There are two matches scheduled in the PRO14 on Saturday and a further three on Sunday with the Cheetahs and Munster closing out the action in Bloemfontein.
Saturday
Benetton v Ulster
Benetton head coach Kieran Crowley has named his matchday squad to take on Ulster at the Stadio Monigo in Treviso.
Jayden Hayward starts at full-back and is joined in the back three by Ratuva Tavuyara and Tommaso Benvenuti. Ignacio Brex and Alberto Sgarbi starts at outside and inside centre respectively.
The half-backs are Dewaldt Duvenage at scrum-half and Tommaso Allan at fly-half.
The front-row will consist of Derrick Appiah and Simone Ferrari, who are the two props, while Hame Faiva packs down at hooker.
Irné Herbst and Alessandro Zanni are the two locks and the back-row comprises of captain Dean Budd and Michele Lamaro, who are the two flanks, while Marco Barbini starts at number eight.
Meanwhile, Ulster Academy player James Hume will make his first senior start, following on from his replacement appearances against Munster and Connacht earlier this season.
He will be joined in the backline by fellow Academy player Robert Baloucoune, who made an accomplished debut in the win versus Dragons last weekend.
Stuart McCloskey, released from Ireland squad duty along with Rob Herring this week, will partner Hume in midfield, while Billy Burns has recovered from injury to partner Dave Shanahan at half back. Baloucoune is joined by Henry Speight and full-back Peter Nelson in the back three.
Up front, Herring will pack down alongside props Eric O’Sullivan and Marty Moore, with skipper Alan O’Connor partnering Kieran Treadwell in the second-row. Marcell Coetzee, Sean Reidy and Nick Timoney will form a combative back-row unit.
John Andrew, Andy Warwick and Tom O’Toole are the front-row reinforcements, while Clive Ross and Greg Jones, who impressed off the bench last week, will provide additional forward cover.
Jonny Stewart, Johnny McPhillips and Angus Kernohan are the backline options for Head Coach Dan McFarland.
The teams:
Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Tommaso Benvenuti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Dean Budd (c), 5 Alessandro Zanni, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Derrick Appiah
Replacements: 16 Tomas Baravalle, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Angelo Esposito
Ulster: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Dave Shanahan, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Clive Ross, 20 Greg Jones, 21 Johnny Stewart, 22 Johnny McPhillips, 23 Angus Kernohan
Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Blain (Scotland), Gabriel Chirnoaga (Italy)
Television match official: Stefano Pennè (Italy)
Connacht v Dragons
Eoin Griffin is poised to make his 100th appearance in a Connacht jersey as he is named on the bench for the PRO14 clash with the Dragons at the Sportsground on Saturday.
The Galway man made his Connacht debut in 2010 and is on his second term with the province having spent two campaigns with London Irish from 2014 to 2016. He returned to the Sportsground ahead of the 2016/17 season.
With Bundee Aki, Quinn Roux and Finlay Bealham all away on international duty in Chicago, Head Coach Andy Friend is forced to make a number of changes to his starting team. He is however boosted by the availability of Kieran Marmion who starts at scrum-half as he prepares for the upcoming home November internationals.
Marmion has a new half-back partner with David Horwitz set to make his first start for the province at out-half. Kyle Godwin also comes into the midfield where he partners Tom Farrell.
In the back three there is a start for Colm De Buitléar on the wing, with Cian Kelleher on the opposite wing and Tiernan O’Halloran at full-back.
In the forwards, Conor Carey steps in for Bealham while James Cannon comes into the second-row for Roux.
The only other change is in the back-row where captain Jarrad Butler starts at number eight with Colby Fainga’a slotting in at openside.
Eoin Griffin is joined on the bench by academy player Matthew Burke and summer arrival Joe Maksymiw who are both in line to make their PRO14 debuts for the province.
Meanwhile, Hallam Amos, Joe Davies and Taine Basham are all handed starts for Dragons.
Wales international Amos makes his playing return at outside centre for the fixture at the Sportsground, after recovering from the dislocated elbow he sustained at Leinster in mid-September.
Lock Davies comes into the second-row to partner Lewis Evans, with Matthew Screech ruled out with an ankle injury.
