EMILIANO BOFFELLI RETURNS FOR EDINBURGH WHILE STORMERS AND DRAGONS STALWARTS HIT BIG MILESTONES

The 2023/24 United Rugby Championship season rumbles on this weekend with Round 15’s action, which includes the highly anticipated clash between the Stormers and table-toppers Leinster at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

Edinburgh have been boosted by the return from injury of Argentina star Emiliano Boffelli, who lines up on the right wing for their away clash against Cardiff.

Meanwhile, it will be momentous occasions for Stormers prop Brok Harris and Dragons hooker Elliot Dee as both players are set to play make their 150th appearance for their teams in their respective matches against Leinster and Connacht.

Check on the team news for the weekend, here.

Friday

Scarlets v Sharks

The teams

Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Tomi Lewis, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Morgan Jones, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias

Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Steff Thomas, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jac Price, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Ryan Conbeer

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Vincent Tshituka, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche

Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Gerbrandt Grobler, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Francois Venter

Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

Kick-off: 19:35 GMT

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (WRU), Dewi Phillips (WRU)

TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)

Ulster v Benetton

The teams

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 Will Addison, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 David McCann, 7 Reuben Crothers, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Alan O’Connor (c), 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Eric O’Sullivan

Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 James French, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Greg Jones, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Ethan McIlroy

Benetton: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Leonardo Marin, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Rhyno Smith, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Edoardo Iachizzi, 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simione Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Thomas Gallo

Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Filippo Drago

Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Kick-off: 19:35 GMT

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

Assistant Referees: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU), Padraig Reidy (IRFU)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Saturday

Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors

The teams

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Franco Smith Jr, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Scott Gregory, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli (c), 9 Thomas Dominguez, 8 Giacomo Ferrari, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Dylan de Leeuw, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Danilo Fischetti

Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Samuele Taddei, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 David Sisi, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Fetuli Paea, 23 Taina Fox-Matamua

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Allan Dell

Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Gregor Brown, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan

Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma

Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

Assistant Referees: Filipo Russo (FIR), Manuel Bottino (FIR)

TMO: Colin Stanley (IRFU)

Taulupe Faletau discovers his fate as latest injury setback revealed

Bulls v Ospreys

The teams

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Jannes Kirsten, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Valt, 23 Devon Williams

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Luke Davies, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Morgan Morse, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Ratti, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Evardi Boshoff

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Kick-off: 15:00 local (14:00 GMT)

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)

Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadzweni (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)

TMO: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

Cardiff v Edinburgh

The teams

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Harri Millard, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Ben Donnell, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Rhys Carré

Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Thomas Young, 21 James Botham, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Jacob Beetham

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Luke Crosbie, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman

Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Chris Dean

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park

Kick-off: 15:05 GMT

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

Assistant Referees: Maickel English (WRU), Elgan Williams (WRU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Lions v Munster

The teams

Lions: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Morgan Naude

Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 JP Smith, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Ruan Venter, 21 Sibusiso Sangweni, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Gianni Lombard

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Seán O’Brien, 11 Shane Daly 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 RG Snyman, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Mike Haley

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 GMT)

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)

Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs (SARU), Dylen November (SARU)

TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)

Stormers v Leinster

The teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane

Leinster: 15 Henry McErlean, 14 Liam Turner, 13 Ben Brownlee, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rob Russell, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Cormac Foley, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny (c), 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 John McKee, 1 Michael Milne

Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Diarmuid Mangan, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Martin Moloney

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Kick-off: 19:05 local (18:05 GMT)

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU), Christopher Allison (SARU)

TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

Dragons v Connacht

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Ewan Rosser, 10 Cai Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Harri Keddie, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Rhodri Jones

Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 George Nott, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Che Hope, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 John Porch, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley

Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Paul Boyle

Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport

Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (WRU), Gareth Newman (WRU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

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2024-04-26T12:29:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd