Category: Rugby

The 2018/19 Premiership season kicks off at Ashton Gate on Friday where newly promoted Bristol host Bath in a highly-anticipated West Country derby.

Six players will make their competitive debuts for the Bears.

Pat Lam’s men face Bath in front of a club record crowd at Ashton Gate and the head coach hands maiden starts to Luke Daniels and Nic Stirzaker in the backline.

Meanwhile, in the pack, Yann Thomas, Harry Thacker and John Afoa form a new-look front row partnership, while George Smith is included at openside.

New Zealand international Steven Luatua will skipper the side for the round one West Country derby clash.

Charles Piutau (shoulder) misses out, while another new arrival – Aly Muldowney (neck) – is also unavailable for selection.

Meanwhile, Matt Garvey will captain Bath against their West Country rivals.

Garvey starts at second-row alongside Dave Attwood, who impressed in the victories over Edinburgh and Scarlets in an unbeaten pre-season campaign for the Blue, Black and White. Jack Walker lines up at hooker, with Nathan Catt and Henry Thomas completing a powerful front-row.

Zach Mercer starts at openside with Sam Underhill at blindside, and Taulupe Faletau completing the back-row at number eight.

Chris Cook will link-up with Rhys Priestland in the half-back combination, as Bath look to get their campaign off to a flying start. Jamie Roberts and Jackson Willison, who joined the Club from Harlequins and Worcester Warriors respectively over the summer, form an all new centre partnership.

Joe Cokanasiga starts on the left wing after scoring a brace against Scarlets, and the new arrival will be looking to bring his attacking power into Friday’s game. Semesa Rokoduguni makes his Premiership return on the right wing, with Tom Homer at full-back.

Form: This fixture is the opening game of the 22nd Premiership Rugby season. Bristol Bears were promoted after winning the RFU Championship last season and are bidding to become the third promoted team in the last four seasons to win their opening fixture in Premiership Rugby. The Bears lost only one league game last season, 34-38 at home to Jersey Reds in March. Bath have begun their season with a victory in Round 1 for the past eight years and finished off their last campaign with wins at Gloucester and at home to London Irish. The only occasions that the two clubs have met since season 2008/09 were all in 2016/17 with Bath taking three victories (two in the European Challenge Cup) and Bristol winning 12-11 at Ashton Gate in the Premiership. Bath have made five previous visits to Ashton Gate, winning twice.

The teams:

Bristol: 15 Luke Daniels, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Tusi Pisi, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 George Smith, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Joe Latta, 20 Jack Lam, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ryan Edwards

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Matt Garvey (c), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Will Vaughan, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Max Green, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Aled Brew

Date: Friday, August 31
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal, Wayne Falla
TMO: Rowan Kitt

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Former Blitzbok and Western Province outside back Cheslin Kolbe has been added to the Springbok squad for the forthcoming Australasian leg of the Rugby Championship as the only uncapped player.

The fleet-footed Kolbe was on Thursday named in the 31-man Springbok squad for the two Tests away to Australia and New Zealand. South Africa face the Wallabies on September 8 in Brisbane, and the following week they take on the All Blacks in Wellington.

Rassie Erasmus, the SA Rugby Director of Rugby, has added six players to the squad that returned on Tuesday from Argentina. They are the 24-year-old Kolbe, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende (both centres), Ross Cronje (scrum-half), Schalk Brits (hooker) and Sikhumbuzo Notshe (loose forward).

Kolbe, a former Junior Springbok full-back who was a non-playing member of the 2016 Springbok tour squad to Europe, has established himself as a key backline player for Toulouse since joining the French club from Western Province. He is equally at home out wide on the wing.

According to Erasmus, the new additions give the squad added experience in some areas while also providing him the chance to continue building squad depth for next year’s Rugby World Cup.

De Allende has shrugged off his injury while Cronje, a regular in the Bok starting line-up last year, comes into the squad in a straight rotational switch with Ivan van Zyl, who will be get some game time with his province in the Currie Cup.

“Cheslin has certainly grabbed his opportunities for his French club and he has earned his spot in the squad. He is in good form and we are delighted have him in the group,” said Erasmus.

“Damian was close to full fitness during our recent training camp, while Ross, Jesse and Notshe got some valuable game time while playing for their provinces in the Currie Cup last weekend.”

