PRO14 Preview: Sunday


Three games are scheduled to take place on Sunday with Zebre, Ospreys and the Southern Kings hosting Munster, Glasgow Warriors and the Scarlets respectively.

Zebre v Munster

New Munster head coach Johann van Graan has named his matchday squad with James Hart making his first start – following his summer move from Racing 92 – for the Irish province at scrum-half in place of the injured Duncan Williams.

After scoring his first two tries for Munster off the bench against Dragons, Sam Arnold is promoted to the starting XV in place of Chris Farrell, who starts for Ireland against Argentina.

Darren Sweetnam returns from international duty to take his place on the wing after making his Ireland debut against South Africa and scoring his first international try against Fiji.

Simon Zebo maintains his place at full-back with Alex Wootton on the left wing and Rory Scannell at inside centre as JJ Hanrahan, who was 100 percent off the kicking tee with seven from seven last time out, partners Hart in the half-backs.

There are no changes to the forwards as Billy Holland captains the side having started every single game of Munster’s campaign thus far.

Rhys Marshall is named at hooker with Greencore Munster Rugby Academy player Liam O’Connor and tighthead Stephen Archer on either side of the front row.

Jean Kleyn partners Holland in the engine room and Jack O’Donoghue, Chris Cloete and Robin Copeland form the back row.

Academy scrum-half Jack Stafford is in line to make his Munster debut off the bench with fellow Academy man Calvin Nash and out-half Bill Johnston also among the replacements.

Kevin O’Byrne, Brian Scott and Ciaran Parker provide the front row cover with Darren O’Shea set to make his second senior appearance of the campaign as Academy lock Sean O’Connor completes the forward cover.

Zebre head coach Michael Bradley, meanwhile, has made several changes to his starting line-up for this encounter after their Round Eight defeat to Cardiff Blues.

Only five players retain their places in the starting line-up although Giulio Bisegni, who is the only survivor in the backline, switches to outside centre from the right wing.

Meanwhile in the forwards, tighthead prop Eduardo Bello, lock Leonard Krumov, flanker Johan Meyer and number eight Derrick Minnie retain their places.

There are debuts for right wing Pierre Bruno, Australian loosehead prop Cruze Ah-Nau and New Zealand lock James Tucker. 

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Ciaran Gaffney, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Faialaga Afamasaga, 11 Giovanni D’Onofrio, 10 Maicol Azzolini, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Derick Minnie, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jacopo Sarto (c), 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 James Tucker, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Luhandre Luus, 1 Cruze Ah-Nau 
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Roberto Tenga, 19 Davide Fragnito, 20 Maxime Mbandà, 21 Riccardo Raffaele, 22 Matteo Pratichetti, 23 Valerio Bernabò

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Sam Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 James Hart, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Liam O’Connor
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Brian Scott, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Sean O’Connor, 21 Jack Stafford, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Calvin Nash

Date: Sunday, 26 November
Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 14:30 local (13:30 GMT)
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Keith Allen (Scotland), Vincenzo Schipani
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors

Ospreys head coach Stteve Tandy has named a strong matchday squad for their clash with Glasgow Warriors at the Liberty Stadium.

Veteran loosehead prop Paul James leads the side and he is joined in the front row by fellow prop Dmitri Arhip and hooker Sam Parry while Bradley Davies and Lloyd Ashley pack down in the second row.

James King starts at number eight while Guy Mercer and Olly Cracknell are the two flankers. In the back-line, Sam Davies and Tom Habberfield form the half-back combination with Ashely Beck and Joe Thomas form the midfield conbination.

Dan Evans will play at full-back while Hanno Dirksen and Jeff Hassler start on the wings.

Glasgow boss Dave Rennie will hand five players their Warriors debuts as the team look to continue their unbeaten start to the PRO14.

Italian international Samuela Vunisa recovered from a knee injury to play club rugby a fortnight ago and will pull on a Warriors jersey for the first time packing down at the back of the scrum.

In front of him, lock Kiran McDonald will play his first competitive match for Glasgow, he is joined in the row by Scott Cummings who is one of five players to have been released from Scotland camp.

Callum Gibbins will once again captain the side while Matt Smith starts on the other flank. Alex Allan, Pat MacArthur and D’Arcy Rae all pack down in the front row.

Ruaridh Jackson starts at full-back. Joining him in the back three is Lelia Masaga and Leonardo Sarto who is available to play having been released by Italy.

Nick Grigg joins Sam Johnson in the midfield while George Horne and Adam Hastings continue to develop their half back partnership.

Tongan international Siua Halanukonuka is in line to make his debut off the bench having arrived from New Zealand following the conclusion of the Mitre 10 Cup.

Rugby Academy’s Hamilton Burr and Kaleem Barreto are also included amongst the replacements, their performances in the BT Premiership catching the eye of the Warriors coaches this season.

George Turner and Lee Jones start on the bench both having been involved in Scotland’s Autumn Internationals against Samoa and New Zealand.

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Joe Thomas, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Paul James (c) 
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Will Jones, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Dafydd Howells

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Matt Smith, 6 Callum Gibbins (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Kiran McDonald, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alex Allan
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Siua Halanukonuka, 19 Hamilton Burr, 20 Lewis Wynne, 21 Kaleem Barreto, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Lee Jones

Date: Sunday, 26 November
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gareth John (Wales), Elgan Williams (Wales)

Southern Kings v Scarlets

Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids has handed new recruit Anthony Volmink a debut on the left wing in this clash against the defending champions.

Volmink replaces Alshaun Bock in the run-on side and lines up in a back three alongside Michael Makase (right wing) and Yaw Penxe (full-back). Martin Nel wil start at inside centre if he passes a late fitness test. Jacques Nel will start in his place if he is ruled unfit.

The only other change is in the forwards, where  Martinus Burger takes over from Jurie van Vuuren on the blindside flank.

Meanwhile, Scarlets boss Wayne Pivac has selected an exciting and experienced side with scrum-half Jonathan Evans named as captain.

25-year-old Evans will lead the side in their first of two South African clashes with the Scarlets looking to further cement their place at the top of Conference B.

Josh Macleod is the only change to the pack the started against Benetton Rugby a few weeks ago with the 21-year-old homegrown talent replacing John Barclay, who is on international duty with his native Scotland.

Fellow back-row Will Boyde will make his 50th appearance for the region as he takes to the field on Sunday.

Pivac has made three changes to the backline that took on Benetton with Paul Asquith moving from the wing to inside centre to link up with former Wales U20 captain Steff Hughes with 19-year-old Ioan Hughes coming in on the wing.

The teams:

Southern Kings: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Martin du Toit/Jacques Nel, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Oliver Zono, 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 Jurie van Vuuren, 20 Dries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Harlon Klaasen

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Jonathan Evans (c), 8 Josh Macleod, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Lewis Rawlins, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Dylan Evans
Replacements; 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Rhys Fawcett, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Jack Condy, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Ioan Hughes, 23 Morgan Williams

Date: Sunday, 26 November
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa), Rodney Boneparte (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Photo credit: Official Munster Rugby website

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