There are three matches scheduled for Friday with Glasgow Warriors, Dragons and the Southern Kings hosting Cardiff Blues, Ulster and Edinburgh respectively.
Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues
Dave Rennie has re-introduced some of his internationals, whilst also rewarding his extended squad for their recent positive performances as Cardiff Blues come to a sold out Scotstoun.
It is a brand new half-back pairing with Henry Pyrgos and Peter Horne both returning from Scotland duty.
Outside of them Alex Dunbar also returns for his club, partnering Sam Johnson in the midfield, while it is the same back three that started in Glasgow’s record victory over the Ospreys last Sunday.
Tongan international Siua Halanukonuka makes his first start having impressed off the bench in Swansea. He joins George Turner and Alex Allan in the front-row.
With Ryan Wilson only joining up with the squad midway through the week, Callum Gibbins will continue to captain the side, the Scotalnd international number eight the only other change to the pack.
On the bench Jamie Bhatti is involved after featuring in all three of Scotland’s Autumn Internationals and Niko Matawalu will look to bring his spark to the match on his return from Fiji duty.
Elsewhere, Stuart Hogg is undergoing further investigations to determine the length of his absence, following the hip injury sustained last week ahead of the Australia game.
Gareth Anscombe will captain Cardiff Blues for the first time on Friday, as he lines up at full-back for the PRO14 clash against Glasgow.
The Welsh international is one of five changes from last week's 36-30 victory over Connacht, and takes the number 15 jersey following injuries to the likes of Matthew Morgan, Rhun Williams and Dan Fish.
Blaine Scully, who returns from international duty with USA, and Owen Lane, who penned his first professional Cardiff Blues contract earlier this week, join Anscombe to complete the back three.
Tomos Williams and Jarrod Evans continue their partnership at half-back, while Garyn Smith and Willis Halaholo retain their places in midfield.
Three changes are made to the pack, with Josh Turnbull returning to the blindside. Macauley Cook makes a positional move to combine with George Earle in the second-row, while Olly Robinson and Nick Williams keep their places in the back-row.
Further changes sees Brad Thyer and Kirby Myhill coming into the front row, lining up alongside Taufa'ao Filise, who edges ever-closer to his 250th appearance for the region.
The teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Peter Horne, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Matt Smith, 6 Callum Gibbins (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Kiran McDonald, 3 Siua Halanukonuka, 2 George Turner, 1 Alex Allan
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Brian Alainu’uese, 20 Samu Vunisa, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Niko Matawalu
Cardiff Blues: 15 Gareth Anscombe (c), 14 Owen Lane, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Macauley Cook, 4 George Earle, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 James Down, 20 Damian Welch, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Rey Lee-Lo, 23 Tom James
Date: Friday, December 1
Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Keith Allen (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew Cymene (Scotland)
Dragons v Ulster
Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman has named his side for Friday's PRO14 clash against Ulster with three changes made to the team that were defeated by Leinster last weekend.
The back three remain unchanged with Angus O’Brien retaining his place in the full-back position and Ashton Hewitt and Jared Rosser maintaining their spots on the wings. The centre partnership also has no changes made to it with Adam Warren and Jack Dixon named, as fly-half Gavin Henson is joined by youngster Dan Babos as the only change made to the backs.
Brok Harris returns to the front-row, from the bench, and is joined by hooker Liam Belcher who makes his first PRO14 start in a Dragons jersey, they make up the front-row alongside tighthead prop Lloyd Fairbrother. The second row sees Joe Davies, who recently signed an extension with the region, named with fellow lock Matthew Screech and the back-row remains unchanged as Ollie Griffiths captains the side.
The replacements bench sees Ellis Shipp, Gerard Ellis, Sam Hobbs, Rynard Landman, Ben Roach, Charlie Davies, Arwel Robson and Pat Howard all named.
Meanwhile, back-row Greg Jones and South African prop Schalk van der Merwe will start for Ulster for the first time after being selected to face the Welsh region.
The pair made their debuts as replacements in last weekend's PRO14 win versus Benetton Rugby at Kingspan Stadium.
Irish internationals Rory Best, Stuart McCloskey and Sean Reidy return to the squad after helping Ireland to an unbeaten November Series, with the latter two selected in Les Kiss' starting XV.
Paul Marshall, who won his 200th cap last week, will start at scrum-half, while Christian Lealiifano reverts to fly-half and retains the captaincy duties.
McCloskey will partner Tommy Bowe in midfield and Craig Gilroy, Louis Ludik and Charles Piutau will form a potent back three combination.
The only change in the front five sees van der Merwe included, as John Andrew, Ross Kane, Alan O'Connor and Kieran Treadwell retain their places within the team. Jones and Reidy will join Nick Timoney in the back-row.
Chris Henry has recovered from injury to take his place on the bench alongside fellow forwards Best, Callum Black, Andy Warwick and Matthew Dalton.
John Cooney, Peter Nelson and Andrew Trimble complete the matchday 23.
The teams:
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Dan Babos, 8 James Benjamin, 7 Ollie Griffiths (c), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Gerard Ellis, 18 Sam Hobbs, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 Ben Roach, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Arwel Robson, 23 Pat Howard
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Greg Jones, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Ross Kane, 2 John Andrew, 1 Schalk van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Callum Black, 18 Andrew Warwick, 19 Matthew Dalton, 20 Chris Henry, 21 John Cooney, 22 Peter Nelson, 23 Andrew Trimble
Date: Friday, December 1
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Keith Allen (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew Cymene (Scotland)
Southern Kings v Edinburgh
Kings head coach Deon Davids has been forced to make some alterations to his back-line after last weekend's narrow defeat to the Scarlets in Port Elizabeth.
Harlon Klaasen will wear the number 13 jersey with Berton Klaasen shifting from outside to inside centre where he replaces Martin du Toit, who sustained a shoulder injury against the Scarlets.
Meanwhile, Kurt Coleman takes over from Oliver Zono, who sits out this match due to concussion.
First-choice full-back Yaw Penxe and left wing Anthony Volmink are battling with leg injuries and will have to pass fitness tests before being cleared to play.
If they are ruled unfit then Masixole Banda and Alshaun Bock will wear the number 15 and 11 jerseys respectively.
On the replacements bench, Lubabalo Mtyanda takes over from Jurie van Vuuren as second-row back-up while Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Nel come into the squad as back-line cover in place of the promoted Coleman and Klaasen.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has welcomed back six members of Scotland's successful Autumn Tests squad for this game.
In the backs, Phil Burleigh returns to partner James Johnstone in the centre after making his international debut off the bench in last Saturday’s record 53-24 win over Australia at Murrayfield.
In the pack, Simon Berghan links up with hooker Neil Cochrane and fellow international prop Rory Sutherland who makes his first start of the season at loosehead.
In the second-row, Grant Gilchrist also returns from Scotland duty having come on as a replacement against the All Blacks and starting in the eight-try rout of Australia. He partners club captain Fraser Mckenzie.
Fijian international Viliame Mata keeps his place in the back-row and is joined by the experienced duo of Jamie Ritchie and Cornell du Preez, both of whom joined the squad in South Africa following their contribution to Scotland’s Autumn Test campaign.
The teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Yaw Penxe/Masixole Banda, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Anthony Volmink/Alshaun Bock, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Luvuyo Pupuma, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Dries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Jacques Nel
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Viliame Mata, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Fraser McKenzie (c), 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Cameron Fenton, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Glenn Bryce
Date: Friday, December 1
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Kick-off: 19:15 local (17:15 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Rodney Boneparte (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
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