De Allende and Wilco Louw have been released to play in the Currie Cup for Western Province on Friday evening and will link up with the squad before their departure in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The other players who had been training with the squad but will not travel Down Under, Van Zyl, Lwazi Mvovo, Lionel Mapoe, Marvin Orie and Akker van der Merwe, are also released back to their respective provinces.

“We would like to ensure these players remain match fit and the Currie Cup is the ideal place for them to ensure they don’t get rusty, which is why we decided it would be in their best interest to return to their provinces so that they can be considered for selection,” explained Erasmus.

The Bok squad will assemble on Saturday in Johannesburg and they fly out to Brisbane later on the same day.

Springbok squad:

Forwards: Schalk Brits, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Steven Kitshoff, Siya Kolisi (c), Francois Louw, Wilco Louw, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Tendai Mtawarira, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Warren Whiteley

Backs: Lukhanyo Am, Ross Cronjé, Damian de Allende, Faf de Klerk, Aphiwe Dyantyi, André Esterhuizen, Elton Jantjies, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, Makazole Mapimpi, Embrose Papier, Handré Pollard, Damian Willemse

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Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi says he is still two months away from a return to action, despite initially having been scheduled to return in late September.

Kerevi sustained a torn bicep in the Wallabies’ 2-1 series defeat to Ireland in June and underwent surgery in July. However, the 24-year-old says his recovery is taking longer than expected.

“Rehab is coming along quite slow but I want to do it properly before I get back to playing,” Kerevi told Rugby Australia’s website. “Probably another eight to 10 weeks until I’m back playing.”

It comes as bad news to Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, especially with the midfield injury crisis shrouding the dressing-room at the moment.

Brumbies number 13 Tevita Kuridrani is another out with a long-term injury, which has meant utility back Reece Hodge has had to step up to fill the void. And Kerevi believes Hodge has done a good job in that regard.

“I thought he did an awesome job,” Kerevi said. “There’s a lot of depth in that spot still. We have Curtis Rona and Billy Meakes who can play there as well.”

The Wallabies next face a wounded Springboks side in Brisbane on September 8.

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Four matches are scheduled to take place in the PRO14 on Saturday with Ulster facing the Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium the pick of the games.

Connacht vs Glasgow Warriors

New Connacht signing Kyle Godwin is set to make his debut as Andy Friend’s side take on Glasgow Warriors in the Sportsground in the opening game of their PRO14 campaign.

Godwin forms a midfield partnership with last season’s Connacht Fans’ Player of the Season, Tom Farrell.

The backline also includes the ever present Tiernan O’Halloran at full-back with Connacht’s record try scorer Matt Healy and Cian Kelleher on the wings.

In the front-row, Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham start at loosehead and tighthead respectively with Mayo native Dave Heffernan given the nod at hooker.

Newly appointed captain Jarrad Butler is selected at openside with Academy player Paul Boyle named at blindside after impressive performances in the pre-season fixtures.

Meanwhile, Stuart Hogg and Peter Horne both start for Glasgow Warriors as they begin their 2018/19 PRO14 campaign in Galway.

It is the third consecutive year that the Warriors have kicked off their season at the Sportsground, winning both matches in 2016 and 2017.

Hogg and Horne start at full-back and inside centre respectively, both having represented Scotland on this year’s June tour, with Hogg captaining his country for the first time against the USA.

DTH van der Merwe and Tommy Seymour start on either wing and Nick Grigg joins Horne in midfield.

Adam Hastings and George Horne made their international debuts this summer and combine for their club once more this weekend.

Zander Fagerson returns to the front-row, starting alongside George Turner and Oli Kebble with Scott Cummings and Jonny Gray providing the weight behind them.

Rob Harley joins co-captains Callum Gibbins and Ryan Wilson in the back-row to complete the starting XV.

On the bench Australia international Nick Frisby is in line to make his competitive Warriors debut.

Niko Matawalu is also among the replacements having scored three tries in Glasgow’s two pre-season fixtures.

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Paul Boyle, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Cillian Gallagher, 21 James Mitchell, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Ryan Wilson (cc), 7 Callum Gibbins (cc), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Adam Ashe, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Alex Dunbar, 23 Niko Matawalu

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Eddie Hogan-O’Connell
Television match official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Ulster vs Scarlets

New signings Will Addison, Billy Burns and Henry Speight will all make their PRO14 debuts after being named in Ulster’s starting backline.

Ireland internationals John Cooney and Iain Henderson will also start after missing the two pre-season fixtures.

Cooney and Burns are paired in the half-back positions for the first time, while Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave will provide a familiar look to the midfield.

Addison and Speight are joined in the back three by Craig Gilroy, who scored 10 tries in as many PRO14 matches last season.

Academy graduate Tom O’Toole, who signed his first senior contract earlier this week, will start at tighthead prop, earning his sixth cap. He will be joined in the front-row by Andy Warwick and John Andrew.

Alan O’Connor will captain the side from the second-row, where he will be partnered by Henderson. Marcell Coetzee, who made a welcome return to action last weekend in the game against Wasps, will combine in the back-row with Sean Reidy and Nick Timoney.

Meanwhile, club captain Ken Owens makes a return to the starting line-up to lead the Scarlets in the opening round of the PRO14.

Head coach Wayne Pivac has named a strong side for the opening round despite the long injury list that includes some of the region’s frontline players.

Ulster have a strong record at their Kingspan Stadium home with Scarlets the only Welsh region to emerge victorious from the Belfast base since February 2013, doing so with a single point victory in February 2016.

The last four fixtures between the two sides were all been won by the home side, whilst Ulster were unbeaten in their last five matches last season losing only twice at the Kingspan Stadium.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Angus Kernohan

Scarlets: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Kieron Fonotia, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Josh Macleod, 7 James Davies, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans
Replacements; 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil Price, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Ed Kennedy, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), John Carvill (Ireland)
Television match official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Munster vs Cheetahs

New signings Arno Botha, Mike Haley and Neil Cronin will make their PRO14 starting debuts for Munster, while Joey Carbery is set to make his debut in red if sprung off the bench.

Academy and Ireland 7s player Shane Daly is another making his debut as he joins Haley and Darren Sweetnam in the back three.

The pre-season centre combination of Rory Scannell and Dan Goggin remains unchanged for the tournament opener.

Neil Cronin, who last featured in the competition as a replacement in March 2015, partners up with JJ Hanrahan in the half backs.

In the front-row returning international prop John Ryan makes his first appearance of the season as he scrums down next to Mike Sherry and Dave Kilcoyne.

Captain Billy Holland and Jean Kleyn continue their partnership in the second-row with Dave O’Callaghan, Tommy O’Donnell and Botha forming the back-row.

Included in the replacements are Rhys Marshall and Stephen Archer who are in line to make first appearances of the season, with Archer overcoming the pec injury he sustained against Edinburgh in May.

After impressing in the pre-season campaign Academy back-row Gavin Coombes is included in his first Guinness PRO14 squad.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs will be led by flanker Oupa Mohoje on Saturday.

Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Tian Schoeman, Luan de Bruin, JP du Preez, Walt Steenkamp, Aidon Davis and Ryno Eksteen will all make their PRO14 debuts.

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Brian Scott, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 James Hart, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Sammy Arnold

Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 William Small-Smith, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Oupa Mohoje (c), 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Walt Steenkamp, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Ernst Stapelberg, 23 Ryno Eksteen

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Mark Patton (Ireland)
Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Dragons vs Benetton Rugby

Lewis Evans will make his 150th PRO14 appearance as the Dragons open the season with a home clash against Benetton Rugby at Rodney Parade.

Back-row Evans – who made his league debut for Dragons in 2006 – will hit the major milestone as the Men of Gwent look to make a winning start to the new campaign on home soil.

Head coach Bernard Jackman hands full six PRO14 debuts in Dragons colours to Jordan Williams, Dafydd Howells, Rhodri Williams, Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard and Brandon Nansen.

Gavin Henson is named at fly-half for the encounter while there is also a call-up for Ollie Griffiths who slots in at number eight.

Centre Jack Dixon has recovered from illness to return in the backline while lock Cory Hill will captain the team.

Summer signings Josh Lewis and Huw Taylor are named among the replacements.

Meanwhile, Benetton name Jayden Hayward at full-back while Ratuva Tavuyara and Monty Ioane are on the wings this weekend.

Tommaso Benvenuti and Alberto Sgarbi are in the midfield while the half-backs are Tito Tebaldi and Tommaso Allan.

