URC round seven: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments

The United Rugby Championship (URC) season gets back underway on Friday with two games before there’s another six matches on Saturday.

Here’s the team news, match officials, predictions and how to watch the action.

Friday

Cardiff v Scarlets

Prediction: Cardiff by 5

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 George Nott, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Taulupe Faletau, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Jacob Beetham

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Fletcher Anderson, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Max Douglas, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alec Heburn, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jarrod Taylor, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Elis Price, 23 Joe Roberts

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben Whitehouse (WRU), Ben Connor (WRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Leinster v Ulster

Prediction: Leinster by 3

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Joshua Kenny, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 James Ryan, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Ruben Moloney

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Nick Timoney (c), 6 David McCann, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Joe Hopes, 20 Bryn Ward, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Ethan McIlroy

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 111th league game)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Fogarty (IRFU), Tomas O’Sullivan (IRFU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Saturday

Stormers v Lions

Prediction: Stormers by 12

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Edward Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Richard Kriel

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 13.30 IRE & UK / 14.30 ITA / 15.30 SA
Referee: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Benetton v Zebre Parma

Prediction: Benetton by 17

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Manuel Zuliani, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Riccardo Favretto, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Rooster
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Giulio Marini, 20 Lorenzo Cannone, 21 Louis Werchon, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Giulio Bertaccini, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 David Odiase, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Bautista Stavile, 5 Leonard Krumov (cc), 4 Giacomo Ferrari, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Alessandro Ortombina, 20 Matteo Canali, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Malik Faissal, 23 Giovanni Licata (cc)

Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 14.00 IRE & UK / 15.00 ITA / 16.00 SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo (FIR), Luca Bisetto (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Live on: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

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Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh

Prediction: Glasgow by 6

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Ally Miller, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Piers O’Conor, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Cammy Scott, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callun Hunter-Hill, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Matt Davidson

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Kick-off: 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: David Sutherland (SRU), Finlay Brown (SRU)
TMO: Mark Patton (SRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Sharks v Bulls

Prediction: Bulls by 3

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (c), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Phatu Ganyane
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 George Whitehead

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 JJ Theron, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Khuta Mchunu, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Devon Williams

Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 16.00 IRE & UK / 17.00 ITA / 18.00 SA
Referee: Griffin Colby (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), AJ Jacobs (SARU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Ospreys v Munster

Prediction: Munster by 8

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Steffan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Cam Jones, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Keiran Williams, 23 Jack Walsh

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Conor Bartley, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 Tom Ahern, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 John Hodnett

Venue: Dunraven Brewery Field, Bridgend
Kick-off: 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA / 19.30 SA
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Andrew Moule (WRU)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Dragons v Connacht

Prediction: Connacht by 10

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (cc), 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Che Hope, 8 Harri Keddie, 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Ben Carter (cc), 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Oli Burrows, 1 Rodrigo Martinez
Replacements: 16 George Roberts, 17 Jordan Morris, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Joe Westwood, 23 Huw Anderson

Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Seán O’Brien, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Niall Murray, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Hugh Gavin

Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA / 21.45 SA
Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Rob McDowell (WRU), Jonny Mackenzie (WRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, TG4, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

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