The United Rugby Championship continues this weekend with all eight matches taking place, including the clash between the Sharks and Leinster.
The Durban outfit welcomed back Andre Esterhuizen from injury last weekend and he will make his first start since December on Saturday.
Like the Bulls, they will be facing an understrength Leinster outfit, who have held their Ireland players back until the Investec Champions Cup tie against Harlequins next weekend.
Leo Cullen has also rested world-class duo RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, which means there will be no mouth-watering Springbok v All Blacks head-to-head between Esterhuizen and Barrett.
There are still plenty of stars returning to action, however, with many of those that featured in the Six Nations back, including the likes of Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne, who are playing for Connacht and Munster respectively.
Friday
Edinburgh v Dragons
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott (cc), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Paddy Harrison, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Glen Young, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ali Price, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Ross McCann
Dragons: 15 Huw Anderson, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen (c), 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Will Reed, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Paula Latu, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Rodrigo Martinez
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Nathan Evans, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Jared Rosser
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Ulster v Stormers
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 John Cooney, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 James McNabney, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Ben Carson, 23 Zac Ward
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Neethling Fouché (c), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Wandisile Simelane
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Andrew Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Saturday
Bulls v Zebre Parma
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 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 (c), 1 Luca Rizzoli
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Francesco Ruffolo, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Giacomo Da Re, 23 Filippo Drago
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 12.45 IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA / 14.45 SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Connacht v Munster
Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 Hugh Gavin, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 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, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 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
Venue: Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Mayo
Kick-off: 14.30 IRE & UK / 15.30 ITA / 16.30 SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Ireland)
Scarlets v Ospreys
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Macs Page, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 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 (c), 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
Venue: Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli
Kick-off: 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Ellis Poulden (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Sharks v Leinster
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 (c), 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 Francois Venter, 23 Siya Masuku
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 (c), 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Mangan, 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
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Benetton v Cardiff
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Juan 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 (c), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolo 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 (c), 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 Young, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Ben Thomas
Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Darlo Merli (Italy)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Glasgow Warriors v Lions
Glasgow: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 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 Nathan 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: 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 (c), 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
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland) AR 2: Fin Brown (Scotland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
READ MORE: Manie Libbok’s injury return could be kept ‘on ice’ if Springboks team-mate proves fitness
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/urc-deprived-of-springbok-v-all-black-battle-as-jordie-barrett-rested-while-six-nations-stars-return