Dean Budd leads the side from lock alongside Alessandro Zanni while Abraham Steyn, Sebastian Negri and Marco Barbini form a strong back-row.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Brandon Nansen, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Adam Warren

Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Federico Zani
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Marco Lazzaroni, 22 Giorgio Bronzini, 23 Tommaso Iannone

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy, Simon Rees (Wales)
Television match official: Sean Brickell (Wales)

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Three games take place on Friday in the opening round of the 2018/19 PRO14 season with champions Leinster starting their campaign away at Cardiff Blues.

Cardiff Blues v Leinster

Ellis Jenkins returns to captain Cardiff Blues as they kick off their PRO14 campaign against the reigning champions Leinster at Cardiff Arms Park.

Jenkins, who was named club captain last month, is one of four players to come straight back into competitive action with Rey Lee-Lo, Kristian Dacey and Nick Williams also handing the Blues a boost with their first appearances of the season.

Jason Harries, Rory Thornton and Dmitri Arhip all make their PRO14 debuts for the region following their summer moves to Cardiff Arms Park.

Blues head coach John Mulvihill admits Leinster – the PRO14 and European champions – present a formidable challenge but it is one Wales’ capital region are relishing and he is counting down the minutes until the mouth-watering clash.

“It is a great way for us to kick-off the season – the European Challenge Cup champions against the PRO14 and Champions Cup winners. It promises to be an awesome occasion in Cardiff and we cannot wait to get started,” he said.

Meanwhile, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has named a strong matchday squad to start the defence of their title.

There is a debut for new signing Joe Tomane, while Caelan Doris will make his first start in blue having made his debut away to Connacht last season off the bench.

Elsewhere the back three consists of Dave Kearney, Adam Byrne and last season’s PRO14 top try scorer Barry Daly. The 17-times capped Australian international Tomane is joined in the centre by Irish international Rory O’Loughlin.

In the half-backs, Luke McGrath is partnered by Ross Byrne who wins his 50th cap for the province. The front-row consists of Peter Dooley, James Tracy and Michael Bent, with Ross Molony and Scott Fardy in behind.

In the back-row, Josh Murphy and captain Rhys Ruddock start on the flanks with Doris at number eight.

The teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Ellis Jenkins (c), 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Rhys Gill, 17 Ethan Lewis, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 George Earle, 20 O Robinson, 21 Tom Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Garyn Smith

Leinster: 15 Dave Kearney, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Joe Tomane, 11 Barry Daly, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Rhys Ruddock (c), 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Scott Fardy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Fergus McFadden

Date: Friday, August 31
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Ospreys v Edinburgh

Tom Botha, Aled Davies, Scott Williams and George North make their Ospreys debuts, while Dan Baker, Olly Cracknell, Ma’afu Fia, Gheorghe Gajion, Keelan Giles, Paul James, Lesley Klim, Rob McCusker, Sam Parry and Gareth Thomas are all unavailable through injury.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has named four debutants in the starting XV.

Summer recruits Henry Pyrgos and Simon Hickey are selected at half-back, whilst recent signings Pierre Schoeman and Luke Hamilton are named at loosehead prop and blindside flanker respectively.

Elsewhere, Matt Scott – who this summer re-joined the club from Gloucester following two seasons in the English Premiership – gets the nod at inside centre and anchors a backline featuring 101 Scotland caps.

On his selection, Cockerill, said: “We’ve named an experienced outfit, which we believe has the mentality and toughness to compete against a combative Ospreys side.

“It’s imperative that we lay down an early marker in the championship. We are prepared as we possibly can and will travel to Wales with confidence.”

Blair Kinghorn returns to action at full-back following a breakout June tour in the dark blue of Scotland. The 21-year-old starts alongside Dougie Fife and last season’s top try scorer, Duhan van der Merwe.

Mark Bennett is named at outside centre alongside the aforementioned Scott.

Club captain Stuart McInally is named at hooker and packs down alongside Schoeman and Simon Berghan – who makes his 50th appearance for the club. Locks Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis are selected in the boiler room.

Scotland star Hamish Watson is named at openside flanker and makes his first league appearance since undergoing season-ending surgery in April. Hamilton and Fijian international Bill Mata complete the back-row.

