Saturday's Round Eight PRO14 action sees four games with Ulster travelling to South Africa for the first time to face the Southern Kings.
Southern Kings v Ulster
Schalk Ferreira will lead the Kings during Saturday’s match against Ulster in Zwide in the absence of regular captain Mike Willemse.
Coach Deon Davids has made three personnel changes and a positional switch to his starting line-up.
Yaw Penxe moves from the wing to full-back in place of Masixole Banda, Michael Makase replaces Penxe on the right wing, while Oliver Zono will start at fly-half ahead of Martin du Toit.
The only change up front sees Stephan Coetzee come in for injured captain Willemse, with Ferreira given the captain’s armband for the game.
Meanwhile, Craig Gilroy is set to make his 150th provincial appearance after being named in Ulster's starting XV.
The PRO14 Round 8 tie is Ulster's first ever competitive fixture on South African soil.
Gilroy, who scored two tries on his senior debut against Cardiff Blues back in November 2010, has not featured for Les Kiss' side this season after picking up a back injury during pre-season.
Chris Henry will captain the team for the historic fixture and he will be joined in the back row by Sean Reidy and Matty Rea, who will be making his seventh appearance of the season.
Andy Warwick, John Andrew and Wiehahn Herbst make up the front row, while Kieran Treadwell, a member of Ireland's squad for the November Series, is paired with Al O'Connor in the second row.
John Cooney has recovered from injury to partner Christian Lealiifano at half-back, with Darren Cave and Louis Ludik combining in midfield.
Gilroy is joined in the back three by Charles Piutau and Andrew Trimble, who became Ulster's most capped player a fortnight ago versus La Rochelle.
Scrum-half Jonny Stewart – a debutant in the game against Leinster at the weekend – is named among the replacements along with fellow Academy player Adam McBurney (hooker).
Callum Black, Ross Kane, Robbie Diack and Clive Ross are the forwards in reserve, while Peter Nelson and Tommy Bowe are the additional backline options for Kiss.
The teams:
Southern Kings: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Oliver Zono, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira (c)
Replacements: 16 Tango Balekile, 17 Miami Majola, 18 Martin Dreyer//Luvuyo Pupuma, 19 Lindokuhle Welemu, 20 Dries van Schalkwyk, 21 Rowan Gouws, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Jarryd Sage
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Louis Ludik, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 John Cooney, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry (c), 6 Matty Rea, 5 Alan O'Connor, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Callum Black, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 Peter Nelson, 23 Tommy Bowe
Date: Saturday October 4
Venue: Isaac Wolfson Stadium
Kick-Off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Ben Crouse (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Edinburgh v Ospreys
Edinburgh Head coach Richard Cockerill has made seven changes to the side that earned a hard-fought victory in Treviso last weekend.
After making his 50th appearance for the club against Benetton, Blair Kinghorn once again starts at full-back. The 20-year-old is joined in the back-three by Dougie Fife, who takes his spot on the wing after notching a brace last weekend, and Tom Brown, who returns to the starting XV following a two-week absence.
In midfield, Phil Burleigh and James Johnstone continue their centre partnership whilst Jason Tovey starts at fly-half, partnered by recent Scotland call-up, Nathan Fowles.
A revamped front-row sees Neil Cochrane get the nod at hooker. The 33-year-old packs down alongside Michele Rizzo and Simon Berghan. In the second-row, Grant Gilchrist returns to the starting XV to partner Fraser McKenzie, who skippers the side as they search for their fifth consecutive win in all competitions.
The only alteration to otherwise unchanged back-row sees Jamie Ritchie replace Hamish Watson at openside flanker. Luke Crosbie and Cornell du Preez make up the remainder of the loose forwards.
Meanwhile, Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said: “It was great to pick up the five points against the Dragons last weekend and we have to build on that this Saturday night before the championship breaks off for a couple of weeks.
“Edinburgh have been in good form and will be confident going into this game off the back of four straight wins across the PRO14 and Europe. With Richard Cockerill in charge this season we know that we’ll face a physical, strong and well-drilled pack and we have to match that to give ourselves a platform.
“We’ve started to build some momentum ourselves, with good performances against some quality teams leading into the win against the Dragons, and we have to take that to another level and start to make some progress in the PRO14.
“With boys away on international duty over the next month, it’s important that people coming into the matchday 23 take their chance and really show what they are about. Looking back at the international windows last season, we were in pretty good shape and picked up some crucial wins, including up in Edinburgh in February. The players who are involved this month will be well aware of the responsibility on their shoulders, and on the whole they are the ones who delivered for us this time last year.
“There’s a good mix of experience who will be the core of the team for us this month with some exciting youngsters who will get their chance, be it on Saturday or across the coming weeks, particularly around the Anglo Welsh. The spirit in the group is positive and everyone is looking forward to the challenges that an international window will always pose, players and coaches alike.”
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Phil Bureligh, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Michele Rizzo
Replacements: 16 Cameron Fenton, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Magnus Bradbury, 20 Lewis Carmichael, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Glenn Bryce, 23 Chris Dean
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 James Hook, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Habberfield, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James (c)
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James King, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Luke Price, 23 Kieron Fonotia
Date: Saturday October 4
Venue: Myreside Stadium
Kick-Off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland), Bob Nevins (Scotland)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Cardiff Blues v Zebre
Gethin Jenkins will return to captain Cardiff Blues as one of 10 changes.
The front-row forward has been sidelined since April but leads an experienced pack against a rejuvenated Zebre side.
Jenkins packs down alongside Matthew Rees and Taufa’ao Filise in the front-row while Macauley Cook and Damian Welch form the second-row and Josh Turnbull starts at blindside flanker.
