The United Rugby Championship continues on Friday as two matches take place, with Munster and Glasgow Warriors hosting the Ospreys and Ulster in their respective fixtures.
Munster v Ospreys
There are three changes to the Munster side that secured a bonus-point victory away to Benetton last time out.
Jack O’Donoghue captains the side on his return from suspension, Gavin Coombes returns from Ireland camp to start and Simon Zebo makes his first appearance since December.
Munster Rugby Academy scrum-half Ethan Coughlan and prop Mark Donnelly are among the replacements with Coughlan in line for his first appearance of the season and his home debut.
Shane Daly, who has played the most minutes for Munster so far this season, starts at full-back with Liam Coombes and Zebo on either wing.
The half-back and centre partnerships are unchanged with Paddy Patterson and Joey Carbery at nine and 10 as Malakai Fekitoa and Antoine Frisch continue in midfield.
Josh Wycherley, Niall Scannell and Roman Salanoa pack down in the front-row with Salanoa recently earning his first call-up to the Ireland senior squad.
Jean Kleyn and Fineen Wycherley start in the engine room with a back-row of O’Donoghue, Hodnett and Coombes completing the starting XV.
Ben Healy is among the replacements after returning from international duty with Scotland.
Meanwhile, loosehead prop Nicky Smith will captain the Ospreys and he is joined the front-row by tighthead Tom Botha and Elvis Taione, who will pack down t hooker, while Bradley Davies and Huw Sutton start in the engine room.
The rest of the pack sees Morgan Morris starting at number eight while Ethan Roots and Jack Regan complete the back-row as the two flankers.
In the backline, Max Nagy starts at full-back alongside Luke Morgan and Keelan Giles, who are the two wings while Michael Collins and Owen Watkin form the centre combination.
Veteran playmaker Stephen Myler starts at fly-half and is joined in the half-backs by Reuben Morgan-Williams. Meanwhile, Iestyn Hopkins could make his debut if called upon from the bench as a backline replacement.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Shane Daly 14 Liam Coombes, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Mark Donnelly, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jack O’Sullivan, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Rory Scannell
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Ethan Roots, 6 Jack Regan, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Nicky Smith (c)
Replacements: 16 Tom Cowan-Dickie, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 James Fender, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Dan Carson (Ireland), Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Glasgow Warriors v Ulster
Scott Cummings will make his first appearance for Glasgow Warriors for three months on Friday night, after the second-row was named in the starting XV for the club’s UURC clash with Ulster at Scotstoun.
The 26-year-old will pull on a Glasgow shirt for the first time since October’s visit to the Sharks, having picked up a foot injury while training with Scotland ahead of the 2022 Autumn Nations Series.
Cummings is one of seven changes from the Warriors side that took to the field at Rodney Parade for the club’s most recent outing, as head coach Franco Smith prepares his side for the visit of third-placed Ulster under the Friday night lights.
Nathan McBeth will make his first start in the URC after being selected at loosehead prop, joining Johnny Matthews and Lucio Sordoni in an all-new front-row.
Cummings joins Lewis Bean in the second-row, the latter having featured in each of the club’s matches during the current nine-game unbeaten run.
The back-row is unchanged from the victory over the Dragons, meaning Thomas Gordon and Sione Vailanu pack down either side of returning Scotland international Jack Dempsey.
Behind the scrum, Jamie Dobie starts at scrum-half, the Inverness-born number nine linking up with Tom Jordan in the half-backs.
Stafford McDowall captains the side from the midfield, lining up at 13 alongside Sam Johnson in an unchanged centre combination.
Cole Forbes and Sebastian Cancelliere – who leads the league in clean breaks with 18 to date – retain their places on the wings, with Ollie Smith completing the starting XV by lining up at full-back.
An all-Scotland front-row lies in wait amongst the replacements, as Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown and Simon Berghan take their places in the matchday 23 after being released from Scotland camp for tomorrow’s clash.
JP du Preez rotates to the replacements after starting at Rodney Parade, whilst Alex Samuel – fresh from agreeing a new contract extension earlier this week – and Euan Ferrie continue amongst the options off the bench.
The backs are covered by Duncan Weir and the returning Ali Price, the scrum-half making it seven Scotland internationals released to the Warriors for Friday’s night’s match.
Meanwhile, Ulster loosehead prop Eric O’Sullivan will earn his 100th cap for the province in this fixture.
He will be joined in the front-row by hooker Tom Stewart, who returns from involvement with Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad and Jeff Toomaga-Allen, who was crowned Player of the Match last time out.
The side will be skippered by lock Alan O’Connor, who is joined in the second-row by Irish international Kieran Treadwell.
Ulster Rugby Academy player Harry Sheridan who made his Ulster debut against European champions La Rochelle last month, joins versatile back-rower Jordi Murphy and Nick Timoney, who was one of the try-scorers in Ulster’s 35-29 win at Kingspan Stadium the last time the two sides faced each other.
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Nathan Doak also made his presence known on the score sheet that night in Belfast, with the 21-year-old named at scrum-half this weekend, as he is paired with Billy Burns at fly-half, while the duo of Stewart Moore and James Hume is retained in the Ulster midfield.
Jacob Stockdale, following his recent involvement with Ireland, forms the back three with fellow wingBen Moxham, who scored his first try for Ulster in the province’s most recent win, and full-back Ethan McIlroy.
Replacement cover for the forwards comes from John Andrew, Rory Sutherland, who returns from international duty with Scotland, Andy Warwick, Cormac Izuchukwu, and Greg Jones. John Cooney, Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy provide the backline cover.
The teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Thomas Gordon, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Alex Samuel, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ali Price, 23 Duncan Weir
Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Ben Moxham, 13 James Hume, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Harry Sheridan, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Andy Warwick, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Greg Jones, 21 John Cooney, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Craig Gilroy
Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)