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Luke Price, 9 Aled Davies, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Alex Jeffries, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Joe Thomas

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Scott Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Alan Dell, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 James Johnstone

Date: Friday, August 31
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)

Zebre v Southern Kings

Zebre have named eight Italian internationals in their line-up to face the Kings in their PRO14 opener at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Friday.

Tommaso Castello captains the team from midfield alongside Giulio Bisegni with Marcello Violi and Carlo Canna the half-back combination.

Hooker Massimo Ceciliani, prop Giosué Zilocchi, lock Apisai Tauyavuca and fly-half Francois Brummer could make their debut from the bench.

Meanwhile, Kings coach Deon Davids has included six debutants in his matchday squad for their opening PRO14 game against the Italian side.

Full-back Michael Botha, second-row Schalk Oelofse and flanker Henry Brown make first starts for the Port Elizabeth side while second-row JC Astle, centre Ulrich Beyers and prop Lupumlo Mguca are on the bench.

In a surprise move Masixole Banda starts in the number 10 jersey and joins Rudi van Rooyen as the half-back combination.

Zebre: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Castello (c), 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 David Sisi, 5 George Biagi, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 Edoardo Padovani

Kings: 15 Michael Botha, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Masixole Banda, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Henry Brown, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Luvuyo Pupuma, 2 Michael Willemse (c), 1 Justin Forwood
Replacements: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Luphumlo Mguca, 19 JC Astle, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Martin du Toit, 23 Ulrich Beyers

Date: Friday, August 31
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 BST)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Keith Allen (Scotland), Manuel Bottini (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)

 

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The Pumas have kept the same starting line-up intact for Friday’s Currie Cup clash with Western Province at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

The Pumas had a bye last week, having opened their account the previous week with a 42-19 victory over Griquas in the opening round.

The only changes come on the bench where Marko Jansen van Vuuren, Hilton Lobberts and Nardus van der Walt have been drafted in.

Pumas: 15 Gerrit Smith, 14 JP Lewis, 13 Ryan Nell, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Neil Maritz, 10 Christopher Smith, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Marné Coetzee, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Khwezi Mona
Replacements: 16 Marko Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Nardus van der Walt, 21 Reynier van Rooyen, 22 Trompie Pretorius.

Date: Friday, August 31
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: 18:30 (17:30 BST, 16:30 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Des van Wyk, Alex Jonker
TMO: Christie du Preez

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The Premiership and PRO14 start this weekend and we are putting our head on the block and picking our winners from the various fixtures.

Saracens will be determined to defend their Premiership title while it is the same for Leinster in the PRO14. It will not be easy though as their rivals will be keen to take their respective scalps.

Sarries start their campaign at Newcastle Falcons and Leinster are also away to Cardiff Blues in their opener.

Elsewhere, the Top 14 champions, Castres, host Lyon in that competition’s second round of matches.

PREMIERSHIP

Friday: The 2018/19 Premiership season kicks off at Ashton Gate on Friday where newly promoted Bristol host Bath in a highly-anticipated West Country derby.

Saturday and Sunday: Four games take place in the Premiership on Saturday, while Newcastle Falcons and Saracens close out the weekend’s action at Kingston Park on Sunday.

Bristol v Bath: Bath by 6
Gloucester v Northampton: Gloucester by 3
Harlequins v Sale: Harlequins by 4
Worcester v Wasps: Wasps by 9
Exeter v Leicester: Exeter by 7
Newcastle v Saracens: Saracens by 5

PRO14

Friday: Three games take place on Friday in the opening round of the 2018/19 PRO14 season with champions Leinster starting their campaign away at Cardiff Blues.

Saturday: Four matches are scheduled to take place in the PRO14 on Saturday with Ulster facing the Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium the pick of the games.

Cardiff Blues v Leinster: Leinster by 10
Ospreys v Edinburgh: Ospreys by 6
Zebre v Southern Kings: Zebre by 9
Connacht vs Glasgow Warriors: Glasgow Warriors by 5
Ulster vs Scarlets: Scarlets by 3
Munster vs Cheetahs: Munster by 8
Dragons vs Benetton Rugby: Dragons by 4

TOP 14

Pau v Toulon: Toulon by 4
Stade Français v Bordeaux Bègles: Bordeaux by 7
Castres v Lyon: Castres by 5
Montpellier v La Rochelle: Montpellier by 5
Grenoble v Toulouse: Toulouse by 9
Racing 92 v Clermont Auvergne: Racing by 3
Agen v Perpignan: Agen by 6

CURRIE CUP

Pumas v Western Province: Western Province by 8
Free State Cheetahs v Sharks: Sharks by 18
Blue Bulls v Golden Lions: Golden Lions by 5

MITRE 10 CUP

North Harbour v Tasman: Tasman by 7
Hawke’s Bay v Counties Manukau: Hawke’s Bay by 3
Northland v Taranaki: Taranaki by 10

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With the Pro14 and Premiership beginning this weekend, we take a look at a game each from those leagues, while also giving the best bets from Racing v Clermont.