In the backs, Aled Summerhill and Garyn Smith start on the wing and in the centre respectively, while Lloyd Williams and Steve Shingler form a familiar half-back partnership.
Head coach Danny Wilson was pleased to have some selection dilemmas and expects a formidable challenge from an in-form Zebre outfit.
He said: “We have some senior players back and bolstering up-front that we’ve needed. That gives us a few selection decisions to make as opposed to perhaps not having them to make, so that’s pleasing.
“I’ve been really impressed with the changes at Zebre. From analysing the team, they’re bordering on being unrecognisable from what we’ve seen in the past.
“They’re playing a very different brand of rugby and have completely changed their approach. They’ve got some good personnel and athletes in there now and it’s going to be a new challenge for us.
“We’re keen to get back to winning ways, at home. We need to show what we showed out in Toulouse, against Lyon and in the second half against Dragons.
“If we can reproduce the form we’ve shown in recent weeks, we’ll hopefully pick up the win, but we know it’s going to be a challenge with the way Zebre are going at the moment.”
There are further returns from injury on the replacements bench with George Earle and Tom James back fit, while Ben Jones will make his first appearance of the season if he is called into action.
Meanwhile, Zebre head coach Michael Bradley has made just the one change to the side that narrowly lost to the Cheetahs last weekend.
On the wing Gabriele Di Giulio comes with Italian international Mattia Bellini moving to centre. In total there are nine internationals on the Zebre team sheet; seven starters and two forwards Chistolini and Giammarioli ready to take over from the bench.
Saturday could be a milestone day for Andrea De Marchi. If the loosehead prop of Montebelluna gets the opportunity to come off the bench at the Arms Park, he would become the first player in Zebre’s history to reach 100 official games since the foundation of the club back in December 1973. De Marchi is one of the few players who has been with Zebre from the start as they joined the PRO14. He is currently in his sixth season in Parma.
The synthetic pitch of Cardiff, a theatre of epic games adjoining Millenium Stadium, saw Zebre’s first ever away victory. Back in September 2013 Zebre beat the Blues 30-25 with three tries from Mauro Bergamasco, David Odiete and Brendon Leonard.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Blaine Scully 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Ollie Robinson, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Taufa’ao Filise, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c)
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 George Earle, 20 Sion Bennett, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Ben Jones, 23 Tom James
Zebre: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Mattia Bellini, 12 Tommaso Castello (c), 11 Gabriele Di Giulio, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Derick Minnie, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Giovanni Licata, 5 Valerio Bernabò, 4 Leonard Krumow, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Sami Panico
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Jacopo Sarto, 20 Renato Giammarioli, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Serafin Bordoli, 23 Ciaran Gaffney
Date: Saturday October 4
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-Off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant referees: David Wilkinson (Ireland), Mike English (Wales)
TMO: Neil Hennessey (Wales)
Connacht v Cheetahs
Winger Niyi Adeolokun makes his first start of the season for Connacht.
Adeolokun, who turned 27 on Friday, joins Tiernan O’Halloran and Darragh Leader in the back three, both of whom started in the win against Munster last weekend.
With three players away on international duty, Caolin Blade starts at scrum-half, Craig Ronaldson at inside centre and Quinn Roux in the second row as Connacht look to make it four wins in a row in all competitions.
In the back row Eoghan Masterson comes back in at blindside, Eoin McKeon starts at openside and Captain John Muldoon wears the number eight jersey.
Naulia Dawai also returning from injury is back in the match day 23 as he takes his place among the replacements. Ronaldson forms a centre partnership with Tom Farrell who scored the decisive try against Munster.
Speaking ahead of the game Farrell spoke of the need to get a result against Cheetahs before going into the two week break as the Autumn international will take centre stage.
“We have been steadily improving since the start of the season and we put together back to back wins in Europe and followed that up with a win against Munster last weekend. The atmosphere was fantastic in the Sportsground and the lift that the fans gave us made all the difference. But we will need to repeat that performance if we are to beat the Cheetahs on Saturday and go into the break with four wins in a row," Farrell said.
Meanwhile, Fred Zeilinga will be starting in his first PRO14 match at full-back, replacing Sergeal Petersen.
Luther Obi will be replacing Raymond Rhule on the right wing. Petersen and Rhule’s contracts with the Cheetahs ended in October. Both players joined the Stormers this week in Cape Town.
A new centre pair, with Tertuis Kruger and Nico Lee, replacing Francois Venter (called up to Springbok squad) and William Small-Smith who sustained a shoulder injury against Zebre last weekend. Tertius Kruger will be making his PRO14 debut.
Oupa Mohoje has been called up for Springbok duty. Junior Pokomela moves from flank to number eight. Jasper Wiese will be making his PRO14 debut at number seven.
Joseph Dweba is new to the bench, taking the place of Jacques du Toit who returned home for a wedding.
Dennis Visser and Zee Mkhabela joined the team this week in Ireland and will be making their PRO14 debuts when they set foot to field.
Ali Mgijima is new to the bench.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Fred Zeilinga, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Makazola Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Junior Pokomela, 7 Jasper Wiese, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Hugo, Reniel, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld (c), 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Dennis Visser, 20 Rynier Bernardo, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Shaun Venter
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Darragh Leader, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Niyi Adeolokun, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 John Muldoon (c), 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 James Cannon, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Denis Coulson, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Naulia Dawai, 21 Conor McKeon, 22 Steve Crosbie, 23 Matt Healy
Date: Saturday October 4
Venue: Sportsground
Kick-Off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: John Lacey, Kieran Barry (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
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