The 2022/23 United Rugby Championship season returns this weekend, with the highly anticipated South African derby between the Bulls and Sharks in Pretoria on Sunday.
Check on the team news and see our predictions for the action, here.
Friday
Stormers v Scarlets
Prediction: Stormers by 8
The teams:
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Tom Price, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Harri O’Connor, 2 Daf Hughes, 1 Steff Thomas
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Blade Thomson, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Steff Evans
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19:00 local (17:00 GMT)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Paul Mente (South Africa)
TMO: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Ulster v Zebre Parma
Prediction: Ulster by 20
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Callum Reid
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 David McCann, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Ben Moxham
Zebre Parma: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Richard Kriel, 12 Enrico Lucchin (c), 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Giacomo Ferrari, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Jacques Du Toit, 1 Juan Pitinari
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Joey Caputo, 23 Erich Cronjé
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Saturday
Bulls v Ospreys
Prediction: Bulls by 10
The teams:
Bulls: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 David Kriel, 12 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Jano Swanepoel, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Tiaan Thoas-Wheeler, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Will Hickey, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Garyn Phillips
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Fender, 20 Jack Regan, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Luke Scully, 23 Cai Evans
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Benetton v Edinburgh
Prediction: Edinburgh by 5
The teams:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Tommaso Menoncello
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Charlie Savala, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Luke Crosbie (c), 6 Nick Haining, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Angus Williams, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Jamie Jack, 18 Lee Roy Atalifo, 19 Glen Young, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Chris Dean
Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
Leinster v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Leinster by 10
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Rob Russell, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Ronan Kellerher, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Chris Cosgrave
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Lewis Bean, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Ross Thompson
Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Andy Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
📢 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT | The Munster side to face Connacht at Thomond Park tomorrow at 7.35pm has been named.
We welcome back a number of returning internationals led by Captain Peter O'Mahony, & Antoine Frisch makes his 1st #BKTURC start.
See full details ⤵️#MUNvCON #SUAF 🔴
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) November 25, 2022
Munster v Connacht
Prediction: Munster by 8
The teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Alex Kendellen, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Gavin Coombes
Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Oisín Dowling, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Paul Boyle
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Sunday
Lions v Dragons
Prediction: Lions by 12
The teams:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruhan Straeuli, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Zander du Plessis
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 David Richards, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Jack Dixon,11 Sio Tomkinson, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Ross Moriarty (c), 7 Ben Fry, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 James Benjamin, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Che Hope, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Jordan Williams
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 16:00 local (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Sharks v Cardiff
Prediction: Sharks by 6
The teams:
Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter (c), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Dian Bleuler
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ben Tapuai
Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Botham, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Gwilym Bradley, 21 James Ratti, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Mason Grady
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 18:10 local (16:10 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Click Here: cheap nrl merchandise