Ulster v Scarlets

After reaching the final last year and eventually losing to Leinster in the showpiece event, the Scarlets will be determined to go one better and reclaim the title they won in 2017.

They start with a potentially tough encounter at Ulster, who will be seeking to erase memories of a disappointing 2017/18 campaign, but the Irish province may struggle in the early rounds.

A change of management can, of course, pay immediate dividends but it may take time for head coach Dan McFarland get his ideas across to the team. It should therefore benefit the visitors, who are a slick unit under the guidance of Wayne Pivac.

The only questions is whether Pivac’s confirmed departure for Wales at the end of the current season will disrupt the Welsh region but, at 29/20 with Unibet, it seems a good shout for this encounter.

Meanwhile, the hosts are 4/6 favourites at Bet365, Coral and Betfred to claim a victory and begin their campaign in positive fashion.

Should McFarland’s men start well then Henry Speight and Craig Gilroy are seen as the most likely to cross the whitewash first with them 8/1 at Bet365, but Steff Evans is perhaps worth backing for the Scarlets (10/1 with various companies).

Harlequins v Sale Sharks

Similar to Ulster v Scarlets, this is a match between a team who have endured serious upheaval and a club that have enjoyed continuity over the off-season.

While Quins saw their coaching staff depart, leading to Paul Gustard being installed as their head of rugby, it was business as usual for Sale, who saw little change.

They have made a few high quality additions in Chris Ashton and Rohan Janse van Rensburg and, although the departures of Will Addison and Mike Haley are a blow, Steve Diamond has an excellent side at his disposal.

Despite that and the uncertainty as to how the Londoners will perform under Gustard, the Sharks are 9/5 outsiders at William Hill, while the same company are backing the hosts to win with odds of 4/9.

Both teams have plenty of game breakers and the battle of the back three will be particularly interesting. Although Sale are without Chris Ashton, a combination of Byron McGuigan, Denny Solomona and Marland Yarde are potentially lethal. They will be up against Mike Brown, Nathan Earle and Aaron Morris, who could be equally destructive, but the Greater Manchester outfit will fancy their chances at the Twickenham Stoop.

Steve Diamond’s men can be slow starters away from home but, should they find their rhythm in the second half, it is 9/1 at Betfred for Quins to be leading at the break and the visitors to secure the win.

Racing 92 v Clermont Auvergne

This is the best game of the weekend in the Top 14 but also the most intriguing from a betting standpoint as the 2016 champions host the 2017 winners of the competition.

Both ultimately suffered disappointment last season with Racing failing to pick up a trophy, despite being in contention in both Europe and domestically, while Clermont endured a torrid year.

However, the teams should firmly be in contention this time around after impressing in the opening round. The Parisians are unsurprisingly favourites having superbly dispatched of Toulon the previous weekend, with Bet365, Sky Bet and Betfair offering odds of 1/3, but the visitors should not be discounted.

Although Clermont were poor in 2017/18 and were also thrashed 58-6 in the corresponding fixture last year, they appear to have re-found their focus. For that reason, the bookmakers haven’t made their prices too long but 13/5 with Betfair and Paddy Power seems a reasonable bet.

It should be close, albeit Racing may just have the edge, and they are 9/2 at Black Type to win by 6-10 points. However, if Auvergne are to shock the home team, you can get them at 13/2 with the same company to emerge victorious by 1-5 points.

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Western Province continued with their brilliant start to the Currie Cup season when they thrashed the Pumas 57-28 in Nelspruit on Friday.

As the scoreline suggests, the champions delivered a dominant display as they controlled proceedings from start to finish and they eventually outscored their hosts by eight tries to four with Sergeal Petersen leading the way with a deserved brace after a superb all-round performance.

