BKT URC Round 5 Preview: Depleted Ospreys face Ulster test

Simon Thomas

Ulster Rugby v Ospreys, 7.35pm, Friday

Ospreys coach Toby Booth has been faced with the challenging task of piecing together a team amid what he has described as a “horrific” unavailability list.

He is without no fewer than 18 players for the trip to Belfast through injuries and Wales internationals being rested. It’s resulted in him selecting a pretty unfamiliar looking match-day 23.

Hooker Lewis Lloyd is pressed into service as an emergency blindside flanker, with the back five of the scrum being the hardest hit area, as demonstrated by Will Greatbanks and Lewis Jones both making their first starts at lock.

South African backs Evardi Boshoff and Dan Kasende take their season bows, with fly-half Owen Williams slotting into the injury-hit centre as he returns to action.

Then, on the bench, you’ve got two forwards stepping up from the second-tier Super Rygbi Cymru competition, with teenage Swansea lock Dan Gemine and Aberavon back row Rhys Thomas in line to make their regional debuts.

Booth commented: “We’ve got a lot of people out in similar positions, which makes it challenging.

“We’ll do our best to find a way, like we always do, and we won’t be lacking in effort, that’s for sure.”

As for Ulster, they are boosted by the return from injury of Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey as they look to build on last weekend’s victory over Connacht.

Scarlets v Vodacom Bulls, 7.35pm, Friday

Springboks great Albert van den Berg says he would love to put one over on his former coach Jake White.

The ex-second row played under White when South Africa won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, winning 51 caps in all.

Now, in his new role as Scarlets forwards coach, he is set to lock horns with his former boss who is bringing the unbeaten Bulls to west Wales.

“From the time I spent under Jake, he brings a lot of confidence in you as a player,” said Van den Berg.

“He has got a clear game plan of what he wants from everyone in the team and he puts all of that together.

“I will never forget in 2004 when he pulled me into the squad, he said ‘If you guys do what I tell you to do, we will win the next World Cup’.

“He installed that belief in you that you were good enough to be there.

“He will get his guys fired up for this game. He has stated this is their year to perform.

“They have a lot of Springboks in their team. They are physical, they’ve got a good scrum, a good maul and they are really good on counter-attack.

“But we will be ready for them. We like to take on the big teams and the big names, so our guys will all be fired up for that.

“The spirit is up in the camp and everyone is happy after the win down in Cardiff.”

As for his reunion with his former mentor White, he added: “I would love to get one over on him. It’s a Friday night game, I think I would come back on Monday not sober! It would be great to get the win.”

For scrum-half Gareth Davies, who has scored four tries in the Scarlets’ last two games, it will be a first outing following his announcement that he is retiring from international rugby.

Hooker Akker van der Merwe captains the Bulls who are looking to make it four wins from four in the league.

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.”

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.

Zebre Parma v Emirates Lions, 12.30pm, Saturday

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, 2.45pm, Saturday

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, 5pm, Saturday

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.

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.”