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All this weekend's PRO14 team news
Round two of the Guinness PRO14 takes place this weekend with Saturday matches set for Treviso, Swansea, Limerick and Newport, with the final match following on Sunday at Glasgow. This is after Dragons open the round against Zebre in Wales on Friday.
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
BENETTON v LEINSTER (Stadio Monigo – KO 17:15 UK)
BENETTON: Jayden Hayward, Ratuva Tavuyara, Luca Morisi, Marco Zanon, Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Dewaldt Duvenage (capt); Cherif Traore, Hame Faiva, Tiziano Pasquali; Irne Herbst, Eli Snyman; Sebastian Negri, Abraham Steyn, Toa Halafihi. Reps: Gianmarco Lucchesi, Nicola Quaglio, Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Giovanni Pettinelli, Callum Braley, Edoardo Padovani.
– Ratuva Tavuyara, Marco Zanon and Monty Ioane named in an exciting backline to face champions.
Round 2 kicks off tonight with @DragonsRugby v @ZebreRugby ??
Fixtures below ?#GuinnessPRO14 pic.twitter.com/bNrvX3Ith8
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) October 9, 2020
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (capt), Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Ed Bryne, James Tracy, Michael Bent; Ryan Baird, James Ryan, Caelan Doris, Will Connors, Jack Conan. Reps: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Tom Clarkson, Ross Molony, Rhys Ruddock, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Jimmy O’Brien.
– Garry Ringrose named Leinster captain for the Italian PRO14 trip.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 66th competition game)
OSPREYS v ULSTER (Liberty Stadium – KO 17:15)
OSPREYS: Dan Evans; Mat Protheroe, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Luke Morgan, Stephen Myler, Rhys Webb; Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Tom Botha, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Olly Cracknell, Justin Tipuric (capt), Morgan Morris. Reps: Dewi Lake, Rhodri Jones, Ma’afu Fia, Bradley Davies, Dan Lydiate, Harri Morgan, Josh Thomas, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler.
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– Alun Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric all start for Ospreys.
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale, Matt Faddes, James Hume, Stewart Moore, Rob Lyttle, Ian Madigan, John Cooney; Jack McGrath, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (capt), Matthew Rea, Marcus Rea, Marcell Coetzee. Reps: Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Kieran Treadwell, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Louis Ludik, Sean Reidy.
– Ulster’s sibling pairing Marcus and Matty Rea start together for the first time with Ian Madigan and John Cooney named at half-back.
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 45th competition game)
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"He is a quality dude, a quality person"
– @simonzebo talked Andy Farrell, Ireland, Champions Cup and his infamous 2013 Lions forfeit on the new RugbyPass Offload show he is hosting with Dylan Hartley, Jamie Roberts and Ryan Wilson ?
https://t.co/O7l6izUc1F— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 8, 2020
MUNSTER v EDINBURGH (Thomond Park – KO 19:35)
MUNSTER: Mike Haley, Andrew Conway, Alex McHenry, Rory Scannell, Matt Gallagher; Ben Healy, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Rhys Marshall, John Ryan; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne, Jack O’Donoghue, Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander (capt). Reps: Kevin O’Byrne, James Cronin, Roman Salanoa, Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Dan Goggin.
– Ben Healy starts for Munster after last-minute round one winner, Alex McHenry makes first start alongside Matt Gallagher in the backline.
EDINBURGH: Damien Hoyland; Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, George Taylor, Duhan van der Merwe; Jaco van der Walt, Nic Groom; Rory Sutherland, Stuart McInally (co-capt), WP Nel; Ben Toolis, Grant Gilchrist (co-capt); Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Nick Haining. Reps: Mike Willemse, Pierre Schoeman, Simon Berghan, Andrew Davidson, Mesulame Kunavula, Dan Nutton, Nathan Chamberlain, James Johnstone.
– Guinness players’ player of the season Duhan van der Merwe returns for Edinburgh.
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 185th competition game)
– Nigel Owens makes 185th appearance in PRO14 after he was named as the referee for the upcoming European Champions Cup final.
CARDIFF BLUES v CONNACHT (Rodney Parade – KO 19:35)
CARDIFF: Matthew Morgan; Josh Adams, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Hallam Amos; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Corey Domachowski, Kirby Myhill, Dillon Lewis, Seb Davies, Cory Hill (capt), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Olly Robinson, James Botham. Reps: Kristian Dacey, Rhys Carre, Dmitri Arhip, Ben Murphy, Alun Lawrence, Lewis Jones, Jason Tovey, Garyn Smith.
– Cardiff include six players named in the Wales squad this week while Olly Robinson returns to the back row. Jason Tovey needs just twelve points to reach 1,000 in the PRO14.
CONNACHT: John Porch, Peter Sullivan, Sammy Arnold, Bundee Aki, Alex Wooton, Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Gavin Thornbury, Quinn Roux; Eoghan Masterson, Conor Oliver, Jarrad Butler (capt). Reps: Shane Delahunt, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Ultan Dillane, Paul Boyle, Stephen Kerins, Conor Fitzgerald, Tom Daly.
– Sammy Arnold and Bundee Aki team up in midfield while Eoghan Masterson makes his 93rd appearance.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 2nd competition game)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
GLASGOW WARRIORS v SCARLETS (Scotstoun – KO 17:15)
GLASGOW: Huw Jones; Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Stafford McDowall, Ratu Tagive, Adam Hastings, Ali Price; Oli Kebble, Fraser Brown (capt); Rob Harley, Scott Cummings; Ryan Wilson, Tom Gordon, Matt Fagerson. Reps: George Turner, Aki Seiuli, D’arcy Rae, Richie Gray, Chris Fusaro, George Horne, Pete Horne, Niko Matawalu.
– Richie Gray to make 50th Glasgow appearance as Zander Fagerson returns for the Scots.
SCARLETS: Leigh Halfpenny; Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies (capt), Johnny Williams, Steff Evans; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Sam Lousi, Blade Thomson, Josh Macleod, Sione Kalamafoni. Reps: Ken Owens, Phil Price, Javan Sebastian, Lewis Rawlins, James Davies, Kieran Hardy, Rhys Patchell, Steff Hughes.
– Samson Lee makes his 150th Scarlets appearance with 2017 Lions man of the series Jonathan Davies is named as captain.
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 36th competition game)
Welsh favourite Jamie Roberts provided excellent insight on RugbyPass Offload about the disease that is stalking the game https://t.co/Ujvhc5aBGL
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 8, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments