Rugby Today: Here Are All The URC Round 5 Previews For Oct. 19
Rugby Today: Here Are All The URC Round 5 Previews For Oct. 19
Previews of all the United Rugby Championship matches on Oct. 19.
Round 5 of the United Rugby Championship began on Oct. 18 with the Scarlets hosting the Vodacom Bulls and Ulster Rugby hosting the Ospreys, but the rest of the round will play out on Oct. 19 across Europe and South Africa.
In Italy, Zebre Parma host the Emirates Lions, with the visitors riding the wave of three consecutive victories. Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen anticipates a free-flowing encounter, while Zebre will seek to reignite their attacking spark after recent struggles.
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Meanwhile, in Durban, the Hollywoodbets Sharks welcome Glasgow Warriors. Returning to his homeland, Glasgow coach Franco Smith aims to maintain his team's progress while contending with a formidable Sharks side eager to deliver in their first home game of the season.
In Cape Town, the struggling Stormers will attempt to reverse their fortunes against Munster Rugby. Coach John Dobson is keen to get his team back on track with the support of the home crowd.
Edinburgh faces Cardiff at the Hive Stadium, with Cardiff captain Callum Sheedy leading his side for the first time. Connacht hosts table-topping Leinster in Galway, where the challenge will be breaking down Jacques Nienaber's vaunted defense. Finally, Dragons RFC seek their first home win as they battle Benetton Rugby at Rodney Parade.
Here's more on each match.
Zebre Parma v Emirates Lions, 7.30 a.m. ET
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen is anticipating an “attacking cracker” at the Sergio Lanfranchi Stadium.
His team have shown a real eagerness to move the ball while scoring 15 tries in winning their first three league matches and he feels their Italian hosts will buy into that approach.
“If you want to make it open and really want to play an expansive game, they are happy,” he said.
“It looks like they can thrive and survive under that, so I think it’s going to be an attacking cracker.”
Zebre will certainly be keen to rediscover a cutting edge. Since crossing six times in their famous victory over Munster, they have only touched down once in the subsequent defeats to the Stormers and Glasgow.
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Glasgow Warriors, 9.45 a.m. ET
Glasgow coach Franco Smith is ready for a stern challenge back in his homeland as the champions embark on a two-week tour of South Africa.
First up, it’s a trip to Durban to take on the Sharks and then they head down the coast to Cape Town to face the Stormers.
Former Springboks fly-half Smith said: “We are going to play two very hard and tough games on the road against teams that will probably have most of their internationals back.”
Having given the bulk of his squad game-time in the opening four BKT URC matches, he says: “It’s been good to have had a lot of the boys out there playing, that’s important. It makes my task difficult as they all play well and they make full use of it.
“But continuity is going to be important now over the next couple of weeks.”
Reflecting on the campaign so far, he said: “There has been a lot of progression. The first part of the season is always about reinstalling the process and getting everybody to understand what we want from it and then applying that once the understanding is there. It’s not always about the what, it’s more about the how.”
It’s a first home game of the season for the 14th-placed Sharks following a last gasp-win in Newport and defeats out in Galway and Treviso.
DHL Stormers v Munster Rugby, Noon ET
Stormers coach John Dobson is looking for his team to rediscover their fizz now they are back on home soil.
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for the Cape Town outfit on the road, with defeats away to the Ospreys and Edinburgh either side of a solitary success against Zebre.
As a result, they find themselves bottom of the table and Dobson acknowledges the pressure is now on to deliver in front of their own fans.
“The next two games are important,” he said.
“We’ve got the 2023 champions Munster and last year’s champions Glasgow. If we can get our fizz back at home, we will be ok for the rest of the season.
“The key for us is the next two home games. If we can get those next two, we will be alive and kicking. There is a little bit of pressure in that respect.”
Reflecting on last weekend’s 38-7 defeat to Edinburgh, Dobson said: “We made too many mistakes and our discipline put us under pressure. We got into chase mode and that hurt us. We got frustrated.”
Munster are also looking to bounce back, having been beaten by arch rivals Leinster at a packed Croke Park last weekend.
Edinburgh Rugby v Cardiff Rugby, 5.15pm, Saturday
Callum Sheedy will captain Cardiff for the first time when he leads the team out at the Hive Stadium.
“It’s a very proud moment for myself and my family,” said the fly-half, who came on board from Bristol over the summer.
“It’s kind of a surreal feeling being captain of your home-town club.
“It won’t change how I play or speak much because I tend to be quite vocal anyway.
“I captained Bristol for a season, so it doesn’t faze me too much. I am looking forward to going out there.
“I don’t like over-thinking the captaincy because you can go away from your own game.
“If you play your own game and play it well, then lads are going to follow. It’s important you don’t take your eye off your own game because, at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing for me.”
Cardiff have two wins and two defeats from their opening four matches in the URC, a competition Sheedy is getting his first taste of.
