SATURDAY PREVIEWS: With simply 5 rounds left to play, the Race to the Eight within the United Rugby Championship is poised to ship probably the most unpredictable battle for the playoffs within the competitors’s historical past.
The bottleneck within the standings continues to be there and will probably be one other week of huge impacts on log positions.
Three South African groups head into Saturday determined to register victories.
The third-placed Bulls (45 factors) and fourth-placed Sharks (44 factors) are in pole place among the many SA groups to qualify for the playoff levels however with the Fifteenth-placed Zebre Parma solely six factors behind – trailing the Thirteenth-placed Lions (30 factors) by solely three factors – each crew within the operating will method their matches with a do-or-die mindset.
The Bulls will enter their match towards Zebre Parma at Loftus Versfeld as overwhelming favourites with their spectacular type this season seeing them register 9 victories to solely 5 by the Italians.
Over and above this, the Bulls’ Director of Rugby, Jake White’s males are 18 log factors forward of Zebre, they’ve suffered just one dwelling defeat this season, and so they come off a morale-boosting victory towards Leinster, which marked the Irish giants’ first defeat of the season
White was more than happy with the return of Ruan Nortje, the captain for the season and one of many sturdy leaders within the squad who has been out resulting from harm.
“He’s very particular. Simply to have him round – the best way he talks, prepares, what he says in conferences. Taking him on tour is huge. We’re occurring tour. To have him round, it simply units the tone,” White said on Friday.
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“He’ll get a while off the bench this week after which subsequent week perhaps on the bench once more.”
Commenting on the 6-2 bench he as soon as once more picked for this encounter, White stated: “I’m not a fan, as a result of it may come again and chunk you. However the reason being as a result of we’ve acquired so many forwards getting back from accidents.”
And referring to Zebre, he was fast to level out the groups they’ve overwhelmed this season: “Zebre beat Munster, they beat Ulster, they practically beat the Sharks final week. We had been all the time going to make it possible for we put a crew on the sector that might get a consequence.
“While you beat a crew like Leinster like we did final week, there’s a completely different vibe at coaching,” White shared.
*The Sharks, in flip, will face one in every of their greatest challenges this season once they line up towards a bruised Leinster outfit who can be hellbent on making up for his or her last-minute defeat towards the Bulls final week.
Whereas the groups haven’t been far off by way of their factors scored, the Sharks will brace themselves for a tense battle as Leinster are by far the perfect defensive crew within the competitors with solely 187 factors conceded of their 13 matches so far.
Leinster might have gained their final three outings towards John Plumtree’s crew, however the Sharks emerged victorious of their final match in Durban in 2022 – a feat they’ll look to duplicate on Saturday to shut the hole on the high of the desk and stay in a snug place to probably host a quarterfinal.
The Sharks’ downfall towards Zebre was not having the ability to dominate the aerial battles and kicking recreation.
That is one thing his fees labored on this week, says Plumtree.
“They’ll go to the air. They’d have seen that we struggled in that division final week. I believe we gained two of the eight contestable kicks and we have to win at the least half if not just a little bit extra.”
He made some personnel adjustments for this weekend, bringing in Andre Esterhuizen within the midfield and shifting Ethan Hooker out huge on the wing.
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“We’ve acquired probably the greatest gamers on the earth in that division in Mapimpi. He hasn’t had loads of rugby during the last six weeks since his suspension, however he’s had an excellent week.
“Ethan is an enormous man and we anticipate him to rise up and contest [for the ball].
“And will probably be good to see Yaw [Penche] at fullback. It’s not his regular place but it surely’s definitely a place I’m hoping he’ll play properly in and there could possibly be a possibility for him to play there once more sooner or later.”
Leinster has made eight adjustments to the beginning XV from final Saturday’s last-second defeat to the Bulls, with probably the most notable being the absence of Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman.
Ciarán Frawley will accomplice Fintan Gunne within the halfback mixture, with Charlie Tector and Liam Turner within the centres. The again three is unchanged from final week, with Andrew Osborne and Tommy O’Brien on the wings and Jimmy O’Brien at full-back.
Up entrance, Cian Healy, John McKee and Thomas Clarkson make up the entrance row whereas Diarmuid Mangan is joined by Brian Deeny within the second row. Will Connors continues within the quantity seven shirt after his Participant of the Match efficiency at Loftus Versfeld, with captain Deegan and Alex Soroka finishing the again row.
Lee Barron, Michael Milne, and Rory McGuire present the entrance row cowl from the bench, with Scott Penny becoming a member of the uncapped Spicer among the many replacements.
Max Deegan captains the facet from No. 8. Fintan Gunne is ready to make his first begin in blue. The Academy scrumhalf, who lately signed his first senior contract with Leinster, has made 11 appearances to date in his profession, all as a alternative.
*The Lions, in the meantime, face a frightening problem towards the second-placed Glasgow Warriors on the Scotstoun Stadium the place they’ll give every thing to keep away from struggling their third defeat in a row, particularly after their heart-breaking17-20 loss towards Cardiff final week in a match they may properly have gained.
Whereas a victory for the Lions will make sure that they’re in a sensible place to complete the pool levels within the high eight, a victory for the house crew will in all chance see them stay in second place within the standings, which can be invaluable in attempting to remain within the high two on the log.
