The teams for the final round of the United Rugby Championship have been named, with the action concluding in Dublin with Leinster v Glasgow Warriors.
Leinster, Glasgow, Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have sealed their place in the play-offs with the Race to Eight concluding this weekend with three spots up for grabs.
While Leinster have booked their place in the URC knockout stages, Leo Cullen has still gone full-hog with seven 2025 British and Irish Lions squad members named in the matchday 23 to tackle the title-holders.
Elsewhere, Cardiff face a staunch challenge in Cape Town with Manie Libbok returning for the Stormers, with the Welsh outfit looking to book their place in the knockout stages. The odds are stacked against Matt Sherratt’s side, though, as they may need other results to go their way even in victory.
Perhaps the match with the biggest impact on the final eight will take place in Cork as Munster and Benetton collide at Virgin Media Park.
It will be an emotional day in Pretoria when the Bulls face off against the Dragons following the passing of Cornal Hendricks. Jake White has made several changes to the matchday 23, which includes Keagan Johannes at fly-half and Canan Moodie shifting to outside centre.
Finally, Eben Etzebeth has overcome the injury last week to feature in the Sharks pack against the Scarlets in Durban. Fellow Springbok Ox Nche has also returns for the Durbanites.
Friday
Stormers v Cardiff
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ben Loader
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 Teddy Williams (c), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James Botham, 21 Dan Thomas, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Rory Jennings
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 18.00 IRE & UK / 19.00 ITA / 19.00 SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Live on: SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Edinburgh v Ulster
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Harry Paterson, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Glen Young, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Mark Bennett
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 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 Dave Shanahan, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Stewart Moore
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 20.35 SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (SRU), Rob McDowell (SRU)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (WRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Paolo Odogwu predicts ‘floodgates’ will open for URC underdogs Benetton after ‘mindset’ shift
Munster v Benetton
Munster: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Tom Ahern, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Seán O’Brien, 23 Alex Kendellen
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza (c), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Nicolò Casilio, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Malakai Fekitoa
Venue: Virgin Media Park, Cork
Kick-off: 20.00 IRE & UK / 21.00 ITA / 21.00 SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU), Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Saturday
Bulls v Dragons
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ruan Nortje (c), 6 Nama Xaba, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Devon Williams
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (cc), 14 Harry Rees-Weldon, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Huw Anderson, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Ben Carter (c), 4Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths
Replacements: 16 Lewis Morgan, 17 Jamie Hughes, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 Evan Minto, 21 Che Hope, 22 Ewan Rosser, 23 Ashton Hewitt
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 14.00 IRE & UK / 15.00 ITA / 15.00 SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 105th league game)
Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU), AJ Jacobs (SARU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Lions v Ospreys
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Renzo du Plessis, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie (c), 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Izan Esterhuizen, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Kelly Mpeku
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 James Fender, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Steffan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Kian Hire, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Lewis Lloyd, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 16.15 IRE & UK / 17.15 ITA / 17.15 SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Christopher Allison (SARU), Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Zebre Parma v Connacht
Zebre Parma: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Danilo Fischetti (c)
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Guido Volpi, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Enrico Lucchin
Connacht: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitléar, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Piers O’Conor
Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 18.00 SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo (FIR), Clara Munarini (FIR)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Live on: Sky Italia, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Sharks v Scarlets
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Yaw Penxe
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Dan Davis, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 18.30 IRE & UK / 19.30 ITA / 19.30 SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Leinster v Glasgow Warriors
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Euan Ferrie, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Macenzzie Duncan, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Scott Cummings, 21 Stafford McDowall, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 20.35 SA
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRFU), Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/urc-teams-leinster-include-7-bi-lions-as-sione-tuipulotu-returns-for-glasgow-and-eben-etzebeth-recovers-in-time
