United Rugby Championship Rd 3: Lineups, Kick Off Times, TV Listings and More

The teams for this weekend's Round 3 fixtures of the United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.

TEAM NEWS HEADLINES

#BULvCON

• Bulls welcome back in form Springboks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Sbu Nkosi to the starting XV
• David Hawkshaw handed his first Connacht start at out-half

#CARvLIO

• Lopeti Timani will make his first start for Cardiff Rugby
• Pieter Jansen Van Vuren makes his first start of the season for Emirates Lions

#ULSvLEI

• Luke Marshall set to hit the 150 cap milestone for Ulster this weekend
• Garry Ringrose set to captain the Leinster side with Johnny Sexton named on the bench

#STOvEDI

• Marvin Orie captains DHL Stormers for the first time, with Joseph Dweba set to make his debut
• Scotland duo Hamish Watson and Stuart McInally both start for Edinburgh Rugby

#OPSvGLA

• Rhys Webb named as Ospreys captain for the first time this season
• Rufus McLean and Sam Johnson make first appearances of season as Ali Price comes in as Glasgow Warriors captain

#MUNvZEB

• Craig Casey makes his 50th appearance for Munster while Stephen Archer, the province’s second most capped player of all time, will make his 250th appearance if called from the bench
• Enrico Lucchin captains Zebre Parma for the first time

#BENvSCA

• Rhyno Smith named at full-back as Dewaldt Duvenage skippers the side
• Josh Macleod to make his 100th appearance while Blade Thomson makes his 50th appearance for Scarlets. Leigh Halfpenny on his 50th appearance and Ken Owens return from injury

#DRAvSHA

• Will Reed gets his first start of season for Dragons RFC
• Justin Basson comes into the starting XV for Cell C Sharks

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

                            

Vodacom Bulls v Connacht

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 26th league game)

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

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

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

                            

Vodacom Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks, David Kriel, Sbu Nkosi, Johan Goosen, Zak Burger, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Francois Klopper, Walt Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje, Marcel Coetzee (CAPT), Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Reinhardt Ludwig, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Lionel Mapoe

                            

Connacht: Oran McNulty, John Porch, Tom Farrell, Tom Daly, Mack Hansen, David Hawkshaw, Kieran Marmion, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Leva Fifita, Oisín Dowling, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Jarrad Butler (CAPT)

Replacements: Grant Stewart, Peter Dooley, Jack Aungier, Gavin Thornbury, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Colm Reilly, Byron Ralston, Ciarán Booth

                            

Vodacom Bulls Director Of Rugby Jake White said: “It’s always nice having Springboks come back, especially when they are looking as good as Canan and Kurt-Lee. Sbu didn’t get a run out for the Boks but his confidence will still be high having been part of the group. I have no doubt that he is raring to go, and this is his chance. Connacht is a dangerous team. We saw that in the last competition when they gave us a good smack in Galway. A lot has changed since then, and we know what we have to do this weekend.”

                            

Connacht Director Of Rugby Andy Friend said: “Whilst our first two performances have been disappointing and below our own expectations, the mood within the team remains positive.  Everyone has been working really hard to iron out some the issues that have hindered us in the opening rounds, and we’re excited about the opportunity that the Bulls present. All five players who joined us post the Stormers match have proven to be great additions for us, especially our Team Captain Jack Carty. It’s been fantastic to have him back training with us for the first time this season, and he’s on target for selection in the not too distant future.”

                            

Cardiff Rugby v Emirates Lions

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 26th league game)

AR 1: Craig Evans (WRU) AR 2: Carwyn Williams (WRU)

TMO: Ben Blain (SRU)

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

                            

Cardiff Rugby: Rhys Priestland, Aled Summerhill, Rey Lee-Lo, Max Llewellyn, Theo Cabango, Jarrod Evans, Tomos Williams, Brad Thyer, Liam Belcher, Dillon Lewis, Lopeti Timani, Seb Davies, Josh Turnbull (CAPT), James Botham, Taulupe Faletau

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Dmitri Arhip, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Lloyd Williams, Mason Grady, Uilisi Halaholo

                            

Emirates Lions: Andries Coetzee, Edwill van der Merwe, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Quan Horn, Gianni Lombard, Sanele Nohamba, Sti Sithole, PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Reinhard Nothnagel (CAPT), Sibusiso Sangweni, Emmanuel Tshituka, Francke Horn

Replacements: Jaco Visagie, JP Smith, Ruan Smith, Ruan Venter, Ruhan Straeuli, Morne van den Berg, Jordan Hendrikse, Zander du Plessis

                            

Cardiff Rugby Director Of Rugby Dai Young said: “We’re looking forward to getting back to the Arms Park. We didn’t build on the Munster game last week so hopefully we can bounce back at home against a very good Lions team. It’s going to be a real good game with lots of rugby to be played by both teams. It should be a lot of entertainment for the people that come to watch. We love playing at the Arms Park and want to give our home crowd the kind of performance they deserve. We have made a few changes due to injury but we have still have a strong squad and if we can get back to the kind of performance we saw against Munster and build on that, there is no reason why we can’t get the result we want.”

