we are all determined to get back to winning ways. The season is going to go right down to the wire and every game is of huge importance. We have been disappointed with our recent performances and need to get back to the levels of performance we saw earlier this season to turn things around. Despite missing the internationals, we have still been able to select a strong squad to get the job done but we will not underestimate our opposition. Benetton are a quality team, full of talent, and they taught us a harsh lesson at the end of last season so there is no lack of motivation. It’s also important that we mark a special day for Lloyd (Williams)  in winning fashion. Not many players have the ability to break records like Lloyd and he should be really proud of this latest milestone as he passes Fa’ao. It is testament to not only his quality as a player but his professionalism in everything he does - he is a great example and role model for young players.”

Leinster v Dragons RFC

RDS Arena, Dublin – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 68th league game)

AR 1: Oisin Quinn (IRFU) AR 2:  Sam Holt (IRFU)

TMO:  Dave Sutherland (SRU)

Live on: RTÉ, S4C, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Liam Turner, Jamie Osborne, Dave Kearney, Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath, Michael Milne, John McKee, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Brian Deeny, Rhys Ruddock (CAPT), Scott Penny, Max Deegan

Replacements: Lee Barron, Jack Boyle, Thomas Clarkson, Jason Jenkins, Will Connors, Nick McCarthy, Charlie Tector, Rob Russell

Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Sio Tomkinson, Steff Hughes, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt, Will Reed, Rhodri Williams (CAPT), Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Ben Carter, Ben Fry, Taine Basham, Ross Moriarty

Replacements: James Benjamin, Aki Seiuli, Chris Coleman, Sean Lonsdale, Ryan Woodman, Lewis Jones, JJ Hanrahan, Jordan Williams

Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “It’s a tough challenge for us, but one we have to embrace. We’ve got our own challenges in house. But fundamentally we are a tough group of people going to a tough place and it is something we are excited for.”