“This league is pretty unforgiving and Edinburgh away is a massive challenge, but one we are really excited by,” said the Welsh international.
“Everyone says the English Premiership is unforgiving, but, with the travelling and the different styles of play, I think this is even harder.
“I have found it very interesting how you go from Zebre to Scarlets to Glasgow and all three are completely different in everything they do.
“I love the fact you are playing against a different style every week. It really keeps you on your toes as a player, especially as a 10, having to manage the game in different ways.”
As for having returned to the city where he was born and raised, he says: “I am really enjoying life here. Being back home in Cardiff is amazing. I am loving it.”
Edinburgh will be looking to build on last week’s 38-7 victory over the Stormers, after which skipper Grant Gilchrist said: “Our season starts here.”
Connacht Rugby v Leinster Rugby, 7.35pm, Saturday
Cracking the miserly Jacques Nienaber defence will be the big challenge for Connacht as they welcome the league leaders to Galway.
Under the expert tutelage of the man who guided South Africa to World Cup glory last year, Leinster have conceded just three tries in their last three matches.
So Connacht coach Pete Wilkins is well aware of the task facing his troops as they take on the table toppers, who have racked up maximum points so far this season.
“There is such a clear identity to their defensive structure and intent, so it’s about being good enough to deal with it,” he said.
“It requires calm heads and a lot of accuracy to get either through it or around it. It's a brilliant challenge for us.”
Outlining Nienaber’s impact, Leinster captain Caelan Doris said: “Our defence has been a good area of growth.
“There’s a clarity and understanding with Jacques’s plan, so that’s been good. He’s brought an extra level of aggression and the mindset of wanting to suffocate teams and using our defence as a weapon to get the ball back.
“He’s a great fella to have around. He’s very energetic, enthusiastic, he enjoys a pint and he’s just good for the environment in general.”
Reflecting on Leinster’s start to the season, No 8 Doris said: “We are 20 from 20, which is ideal. Performance-wise, it hasn't been perfect, but it’s been pretty good at times.”
On the meeting with Connacht, he added: “It will be a hostile atmosphere down there.
“They are loud, pretty boisterous, the Galway people. It will be good. It’s always a tough challenge there.”
Dragons RFC v Benetton Rugby, 7.35pm, Saturday
The Dragons will be looking to make it third time lucky at Rodney Parade after narrow home defeats to the Sharks and the Lions.
Their highly-rated young centre Aneurin Owen said: “I think this league is really competitive. It’s looking really strong. I don’t think there are any easy games.
“We are always going to be in those tight contests. It’s how we manage that and come out with the right result.
“It’s just those small margins in games. We are all trying to work to get results and we feel we are not far away from that.
“We have got a really good foundation to our game. Our forwards have been excellent and we have some exciting backs and hopefully we can turn those results around.”
Reflecting further on the BKT URC, Owen, who turns 24 next week, said: “We played the Ospreys first game here and they were completely different to the Sharks and the Lions - and Benetton will be completely different again.
“I think that’s what’s great about this league. You come up against different teams and different styles of play and you’ve just got to adapt.”
Benetton will head to Newport buoyed by having claimed their first win of the season last weekend when they beat the Sharks 38-10.
URC Standings Table After Round 4
Rank | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Pts Diff | Bonus | Points |
1 | Leinster Rugby | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 54 | 74 | 4 | 20 |
2 | Glasgow Warriors | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 146 | 69 | 77 | 4 | 16 |
3 | Emirates Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 62 | 51 | 2 | 14 |
4 | Vodacom Bulls | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 56 | 42 | 2 | 14 |
5 | Connacht Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 120 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
6 | Cardiff Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 101 | 109 | -8 | 4 | 12 |
7 | Munster Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 103 | 101 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
8 | Ulster Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 128 | -33 | 2 | 10 |
9 | Edinburgh Rugby | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 106 | 117 | -11 | 4 | 8 |
10 | Scarlets | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 87 | -4 | 1 | 7 |
11 | Dragons RFC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 111 | -33 | 3 | 7 |
12 | Benetton Rugby | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 107 | -34 | 1 | 7 |
13 | Ospreys | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 77 | 99 | -22 | 2 | 6 |
14 | Hollywoodbets Sharks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 104 | -31 | 2 | 6 |
15 | Zebre Parma | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 124 | -57 | 2 | 6 |
16 | DHL Stormers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 80 | -13 | 1 | 5 |
URC Rugby Schedule For Round 5 Fixtures
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URC Rugby Fixtures Friday, Oct. 18
URC Rugby Fixtures Saturday, Oct. 19
- 7:30 a.m. ET - Zebre Parma vs Lions
- 9:45 a.m. ET - Sharks vs Glasgow Warriors
- 12:00 p.m. ET - DHL Stormers vs Munster
- 12:15 p.m. ET - Edinburgh vs Cardiff
- 2:35 p.m. ET - Dragons vs Benetton
- 2:35 p.m. ET - Connacht vs Leinster
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