                            

Emirates Lions Defence Coach Jaque Fourie said: “The Welsh sides pride themselves with big forward packs coupled with backline players who enjoy throwing the ball around. Cardiff Rugby will be no different this Friday as I’m sure they will come with a heavy pack and nippy backline players who can take the ball wide. In saying that, we have done our homework on them and prepared well in the week.”

                            

Ulster v Leinster

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

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 81st league game)

AR 1: Eoghan Cross (IRFU) AR 2: Andrew Cole (IRFU)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Live on: BBC NI, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv

                            

Ulster: Michael Lowry, Aaron Sexton, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Andy Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor (CAPT), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney

Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Marty Moore, Sam Carter, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Angus Curtis, Ben Moxham

                            

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (CAPT), Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Ed Byrne, Vakhtang Abdaladze, James Ryan, Will Connors, Nick McCarthy, Johnny Sexton, Charlie Ngatai

                            

Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland said: “It’s one of the biggest games of the year, if not, the biggest game of the year in terms of interest, and the fact that it’s a home game for us. Leinster is a team that plays really good rugby, and they will test us both sides of the ball. We’ve been tested a fair bit in different ways over the last two rounds, but Leinster bring an all-round game that will test all aspects of our game. It will be a good barometer, and I look forward to seeing how we go."

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

 

DHL Stormers v Edinburgh Rugby

DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA & SA

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 65th league game)

AR 1: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU) AR 2: Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)

TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)

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

DHL Stormers: Clayton Blommetjies, Angelo Davids, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Manie Libbok, Paul de Wet, Ali Vermaak, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie (CAPT), Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Sazi Sandi, Adre Smith, Ernst van Rhyn, Junior Pokomela, Herschel Jantjies, Sacha Mngomezulu

Edinburgh Rugby: Henry Immelman, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, James Lang, Damien Hoyland, Blair Kinghorn, Ben Vellacott, Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist (CO-CAPT), Jamie Ritchie (CO-CAPT), Hamish Watson, Nick Haining

Replacements: Dave Cherry, Boan Venter, Luan de Bruin, Glen Young, Ben Muncaster, Henry Pyrgos, Charlie Savala, Chris Dean

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said: “It is great to have a few of our top players back from national duty and they have all slotted in seamlessly this week. We are all looking forward to getting out there at DHL Stadium in an early game which should be a great occasion for everyone."

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Mike Blair said: “After a really physical match against Vodacom Bulls, we’ve returned to Cape Town where we’ve had a great week of training, with the squad fully focused for another massive test against last season’s Champions. We obviously met the DHL Stormers in Cape Town in last year’s Quarter-Final so we know just how good they are – especially at home – but we’re playing with confidence and our squad will be fired up to improve on last weekend’s performance. It’s a huge challenge but one we’re relishing as we take on the BKT URC Champions in their own backyard.”

Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors

Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea – KO 15.05  IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA & SA

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU, 12th league game)

AR 1: Ben Breakspear (WRU) AR 2: Carwyn Williams (WRU)

TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

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

Ospreys: Max Nagy, George North, Owen Watkin, Michael Collins, Keelan Giles, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Webb (CAPT), Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Jac Morgan, Ethan Roots

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Rhys Henry, Tom Botha, Rhys Davies, Will Griffiths, Reuben Morgan Williams, Jack Walsh, Luke Morgan

 

Glasgow Warriors: Cole Forbes, Sebastian Cancelliere, Sione Tuipulotu, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean, Tom Jordan, Ali Price (CAPT), Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Gregor Brown, Thomas Gordon, Jack Dempsey

Replacements: George Turner, Oli Kebble, Simon Berghan, JP du Preez, Sintu Manjezi, Ryan Wilson, Sean Kennedy, Domingo Miotti

 

Ospreys Head Coach Toby Booth said: “Glasgow Warriors were very disappointed after their round one match but they responded well as good sides do going in to round two. We’re looking for a similar response ourselves from an outcome point of view. Our performance needs to be more consistent in order for us to play against a team who are very positive and very ambitious. It’ll be a good contest between two teams who are going to go for it.”

 

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said: "Last weekend's performance against Cardiff was another step forward in our journey - Our systems clicked and we won playing our brand of rugby. Tomorrow we want to make another step forward  when we take on an experienced Ospreys side. It's great to be able to bring Sam, Rufus and Gregor into the starting XV. They all have worked hard in training and have earned their chance to pull on the jersey tomorrow afternoon. Ospreys have threats across the park and once again we will need to be ruthless in the contact area and clinical in attack in Swansea tomorrow.”

