Springbok returns bolster Sharks and Ulster packs for Challenge Cup play-offs
Eben Etzebeth of the Sharks and Ulster's Steven Kitshoff.
The teams for this weekend’s Challenge Cup quarter-finals have been announced as the clubs battle it out for a place in the semi-finals.
Gloucester and Ospreys get the action underway on Friday evening with Saturday seeing Clermont host Ulster while the Sharks clash with Edinburgh.
The final spot in the semi-finals will be decided on Sunday when Benetton and Connacht face off.
Friday
Gloucester Rugby v Ospreys
Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Jonny May, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Jake Morris, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Freddie Thomas, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Jamal Ford-Robinson
Replacements: 16 Santi Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Albert Tuisue, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Caolan Engelfield, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Chris Harris
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Keiran Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Harri Deaves, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Max Nagy
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Tual Trainini (France), Jeremy Rozier (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
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Saturday
Sharks v Edinburgh
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Francois Venter
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Jacob Henry, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Bill Mata, 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 D’arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ali Price, 22 James Lang, 23 Chris Dean
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 BST)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (Eng), Adam Leal (Eng)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
Clermont v Ulster
Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Leon Darricarrere, 12 Julien Heriteau, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau (c), 8 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 7 Peceli Yato, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Thibault Lanen, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Yohan Beheregaray, 1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 18 Giorgi Dzmanashvili, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Alexandre Fischer, 21 Sebastien Bezy, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Joris Jurand
Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Mike Lowry, 10 Nathan Doak, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 David McCann, 6 Harry Sheridan, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Jake Flannery, 22 Ethan Mcilroy, 23 Marcus Rea
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 BST)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Joe James (Eng), Hamish Smales (Eng)
TMO: Dean Richards (Eng)
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Sunday
Benetton v Connacht
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Juan Ignacio Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Lorenzo Cannone, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Jacob Umaga
Connacht Rugby: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade (c), 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitlear, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Tom Farrell
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 BST)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ruairidh Campbell (Sco), Sam Grove-White (Sco)
TMO: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
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