FINAL EIGHT TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

The teams for the Final Eight fixtures of the United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.

TEAM NEWS HEADLINES

#ULSvMUN

• John Cooney will make his 100th appearance for Ulster, as he has been named to start at scrum-half
• Stephen Archer will make his 248th appearances for Munster with Peter O’Mahony returning to captain the side

#BULvSHA

• Arno Botha, starting at blindside flank for the Vodacom Bulls, is the only change to the starting XV
• Cell C Sharks have made one change to their starting XV with Le Roux Roets coming into the pack

       

#LEIvGLA

• James Ryan will captain Leinster who name a strong team including European Player of the Year, Josh van der Flier
• 17 internationals named in Glasgow Warriors matchday 23. Fraser Brown and George Horne return from injury to take places on the bench

#STOvEDI

• Two changes to DHL Stormers starting XV as Herschel Jantjies and Rikus Pretorius come in
• Edinburgh Rugby make one change as Henry Pyrgos replaces the injured Ben Vellacott at scrum-half

FRIDAY, JUNE 3

Ulster v Munster

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

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU, 10th league game)

AR 1: Hollie Davidson (SRU) AR 2: Ben Blain (SRU)

TMO: Marius van der Westhuisen (SARU)

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

Ulster: Stewart Moore, Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Ethan McIlroy, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (CAPT), Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney, Duane Vermeulen

Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, Ian Madigan, Ben Moxham

Munster: Mike Haley, Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Keith Earls, Joey Carbery, Conor Murray, Josh Wycherley, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Peter O’Mahony (CAPT), Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Jeremy Loughman, John Ryan, Jason Jenkins, Thomas Ahern, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Chris Cloete

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks  

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 12.45  IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA & SA

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 79th league game)

AR 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)  AR 2: Sam Grove-White (SRU) 

TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports & URC TV

Vodacom Bulls: Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Mornay Smith, Walt Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Arno Botha, Elrigh Louw

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lizo Gqoboka, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, Reinhardt Ludwig; Embrose Papier, Morne Steyn, Stedman Gans

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Lukhanyo Am, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit (CAPT), Le Roux Roets, Reniel Hugo, Siya Kolisi, Henco Venter, Phepsi Buthelezi

Replacements:  Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Ruben van Heerden, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Ben Tapuai

Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said: “I am really proud of our players for what they have achieved in reaching this stage of the Vodacom URC. They have put in the hard work and have shown great determination to overcome some obstacles in the early stages of the season to reach the playoffs.

The Cell C Sharks have been an outstanding side throughout the campaign. They have shown their quality with all the Springboks in their squad, their depth with the great talent at their disposal and consistency which has seen them claim some good results.

The fact that we have lost twice to them in the round robin stages shows the quality of their side. We are expecting a very tough battle. We have done what we can in our preparations for this weekend’s match. Now we will need to now implement and execute our plans well and play our best rugby if we want to overcome a quality outfit like the Cell C Sharks.”

Leinster v Glasgow Warriors

RDS Arena, Dublin – KO 15.15 IRE & UK / 16.15 ITA & SA

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 23rd league game)

AR 1: Craig Evans (WRU) AR 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

TMO: Matteo Lipperini (FIR)

Live on: RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport & URC TV

Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Ciarán Frawley, Rory O'Loughlin, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (CAPT), Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris

Replacements: Seán Cronin, Cian Healy, Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Robbie Henshaw

Glasgow Warriors: Ollie Smith, Josh McKay, Sione Tuipulotu, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean, Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Jamie Bhatti, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Rob Harley, Richie Gray, Ryan Wilson (CAPT), Gregor Brown, Jack Dempsey

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Oli Kebble, Simon Berghan, Lewis Bean, Kiran McDonald, Thomas Gordon, George Horne, Domingo Miotti

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Danny Wilson said: “We’re excited to be in a quarter-final and playing away at Leinster is as big a challenge as it gets. Leinster have been the benchmark in the league in recent years. We know we go into this game as underdogs, but we’re confident that we have prepared well this week, welcome the challenge this game presents and look forward to putting our own imprint on the game.”

DHL Stormers v Edinburgh Rugby

DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 18.00 IRE & UK / 19.00 ITA & SA

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 63rd league game)

AR 1: Chris Busby (IRFU) AR 2: Adam Jones (WRU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

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

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Rikus Pretorius, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Steven Kitshoff (CAPT), JJ Kotze, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Ernst van Rhyn, Nama Xaba, Godlen Masimla, Sacha Mngomezulu

Edinburgh Rugby: Emiliano Boffelli, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Chris Dean, Damien Hoyland, Blair Kinghorn, Henry Pyrgos, Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, WP Nel, Jamie Hodgson, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Luke Crosbie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury

Replacements: Adam McBurney, Harrison Courtney, Lee-Roy Atalifo, Marshall Sykes, Ben Muncaster, Charlie Shiel, Jaco van der Walt, James Lang

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said: “A lot of hard work has gone into securing this home quarterfinal, so we are determined to rise to the occasion. It has been a good week of preparation and everyone is excited about what should be a memorable day. We want to raise the intensity and make sure that we are at our best for the full 80 minutes, playing the kind of rugby that has got us into this position."

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Mike Blair said: “As a squad, we really benefited from our two-week tour of South Africa back in April, and its once again galvanised the guys – there’s a great feeling of togetherness with this group. They love playing for each other and representing this club. We’ve approached tomorrow night’s match in the same way we have all season. It's really important for us to stay relaxed and trust what we are trying to do. Stormers are a strong side and we know it’s going to be a huge test away from home, but we have belief and confidence in the way we want to play.”