The visitors made their intentions known from the outset as they ran the ball from all areas of the field and they opened the scoring courtesy of a try from Kobus van Wyk, who ran onto a pass from Jano Vermaak inside the Pumas’ 22 after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Western Province continued to dominate and extended their lead in the 15th minute when Petersen crossed for his first try in Western Province colours. This, after Vermaak and Ruhan Nel did well to trade passes close to their 10-metre line before Vermaak offloaded to Petersen, who had an easy-run in.

Shortly afterwards, Petersen turned provider when he got a pass out to Nel, who stepped past a couple of defenders before crossing for the men from the Cape’s third try.

SP Marais converted all three those tries which meant Western Province were cruising with the score 21-0 in their favour.

And in the 27th minute, Province went further ahead when Marais gathered a long pass from Damian de Allende before crossing in the left-hand corner to secure a bonus point for his side.

To their credit, the home side did not surrender and on the half-hour mark they opened their account when Chris Smith did well to draw in Marais before offloading to JP Lewis, who dotted down.

Five minutes later, the home side narrowed the gap when Le Roux Roets barged over from close quarters for their second try.

Province finished the half stronger though and Marais added a penalty on the stroke of half-time which gave his side a 29-14 lead at the interval.

10 minutes after the restart, Petersen did brilliantly to gather a high ball, just outside the Pumas’ 22, before passing to Ernst van Rhyn, who crossed for his side’s fifth try.

The visitors continued to hold the upper hand and in the 55th minute they caught the Pumas napping when Scarra Ntubeni lobbed a ball to Sikhumbuzo Notshe at a line-out on their opponents’ five-metre line before the Springbok crashed over the try-line with a couple of defenders on his back.

And in the 62nd minute, Province went further ahead when De Allende stabbed a grubber kick through which Petersen gathered before crossing for his second try which Marais converted to bring up a half century of points for his side.

With the game in the bag, Province rung the changes but lost their defensive shape in the process which allowed the Pumas to score tries through Trompie Pretorius and Smith, but the visitors finished in style when Herschel Jantjies crossed for their eighth try to seal an emphatic win.

The scorers:

For Pumas:
Tries: Lewis, Roets, Pretorius, C Smith
Cons: C Smith 4

For Western Province
Tries: Van Wyk, Petersen 2, Nel, Marais, Van Rhyn, Notshe, Jantjies
Cons: Marais 7
Pen: Marais

Pumas: 15 Gerrit Smith, 14 JP Lewis, 13 Ryan Nell, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Neil Maritz, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Marné Coetzee, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Khwezi Mona
Replacements: 16 Marko Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Nardus van der Walt, 21 Reynier van Rooyen, 22 Trompie Pretorius

Western Province: 15 Dillyn Leyds (c), 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 SP Marais, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Herschel Jantjies, 21 Dan du Plessis, 22 Craig Barry

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Des van Wyk, Alex Jonker
TMO: Christie du Preez

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Two giants of the French game go head-to-head on Sunday as Racing 92 host Clermont Auvergne in the match of the Top14 weekend at the U Arena.

Elsewhere, Castres will be looking to build on an impressive opening day victory at Montpellier, while Vern Cotter’s men have a second tough encounter to open the year, this time against La Rochelle.

Stade Francais were another team to begin the campaign well and they have a potentially mouth-watering contest versus Bordeaux-Bègles.

Meanwhile, it could be an important weekend for both Agen and Perpignan. Those two clubs are expected to struggle this season and, after losing their first game, they will be searching for a win when they face-off at the Stade Armandie.

Saturday
Pau vs Toulon
Castres vs Lyon
Montpellier vs La Rochelle
Stade Francais vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Grenoble vs Toulouse

Sunday
Agen vs Perpignan
Racing 92 vs Clermont Auvergne

Pau vs Toulon
Stade du Hameau

Two teams who endured a disappointing opening round will look to get their campaigns kick-started in the first game of the weekend.

Simon Mannix’s charges were thrashed 41-19 by Bordeaux-Bègles while Toulon were disappointing in their 25-9 home defeat to Racing 92.

It was a poor start for Patrice Collazo having taken over as head coach from Fabien Galthie and he will demand a response on Saturday in what should be a tough challenge. Although Pau struggled against UBB, there is plenty of talent in their ranks, which will no doubt test the three-time European champions.

