The 2024/25 United Rugby Championship season continues this weekend which sees one match being played on Friday, five more on Saturday and the first leg of the 1872 Cup on Sunday.
Duhan van der Merwe is set to make his 100th appearance for Edinburgh in that highly anticipated encounter at Hampden Park while Glasgow Warriors have been boosted by the return from injury of their club captain, Kyle Steyn.
Meanwhile, All Blacks star Jordie Barrett is back at inside centre for Leinster after starting at full-back for the Irish province in last weekend’s Champions Cup win over Clermont Auvergne.
Check on the other URC team news for the weekend, here.
Friday
Ulster v Munster
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 John Cooney, 8 David McCann, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 James McNabney, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Jack Murphy, 23 Rory Telfer
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 John Ryan
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Brian Gleeson
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
Saturday
Benetton v Zebre Parma
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza (c), 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, Nahuel Tetaz, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Leonardo Marin
Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (c)
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Filippo Drago, 23 Rusiate Nasove
Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Stormers v Lions
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (c), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Adré Smith, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis
Lions: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darriën Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Manny Rass
Venue: Cape Town Stadium
Kick-off: 15:45 local (13:45 GMT)
Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Sharks v Bulls
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (c), 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Cameron Hanekom, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Sergeal Petersen, 23 Devon Williams
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), Griffin Colby (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Ospreys v Scarlets
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 James Fender, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Evardi Boshoff, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Max Douglas, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Archer Holz, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Joe Roberts, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Leinster v Connacht
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Aitzol Arenzana-King, 13 Charlie Tector, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Diarmuid Mangan, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Max Deegan
Connacht: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (C), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Santiago Cordero, 23 Conor Oliver
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Sunday
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
Glasgow: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Grant Stewart, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Duncan Weir
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Ben Healy, 23 James Lang
Venue: Hampden Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (SRU), Ru Campbell (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/urc-teams-jordie-barrett-swaps-position-again-for-leinster-while-duhan-van-der-merwe-hits-100-for-edinburgh-in-1872-cup-clash