On Thursday Lions’ prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye spoke to reporters from Glasgow the place the crew is prepping for his or her recreation.
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“Cardiff and Glasgow play two completely different types. Glasgow desires ball in hand. We’re additionally a crew that likes ball in hand.
“Now we have been approaching it with a unique mindset. It’s a unique crew.
“Right here in Europe, it’s a bit completely different. There’s loads of issues that issue into the tip consequence, in that for those who don’t actually capitalise, the house crew is aware of methods to play the circumstances. So we should be higher in that side.”
“They’ve plans, now we have plans. It’s about who executes probably the most on Saturday,” was the quick and candy reply from the large man.
With Glasgow boasting 9 victories to solely six by the guests this season and the crew positioned 11 locations above the Lions on the standings, they’ll enter the match as favourites.
However they are going to be cautious of the truth that Ivan van Rooyen’s unit has proved that they will win away from dwelling after coming inside inches of beating Cardiff and defeating the Dragons and Zebre Parma overseas.
*Connacht is in twelfth place after choosing up two bonus factors in final weekend’s loss at Ospreys, whereas Munster arrives on the again of defeats to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Connacht, with head coach Pete Wilkins on sick go away, have misplaced their final seven fixtures towards fellow Irish provinces since beating Munster in Galway on New Yr’s Day 2023.
Ian Costello’s facet have gained twice away from dwelling this season, at Ulster in December and at Dragons in January.
The final seven conferences between the 2 provinces have been gained by the house crew on the day whereas Munster’s most up-to-date success on Connacht soil was on the Sportsground in January 2021.
*Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt has once more opted for a 6-2 cut up on the replacements bench for his or her showdown with Benetton, with Joe Cowell set for his first league look and Ben Thomas offering the duvet throughout the again line.
“We had been actually happy to win final weekend towards the Lions. It was an essential one for us and a win, which the group absolutely deserved,” stated Sherratt.
“The league is extremely tight this season and you may shoot up or down the desk in a few weeks so it is crucial that we proceed to select up factors at any time when doable.
“Now we have put ourselves in an excellent place however the problem is to remain there with some tough fixtures arising.
“Benetton will pose an enormous problem. They’ve a squad stuffed with high quality, pose loads of threats and can be seeking to construct on an excellent win over Edinburgh.”
*The Scarlets are down in 14th within the desk, however they’re simply 5 factors behind their seventh-placed opponents, so there’s all to play for.
Dwayne Peel’s crew can be out for revenge having suffered last-gasp heartbreak in shedding 22-23 to the Ospreys down in Swansea simply earlier than Christmas.
Skipper Josh Macleod stated: “That was positively one which acquired away from us.”
It’s been one thing of a theme for the Scarlets this season as they’ve simply missed out on wins in a variety of shut contests.
As for the Ospreys, they’ve been overwhelmed simply as soon as within the eight video games since Mark Jones took over as head coach.
Discover all Saturday’s groups and predictions beneath:
Saturday, March 29
Bulls v Zebre Parma
(Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – Kick-off: 14.45; 13.45 CET; 12.45 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365: Bulls by 15 factors
Groups:
Bulls: 15 Deon Williams, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Celimpilo Gumene, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Simphiwe Matanzima, 17 Akker van der Merwe, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Embrose Papier, 23 Boeta Chamberlain
Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Alessandro Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Luca Rizzoli
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Paulo Buonfiglio, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Francesco Ruffolo, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Giacomo Da Re, 23 Filippo Drago
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Connacht v Munster
(MacHale Park, Mayo – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365: Munster by 9 factors
Groups:
Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 Hugh Gavin, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Darragh Murray 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Hefferman, 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Santiago Cordero
Munster: 15 Ben O’Connor, 14 Calvin Nash, 13Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Sean O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Ruadhán Quinn, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Alex Kendellen
Referee: Andrew Brace (Eire)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Eire), Padraic Reidy (Eire)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Eire)
Scarlets v Ospreys
(Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365: Ospreys by 5 factors
Groups:
Scarlets:15 Blair Murray, 14 Macs Web page, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Alex Craig, 4 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Alex Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Worth, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Nicholas, 23 Dan Davis
Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 Tristan Davies, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Ben Warren, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Max Nagy
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Ellis Poulden (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Sharks v Leinster
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 19.15; 17.15 UK & Eire time; 17.15 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365: Sharks by 4 factors
Groups:
Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Manu Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter.
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Manga, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Alan Spicer, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Henry McErlean
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Benetton v Cardiff
(Stadio Monigo, Treviso – Kick-off: 20.35; 19.35 UK & Eire time; 19.35 GMT)
Prediction: Cardiff by six factors
@rugby365:
Groups:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Michele Lamaro, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacob Umaga
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett,14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Regan Grace, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams (captain), 4 Ben Donnell, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Joe Cowell, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Thomas Younger, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Ben Thomas.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Darlo Merli (Italy)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Glasgow Warriors v Lions
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 19.35; 21.35 SAST; 19.35 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365: Glasgow by 15 factors
Groups:
Glasgow: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (captain), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Natahan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Rory Darge, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
Lions: Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Jarod Cairns, 23 Rynhardt Jonker
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Fin Brown (Scotland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