Last season’s result: Pau won 38-26
Kick-off: 14:45 local (12:45 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Eric Soulan
TMO: Eric Gauzins

Castres vs Lyon
Stade Pierre-Fabre

Christophe Urios’ men picked up where they left off last season by defeating Montpellier 25-20 in a repeat of the 2018 final and they will look to back it up against Lyon.

It was yet another impressive performance by Castres, who once again overcame the financial disparity to beat Vern Cotter’s star-studded squad.

As a result, they will be favourites for this encounter with Lyon failing to take advantage of home comforts versus Toulouse last weekend.

Pierre Mignoni’s men could only draw with Les Rouge et Noir and the defending champions will expect to make it successive victories to start this campaign.

Last season’s result: Castres won 33-22
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon, Frederic Chazal
TMO: Eric Gonthier

Montpellier vs La Rochelle
Altrad Stadium

Following the defeat last week, Montpellier will no doubt be delighted that they have another home game to find their form.

Vern Cotter’s outfit were stunned by Castres for the second time in three months and will need to claim a victory here, otherwise the pressure could increase on their head coach.

They were almost unbeatable at home in 2017/18 but, with them succumbing to the champions in Round One, La Rochelle may sense an opportunity to inflict a second loss of the campaign.

That seems unlikely, however, with the visitors struggling to overcome Grenoble in their opening match, while they are also awaiting the arrival of new boss Jono Gibbes.

Last season’s result: Montpellier won 40-24
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Akim Hadj-Bachir

Stade Francais vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Jean-Bouin

Both these sides severely underachieved in 2017/18, but they gave notice of their potential in the first game of this campaign.

After just avoiding being dragged into the bottom two last season, Stade Francais began superbly by defeating Perpignan 46-15, despite playing over 40 minutes with 14 men following Sergio Parisse’s red card.

Bordeaux also broke the 40-point mark by beating Pau at the Stade Chaban-Delmas and it appears as though these two could be genuine play-off contenders.

Saturday’s match will therefore tell us a little bit more about the teams but the Parisians, now under the guidance of Heyneke Meyer, seem to be in a particularly good place.

Last season’s result: Stade won 22-12
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Vincent Blasco-Baque
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset, Laurent Breil
TMO: Cedric Marchat

Grenoble vs Toulouse
Stade des Alpes

Grenoble surprised many last weekend by being very competitive against an ambitious La Rochelle team, but can they repeat that performance against Toulouse?

Les Rouge et Noir did well away at the struggling teams in 2017/18 and, against a side who are expected to reside near the bottom of the table, Ugo Mola’s men will expect to claim the four points.

Although they look slightly weaker on paper this season, Mola’s charges gained a creditable draw at Lyon in Round One and should have too much for the hosts.

Last season’s result: Did not play
Kick-off: 20:45 local (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Mathieu Delpy, Richard Duhau
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure

Agen vs Perpignan
Stade Armandie

Even at this stage of the campaign, this could be perceived as a crucial clash between two sides who are expected to struggle in the Top 14.

For Agen, they did remarkably well to survive last season but, having lost Pierre Fouyssac and Filipo Nakosi to Toulouse and Toulon respectively, it appears an uphill battle for Philippe Sella’s charges.

At Perpignan, meanwhile, hopes were higher for Christian Lanta’s men but they were completely outplayed by Stade Francais in the opening game of the season.

It was a reality check for the newly-promoted club and they will need to be significantly better this weekend.

Last season’s result: Did not play
Kick-off: 12:30 local (10:30 GMT)
Referee: Julien Castaignede
Assistant referees: Mathieu Noirot, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Bruno Bessot

Racing 92 vs Clermont Auvergne
U Arena

The game of the weekend sees two of the Top 14 titles favourites go head-to-head attempting to build on last weekend’s impressive victories.

Clermont Auvergne looked in fine form against Agen, thrashing Philippe Sella’s outfit 67-23, while Racing 92 superbly dispatched Toulon with Finn Russell enjoying a fine debut.

After signing from Glasgow Warriors over the summer, the Scotland international settled in immediately and will hope to take that performance into this encounter.

With both teams full of star quality, it should be an outstanding contest, but the home side seem to have the edge at the moment.

Last season’s result: Racing won 58-6
Kick-off: 16:50 local (14:50 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Sebastien Minery

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