 

Munster v Zebre Parma

Musgrave Park, Cork – KO 17.05 IRE & UK / 18.05 ITA & SA

Referee : AJ Jacobs (SARU, 12th league game)

AR 1: Peter Martin (IRFU) AR 2: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

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

Munster: Mike Haley, Conor Phillips, Malakai Fekitoa, Dan Goggin, Patrick Campbell, Ben Healy, Craig Casey; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Keynan Knox, Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne, Jack O’Donoghue, Peter O’Mahony (CAPT), Jack O’Sullivan

Replacements: Scott Buckley, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Edwin Edogbo, Ruadhan Quinn, Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Rory Scannell

Zebre Parma: Richard Kriel, Pierre Bruno, Erich Cronjé, Enrico Lucchin (CAPT), Jacopo Trulla, Tiff Eden, Alessandro Fusco, Juan Pitinari, Giampietro Ribaldi, Ion Neculai, Gabriele Venditti, Leonard Krumov, Davide Ruggeri, MJ Pelser, Taina Fox-Matamua

Replacements: Luca Bigi, Luca Rizzoli, Matteo Nocera, Joshua Furno, Iacopo Bianchi, Nicolò Casilio, Franco Smith Jr, Lorenzo Pani

Zebre Parma Head Coach Fabio Roselli said: "It will be a good challenge, being Zebre's first game away from home, moreover against a historic and prestigious team like Munster. They didn't have a good start in the championship, but they will certainly want to do well in this first home game. For our part, it will be a great opportunity to show Zebre's style of play also in away matches and prove that we can be a disciplined team capable not only of finishing matches well, but also of approaching them in the right way. We are also proud to line-up two new players like Ruggeri and Rizzoli, the latter at his debut with the franchise.”

Benetton v Scarlets

Stadio Monigo, Treviso– KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 24th league game)

AR 1: Filippo Russo (FIR) AR 2: Alberto Favaro (FIR)

TMO: Colin Stanley (IRFU)

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

Benetton: Rhyno Smith, Edoardo Padovani, Ignacio Brex, Joaquin Riera, Ignacio Mendy, Tomas Albornoz, Dewaldt Duvenage (CAPT), Ivan Nemer, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Simone Ferrari, Scott Scrafton, Federico Ruzza, Manuel Zuliani, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone

Replacements: Giacomo Nicotera, Federico Zani, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolò Cannone, Toa Halafihi, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Marcus Watson, Tommaso Menoncello

Scarlets: Leigh Halfpenny, Steff Evans, Jonathan Davies (CAPT), Johnny Williams, Ryan Conbeer, Dan Jones, Kieran Hardy, Steff Thomas, Shaun Evans, Javan Sebastian, Sam Lousi, Tom Price, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements: Ken Owens, Wyn Jones, Harri O’Connor, Morgan Jones, Blade Thomson, Dane Blacker, Rhys Patchell, Johnny McNicholl

Benetton Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “Scarlets is a team that plays a lot on large spaces, on turnover, deconstructed play; so they will offer us some challenges that we have experienced against Leinster and therefore it will be important to understand how to deal with them well. We have to build our performance on defense, the physicality we put on the pitch will be fundamental to stop the speed of their game. We are happy to play the next two matches at home, this motivates us to improve what went wrong against Leinster and to be even more ready for the next games in front of our fans.”

 

Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “History will tell you that Benetton are a side who are very tough at home, very combative, a heavy set of forwards with good athletes in their pack. You need to play in the right areas, they play a big pressure game so for us, we need to make sure our territory game is good and when we get opportunities to score we are accurate in what we do.”

Dragons RFC v Cell C Sharks

Rodney Parade, Newport – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Ben Blain (SRU, 22nd league game)

AR 1: Gwyn Morris (WRU) AR 2: Elwyn Morris Roberts (WRU)

TMO: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, TG4, Discovery + & URC.tv

Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Sio Tomkinson, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt, Will Reed, Rhodri Williams; Aki Seiuli, Elliot Dee, Lloyd Fairbrother, Ben Carter, Will Rowlands (CAPT), George Nott, Taine Basham, Ross Moriarty

Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Rob Evans, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Aaron Wainwright, Lewis Jones, Max Clark, Jordan Williams

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Ben Tapuai, Thaakir Abrahams, Boeta Chamerlain, Grant Williams, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Kerron van Vuuren, Thomas du Toit (CAPT), Justin Basson, Reniel Hugo, James Venter, Dylan Richardson, Phepsi Buthelezi

Replacements: Dan Jooste, Dian Bleuler, Carlu Sadie, Hyron Andrews, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Marnus Potgieter, Anthony Volmink

Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “Sharks will be physical and there is a lot of quality in their side. We need to make sure we match the physicality they bring and stay true to ourselves. It was a big result and performance by us against Munster last time out. Now we must replicate it, match it and ensure we get better week by week."

 

Cell C Sharks Assistant Coach Noel McNamara said: “We saw with their performance against Munster, they’re in a really positive place and I’m sure people sat up and took note of that result. We’re under no illusions as to the challenge we face on Saturday. We’re looking forward to getting stuck into a very physical and confrontational contest.”