There are two games scheduled in the PRO14 on Friday as Edinburgh face Benetton Rugby at Murrayfield while Cardiff Blues play host to the Cheetahs.
Edinburgh v Benetton Rugby
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has named a full-strength XV ahead of their vital PRO14 encounter against Benetton at Murrayfield.
Eight international stars return to the starting XV, with nine changes in total to the team that faced Leinster in Dublin last weekend.
In the backline, Scotland caps Blair Kinghorn, Matt Scott and Henry Pyrgos are all reinstated, while former New Zealand U20 captain Simon Hickey gets the nod at fly-half following a replacement appearance from the bench at the RDS Arena last weekend.
In the pack, captain Stuart McInally returns at hooker alongside experienced tighthead prop, WP Nel. Grant Gilchrist makes his fourth appearance of the season in the second-row, while Hamish Watson and Fijian internationalist, Bill Mata – who missed the last two fixtures due to injury – feature in the back-row.
Meanwhile, Benetton will be looking to bounce back after last week’s 27-10 loss to Ospreys and name Jayden Hayward at full-back with Ratuva Tavuyara and Luca Sperandio on the wings.
Tommaso Iannone and Luca Morisi will be the centres while the half-backs are Dewaldt Duvenage at scrum-half and Tommaso Allan at fly-half.
Up front Cherif Traore and Marco Riccioni pack down either side of hooker Luca Bigi while Marco Fuser and captain Dean Budd are the locks.
Finally, the back-row sees Sebastian Negri, Marco Barbini and Robert Barbieri completing the XV chosen by head coach Kieran Crowley.
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Juan Pablo Socino
Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Marco Barbini, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Cherif Traore
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Ignacio Brex
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Elgan Williams (Wales), Keith Allen (Scotland)
Television match official: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Cardiff Blues v Cheetahs
Cardiff Blues boss John Mulvihill has made three changes for their PRO14 showdown with the Cheetahs at Cardiff Arms Park.
Following an impressive bonus-point triumph over Munster, Mulvihill’s men will be determined to secure back-to-back wins as they put their campaign back on track.
All of the changes come up front with Scott Andrews starting at tighthead prop, Rory Thornton returning at second-row and Olly Robinson coming into the back-row.
Josh Turnbull reverts to the back-row with Mulvihill selecting a fast and mobile XV to take on the South African outfit.
Steven Shingler returns to the replacements and is set for his first PRO14 appearance of the season, while Sion Bennett returns to the first-team squad for the first time since last November.
“It is vitally important that we back up what was a really good performance and result against Munster with another win against the Cheetahs on Friday night,” said Mulvihill.
“We have selected a side to suit our game-plan but also to ensure players are managed sufficiently, to get through the season, and that others are given opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith has made just one alteration to his run-on side which drew with Ulster in Bloemfontein last weekend.
Ryno Eksteen comes into the starting line-up at full-back where he replaces the injured Malcom Jaer. This means Daniel Maartens is the new face on the replacements bench as backline cover.
Smith is happy that he is able to keep changes to his matchday squad to a minimum.
“It’s good to have continuity, which is an important factor for team to grow,” he said.
“With continuity we can learn from mistakes and grow for form a good base. This tour is important to give the next step towards winning and doing better away from home. Cardiff offers a big challenge. They are well prepared and we expect a fast game on the artificial ground.”
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 Ellis Jenkins (c), 6 Olly Robinson, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 George Earle, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Sion Bennett, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Garyn Smith
Cheetahs: 15 Ryno Eksteen, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Sibhale Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (c), 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Jean-Pierre Du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jacques Du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Günther Janse van Vuuren, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Stephan Malan, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Louis Fouche
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Joy Neville (Ireland), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
Television match official: Jon Mason (Wales)