URC ROUND 16 Team Sheets

The teams for Friday night’s Round 16 fixtures of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.

TEAM NEWS HEADLINES

#DRAvSTO: Chris Hollis will make his Dragons RFC debut against his former side DHL Stormers
Sti Sithole, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Angelo Davids all return from injury to be named in DHL Stormers match day squad

#EDIvZEB: Two changes for Edinburgh Rugby as centurions Viliame Mata and Mark Bennett both start
Geronimo Prisciantelli named at full-back with Simone Gesi, captain Giovanni Licata and Andrea Zambonin return to Zebre Parma match day squad

FRIDAY, MAY 10

Dragons RFC v DHL Stormers

Rodney Parade, Newport – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 41st league game)

AR 1: Maickel English (WRU) AR 2: Gareth Newman (WRU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Dragons RFC: Jordan Williams, Rio Dyer, Steff Hughes (CAPT), Aneurin Owen, Chris Hollis, Will Reed, Dane Blacker, Rhodri Jones, Elliot Dee, Chris Coleman, Matthew Screech, George Nott, Sean Lonsdale, Harri Keddie, Aaron Wainwright

Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Rodrigo Martinez, Dmitri Arhip, James Benjamin, Taine Basham, Morgan Lloyd, Angus O’Brien, Sio Tomkinson

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Wandisile Simelane, Dan du Plessis, Angelo Davids, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Sti Sithole, Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat (CAPT), Ruben van Heerden, Willie Engelbrecht, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Hacjivah Dayimani, Stefan Ungerer, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “We have seen that it is full metal jacket from the Stormers and that’s great for us. We’re at home in front of our people and it is our last game at Rodney Parade – we need to make it count. I thought our intensity was superb against Connacht and we need to match that and be more accurate because we know they are coming. Connacht want to get in the play-offs, Stormers want to get into the play-offs, Ospreys want to get into the play-offs. How good would it be to knock one of them, maybe two of them, off?”

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “There is little room for error as the play-offs get closer and having had all of last week to prepare, we are determined to give our best on Friday night. We know that Rodney Parade is a tough place to play, so it will require a big effort to get the result that we need,”

Edinburgh Rugby v Zebre Parma

Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU, league debut)

AR 1: Ru Campbell (SRU) AR 2: David Sutherland (SRU)

TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Matt Currie, Mark Bennett, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Healy, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, WP Nel, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata

Replacements: Dave Cherry, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Marshall Sykes, Luke Crosbie, Ben Vellacott, Cammy Scott, Chris Dean

Zebre Parma: Geronimo Prisciantelli, Jacopo Trulla, Fetuli Paea, Enrico Lucchin, Simone Gesi, Giovanni Montemauri, Thomas Dominguez, Muhamed Hasa, Giampietro Ribaldi, Juan Pitinari, Matteo Canali, Andrea Zambonin, Giacomo Ferrari, Taina Fox-Matamua, Giovanni Licata (CAPT)

Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Samuele Taddei, Riccardo Genovese, David Sisi, Bautista Stavile, Gonzalo Garcia, Damiano Mazza, Lorenzo Pani

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “This is a massive match for our play-off aspirations, and we’ll need to be fully focused and disciplined to secure a positive result at Hive Stadium. Zebre Parma are a much-improved side and will travel to Edinburgh with nothing to lose. They bring physicality and can score from anywhere on the park, so we’ll need to match their energy from the get-go. We’re right in the battle for the play-offs and the squad know that every game in this run-in is a cup final. The backing of our supporters will once again be crucial, so we encourage everyone to get behind the team tomorrow night for this vital encounter.”

Zebre Parma Head Coach Fabio Roselli said: “Despite the many serious injuries in the last period, the team had a very good week, showing great ability to react effectively to difficulties. Edinburgh need five points: we know their strengths and we know how to put them in difficulty. The team is very united, we know we have to be more accurate in some details and the players are looking forward to the game. All together we will do our best to finish the season as we deserve”.