URC match details for this weekend

Following the conclusion of the Six Nations, South Africa’s four United Rugby Championship (URC) teams will return to the field on Saturday, with only seven pool rounds remaining and only one domestic team currently in the top eight.

The second-placed Bulls are the only the team on the top half of the URC standings, but the Stormers and Lions only trail the eighth-placed Benetton by a few points, and will still have playoff hopes in mind. For the Sharks, lying bottom of the log, it’s only a matter of playing for pride.

The Sharks will take the field first on Saturday when they host Irish giants Ulster in Durban at 3pm, while the Stormers host Edinburgh in Cape Town at 5pm.

Both Gauteng-based teams will be on the road, with the Lions taking on Connacht in Galway at 7:15pm, while the Bulls will battle it out with the Dragons in Newport at 9:35pm.

URC MATCH INFORMATION FOR THE SA SIDES:

Sharks v Ulster
Date: Saturday, 23 March
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Ben Whitehouse
SA Time: 15h00
TV: SuperSport

Stormers v Edinburgh
Date: Saturday, 23 March
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Referee: Adam Jones
SA Time: 17h05
TV: SuperSport

Connacht v Lions
Date: Saturday, 23 March
Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway
Referee: Craig Evans
SA Time: 19h15
TV: SuperSport

Dragons v Bulls
Date: Saturday, 23 March
Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport
Referee: Eoghan Cross
SA Time: 21h35
TV: SuperSport

TEAM SHEETS

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 (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Brok Harris.

Substitutes: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Ben Loader.

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Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 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 Ntuthuko Mchunu.

Substitutes: 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.

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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 (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp

Substitutes: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Devon Williams 

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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.

Substitutes: 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