Springbok World Cup winner makes long awaited Stormers return while veteran prop hits 200 for Edinburgh

The United Rugby Championship returns as all 16 teams take to the field, including the Stormers, who face Edinburgh in a huge match.

The big team news comes from that match where double Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok Frans Malherbe is set to play his first game for the Stormers since sustaining a back injury at last year’s global showpiece in France, while veteran Edinburgh prop WP Nel will make his 200th appearance for the Scottish capital outfit.

Check out all the teams below.

Friday

Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Henco Venter, 22 George Horne, 23 Duncan Munn

Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Max Clark, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 3 Will Davies-King, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 Owen Lane

Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Sam O’Neil (Scotland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Scotland)

Ospreys v Munster

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Cameron Jones, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Owen Watkin

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Sean O’Brien, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen (c), 6 John Hodnett, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jack O’Donoghue, 20 Ruadhan Quinn, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Shay McCarthy  

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Rhys Jones (Wales), Carwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Scotland)

Saturday

Sharks v Ulster

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 George Cronje, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntithuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Francois Venter

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Mike Lowry, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 David McCann, 6 Harry Sheridan, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jude Postlethwaite, 23 Sean Reffell

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Colin Brett (South Africa)

Eben Etzebeth to take charge of Sharks ‘physical department’ in search of better form

Scarlets v Benetton

Scarlets: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Tomi Lewis, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies (c), 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Teddy Leatherbarrow, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Harri O’Connor, 2 Shaun Evans, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Eddie James, 23 Steff Evans

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Filippo Drago, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Toa Halafihi, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (C), 4 Iachizzi Edoardo, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Federico Zani
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Leonardo Marin

Venue: Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Rhys Jones (Wales), Elliot Mayor (Wales)
TMO: Frank Murphy (Ireland)

🏰🟠 Your Edinburgh Rugby team to face DHL Stormers in Cape Town tomorrow evening – live on @ViaplaySportsUK @URCOfficial | #STOvEDI pic.twitter.com/j60PhcxGQO

— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) March 22, 2024

Stormers v Edinburgh

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Ben Loader

Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Jake Henry, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (c), 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 WP Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Chris Dean

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17:05 local (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Connacht v Lions

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade (c), 8 Sean O’Brien, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Tadgh McElroy, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Paul Boyle

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 Hanru Sirgel, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Stean Pienaar

Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Wayne Davies (Wales)

Zebre Parma v Leinster

Zebre: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Fetuli Paea, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Giovanni Licata (C), 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Giampietro Ribaldi, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Josh Kaifa, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Damiano Mazza, 23 Pierre Bruno

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Rob Russell, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny (c), 6 Will Connors, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Diarmuid Mangan, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Henry McErlean

Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 GMT)
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Dante D’Elia (Italy)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Dragons v Bulls

Dragons: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Ewan Rosser, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Steff Hughes (c), 11 Corey Baldwin, 10 Will Reed, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Sean Lonsdale, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 George Nott, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Harri Keddie, 21 Aaron Wainwright, 22 Dane Blacker, 23 Jared Rosser

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Devon Williams

Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Elgan Williams (Wales)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)

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