The final change made by Head Coach Bernard Jackman is a first PRO14 start of the season for Wales U20 international Basham, who impressed off the bench in Belfast last week.
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Colm De Buitléar, 10 David Horwitz, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Matthew Burke, 18 Conán O’Donnell, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 James Connolly, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Eoin Griffin
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Hallam Amos, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Will Talbot-Davies, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Lewis Evans, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard (c), 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Rhys Lawrence, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Dan Suter, 19 James Thomas, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jack Dixon, 23 Adam Warren
Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Sportsground
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jonny Erskine (Ireland), Robert O’Sullivan (Ireland)
Television match official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Sunday
Southern Kings v Leinster
Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids has made six alterations and one positional switch to his starting line-up that lost to Scarlets last week.
In the backline, Stefan Ungerer will start at scrum-half to make his PRO14 debut and first appearance for the Kings since the 2017 Super Rugby season. This means that Godlen Masimla will be on the replacements bench to provide back-up at scrum-half.
A new centre pairing sees Tertius Kruger, who made a good impact from the bench on his debut last weekend, coming in at inside centre to partner Harlon Klaasen. Berton Klaasen will be on the bench.
Out wide Michael Makase will start at right wing, replacing Bjorn Basson, who is unavailable due to personal reasons. The change will see Yaw Penxe switching from the right to left wing.
Justin Forwood returns to the starting XV in the front-row where he will pack down at tighthead prop.
In another rotational move, Stephan Greeff will pair up with captain JC Astle in the second-row as Schalk Oelofse takes a break this weekend.
There is a new back-row combination with Martinus Burger joining openside flanker Stephan de Wit and number eight Ruaan Lerm, following an injury sustained by Andisa Ntsila last weekend.
New faces on the bench sees new recruit Nicolaas “NJ” Oosthuizen providing front-row cover and the experienced utility forward Andries van Schalkwyk is there as the back-up lock while CJ Velleman also returns to the team to provide back-row cover.
Meanwhile, Wallaby utility back Scott Fardy will captain Leinster for the first time in a competitive fixture and he starts in the second-row with Ross Molony. Fardy has made 28 appearances and scored five tries since joining the province in 2017.
There are seven personnel changes to the Irish province’s starting XV that secured a bonus point win away to Benetton Rugby last weekend in Treviso.
At full-back, Dave Kearney returns from injury to make his first start since the home win over Dragons in September. Adam Byrne and Joe Tomane retain their places in the back three from last week.
Rory O’Loughlin once again starts at outside centre, while Conor O’Brien, who made a try-scoring appearance from the bench last week, starts in the 12 shirt.
The final change to the backline sees Noel Reid come in to start at fly-half, with Jamison Gibson-Park completing the half-back pairing.
There are two changes to the Leinster front-row as Ed Byrne and Michael Bent come in, with James Tracy once again named as the starting hooker.
In the second-row, Fardy swaps from loosehead to tighthead side, with Molony coming in for James Ryan.
Finally, in the back-row, Josh Murphy will start at blindside flanker in place of Seán O’Brien as Dan Leavy and Max Deegan keep their places from last weekend.
On the bench, Vakh Abdaladze, Ciarán Frawley and Tom Daly are all in line to make their first appearances of the season for the senior side should they be called upon.
All eight replacements were part of the Leinster Rugby ‘A’ squad that defeated Scarlets ‘A’ in the Celtic Cup Final in Llanelli two weeks ago.
The teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Stephan de Wit, 5 JC Astle (c), 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Justin Forwood, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Tango Balekile, 17 Lupumlo Mguca, 18 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 19 Andries van Schalkwyk, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Berton Klaasen, 23 Meli Rokoua
Leinster: 15 Dave Kearney, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Conor O’Brien, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Noel Reid, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Scott Fardy (c), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Tom Daly
Date: Sunday, November 4
Venue: Madibaz Stadium
Kick-off: 14:45 local (12:45 GMT)
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse (South Africa), Paul Mente (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Cardiff Blues v Zebre
Veteran prop Gethin Jenkins has been named on the Cardiff Blues replacements bench as he prepares to hang up his boots following Sunday’s clash with Zebre.
The Wales record appearance maker has been battling back from a chronic knee injury but has now been advised to draw the curtain on his illustrious career.
But he will play one more game for Cardiff Blues – his 195th for the region – as they look to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to the Cheetahs.
John Mulvihill has made five changes to the starting line-up with Lloyd Williams remaining captain.
In the backs, his younger brother Tom, who joined the region on trial at the beginning of the season, starts at full-back, and Rey Lee-Lo returns to the centre to partner Garyn Smith.
Up front, Brad Thyer and Kirby Myhill return to the front-row, while Nick Williams starts at number eight.
Meanwhile, Zebre head coach Michael Bradley has made 11 changes compared to his starting XV selected in Parma last Saturday in the victory against Edinburgh.
There will be several players missing through injury and call ups by the Italian national team. In the back-line there are two positional changes with Gabriele Di Giulio moving from the left to the right wing and Francois Brummer switching from full-back to fly-half.
The other changes to the backs sees Giovanni D’Onofrio starting at full-back while Tommaso Boni and Nicolas De Battista form a new centre combination. Paula Balekana comes in on the left wing and Riccardo Raffaele is at scrum-half.
In the pack, David Sisi will captain Zebre for the first time in his 32nd official match with the Italian franchise. In the forwards, Antoine Koffi and Apisai Tauyavuca come in at number eight and on the openside flank respectively and Sisi is joined in the second-row by Leonard Krumov.
There’s a new front-row with Eduardo Bello the two props Cruze Ah-Nau and Luhandre Luus starts at hooker.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Tom Williams, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Seb Davies, 4 George Earle, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 James Down, 20 Samu Manoa, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Dan Fish, 23 Harri Millard
Zebre: 15 Giovanni D’Onofrio, 14 Gabriele Di Giulio, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Nicolas De Battista, 11 Paula Balekana, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Riccardo Raffaele, 8 Antoine Koffi, 7 Apisai Tauyavuca, 6 Jacopo Bianchi, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi (c), 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Luhandre Luus, 1 Cruze Ah-Nau
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Roberto Tenga, 19 Samuele Ortis, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Maicol Azzolini, 22 Jamie Elliott, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti
Date: Sunday, November 4
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 14:45 GMT
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Mike English (Wales)
Television match official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Cheetahs v Munster
Coach Franco Smith has announced his Cheetahs team for the clash with some changes.
Aidon Davis will be replacing Niell Jordaan due to injury. Nico Lee moves to his usual position on inside centre and William Small-Smith moves to right wing, sending Rhyno Smith to full-back.
Meanwhile, Tyler Bleyendaal captains the Munster side from inside centre with Bill Johnston and Fineen Wycherley making their first starts in the PRO14.
There are nine changes to the starting XV that secured a last-gasp win over Glasgow in Limerick last weekend with three Academy players in the matchday squad.
Four changes to the backline see Shane Daly, Alex Wootton, Bleyendaal and Johnston all come into the side.
Mike Haley continues at full-back as Academy player Daly starts on the right wing with Alex Wootton, a try-scoring replacement in the win over Glasgow, on the opposite flank.
Bleyendaal makes his 40th appearance for Munster and features in the PRO14 for the first time since February with Sammy Arnold completing the centre partnership.
Alby Mathewson and Johnston combine in the half-backs.
The five changes to the pack see Kevin O’Byrne, Stephen Archer, Darren O’Shea, Wycherley and Arno Botha all included.
James Cronin joins O’Byrne and Archer in the front-row with Jean Kleyn partnering O’Shea in the second-row.
Wycherley and Botha are joined by Chris Cloete in the back-row.
Academy players Sean O’Connor and Gavin Coombes are named among the replacements.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Bernhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Shaun Venter (c), 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Reinach Venter, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Sinthu Manjezi/Justin Basson, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Abongile Nonkontwana, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Louis Fouche
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Shane Daly, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Tyler Bleyendaal (c), 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Bill Johnston, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Fineen Wycherley, 5 Darren O’Shea, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Kevin O’Byrne, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Sean O’Connor, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Rory Scannell
Date: Sunday, November 4
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 16:45 local (14:45 GMT)
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Ruhan Meiring (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)