BKT URC Round 7 Preview: Wales wing returns for Cardiff in Dragons derby

Simon Thomas

Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC, 5.15pm Saturday

After six months on the sidelines, Wales wing Josh Adams can’t wait to step out at a “pumping” Arms Park for the derby day clash with the Dragons.

He hasn’t played since May due to a hernia operation and a “nightmare” with his knee, which kept on filling up with blood.

But now he’s fully recovered and ready to return to action for Cardiff in front of a bumper crowd.

“I thought I was going to be back sooner, but nothing is ever as smooth as you want it to be,” he said.

“When you have setbacks, you can’t really see the end. But I am there now, so I am delighted.

“I am feeling good. It’s been a long time, so I am itching to get back out there. I’m really glad I am back on the pitch and fully fit. I’m fresh and raring to go for the first time in a long while.”

Now 29, Adams cherishes being able to take to the field all the more these days, with the passing years.

“You take things for granted a bit when you are younger, you do naturally,” he said.

“You think you have got bags of time. Then, as you get on a bit, you sort of appreciate every time you get to play because your body picks up more niggles and bangs and you spend a little bit more time in the physio room than you want.

“I probably realise how quickly the first part of my career has gone when you look back at it now.”

Full house

The 59-cap Adams, who trained with Wales during the autumn as part of his rehab, couldn’t have picked a much bigger domestic game for his return and is excited by the prospect of performing in front of another full house at the Arms Park.

“The turnouts we get here are brilliant,” he said.

“For them to show up every week certainly makes a difference to us. Running out here on Saturday, hopefully this place is packed to the rafters and pumping.

“It honestly does give you an extra five or ten per cent of energy when you need it, especially when you are down close to the opposition line. You can hear everyone on the edge of their seat and the noise starting to rise. It does feed to us as players on the field.

“Those are the moments you really miss when you are not playing – being able to really take in the crowd, that and the feeling of elation in the changing room after winning a tight game.”

Ben Thomas, who started all three autumn Tests for Wales, skippers the Cardiff side from the centre, while Keiron Assiratti packs down at tight-head prop having also figured against Fiji, Australia and South Africa, with fellow international Cam Winnett at full-back.

The Dragons have former Ospreys great Filo Tiatia at the helm for the first time following the departure of head coach Dai Flanagan.

They welcome back wing Rio Dyer, No 8 Aaron Wainwright and scrum-half Rhodri Williams from Wales duty, with Angus O’Brien captaining the side from full-back.

Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets, 7.35pm, Friday

Blair Murray’s hectic start to the season continues as he goes straight back into the Scarlets team for the clash with the BKT URC champions at Scotstoun.

He featured in the first six league games following his arrival from New Zealand and then started all three autumn Tests for Wales, appearing on the wing against Fiji and Australia, before switching to full back for last weekend’s meeting with South Africa.

Commenting on Murray’s international initiation, which began with a debut try against the Fijians, Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel said: “I am really pleased for him. I think he did what was asked of him.

“You can see what he can do when he has got the ball. That try against Fiji, he looked very sharp there.

“He has never played full-back for us, so it was obviously a big baptism for him last week, but I felt he looked good there.

“It’s about getting the ball in his hands. His strength is attack. There is a lot more to come from him.”

The Scarlets welcome back Tongan Test No 8 Vaea Fifita for his first outing since he was injured in the opening game of the season against Benetton Rugby in September, but Wales duo Tom Rogers and Sam Costelow are sidelined.

In Rogers’ absence with a calf problem, Murray is partnered on the wing by Ellis Mee, a summer recruit from Nottingham, while Ioan Lloyd is at No 10.

Peel said: “We are up against the champions. It will be a tough ask going up there, but we are excited by it.”

Second-placed Glasgow are boosted by the return of seven Scotland autumn squad members, with George Horne starting at scrum-half just five days on from figuring in the victory over Australia. There are no fewer than four hookers in the match-day 23, amid a 6-2 split on the bench.

Zebre Parma v Ospreys, 7.35pm, Saturday

Keelan Giles will be a proud man as he makes his 100th appearance for the Ospreys out in Italy this weekend.

Reaching that milestone at the age of 27 is all the more notable given the amount of time the winger has spent out of the game through injury.

Fitness issues plagued him again over the summer, forcing his withdrawal from Wales’ tour of Australia, leaving him still waiting for that elusive first cap.

But now he is back fully fit and looking forward to his landmark outing, some eight years on from his regional debut.

“I’m proud. It’s a nice milestone for me and my family,” he said.

“It’s been a bit of a long journey, to be fair.”

Reflecting on missing a summer trip with Wales due to a groin/hernia problem, he said: “It was tough, but I have been around long enough to know that injuries come and go.

“It was just one of those things. It was unfortunate.

“I was very proud to be selected initially and very grateful to be in that position. Hopefully I can get my performances back up there and be in the conversations this season.

“I am looking to get a run of games for the Ospreys. That is my main focus and whatever happens off the back of that then happens.”

Having missed the start of the season while rehabbing, Giles returned for the final two games of the opening URC block against Ulster and Edinburgh.

“I probably felt a bit sluggish that first game, but I felt more like myself then in that Edinburgh match and I’m just looking to build on that now going into Zebre,” he said.

“I’m fit and firing and ready to go. I feel 100 per cent now.”

The Ospreys are without Adam Beard, who faces a lengthy lay-off after injuring his knee on Wales duty against Australia, but fellow second row James Fender is back fit to make his first competitive appearance since January.

Ulster Rugby v Leinster Rugby, 7.35pm, Friday

Ulster are the latest team to try and end Leinster’s all-conquering start to the season, as they welcome the league leaders to Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium.

It’s six out of six for Leinster so far, with Leo Cullen’s team having picked up 29 points out of a possible 30 to head the table by six points.

They will be all the keener to continue that near-perfect run given they lost both regular season matches to Ulster last season, defeats that contributed to them having to travel to South Africa for the play-off semi-finals, where they lost to the Vodacom Bulls.

Ireland internationals Jordan Larmour and Jack Conan return from injury at wing and No 8 respectively, with Conan captaining the side, while Springboks second row RG Snyman will be on the bench six days on from figuring in the victory over Wales.

Ulster have try-scoring hooker Tom Stewart back from a long-term ankle injury to join the replacements, with lock Alan O’Connor taking on the captaincy.

Hollywoodbets Sharks v DHL Stormers, 3pm, Saturday

Having beaten Glasgow and Munster in the last two rounds, the Sharks will be looking to complete a hat-trick of victories over URC champions when they take on the Stormers in front of an expected 20,000-plus crowd in Durban.

Coach John Plumtree has certainly shown his intent by packing his team with Springboks.

Skipper Siya Kolisi, Aphelele Fassi, Vincent Koch and Jaden Hendrikse all start just a week on from figuring in South Africa’s big win over Wales in Cardiff, while fellow ‘Bok stars Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Ox Nche and Andre Esterhuizen are also drafted into the team.

Plumtree said: “With the Springboks coming back to us, the challenge is integrating them as quickly as we can.

“It’s how we keep the plan simple, make sure everyone understands it and that we are pretty clear on what we are trying to do going into the Stormers.

“They are a really good team. They have been a top side in the URC over the last three years, so we know it’s going to be a massive challenge for us.”

He added: “The squad understands the game model we are trying to play. We saw that against Glasgow and Munster.

“When we get the momentum that we need, we are a pretty tough team to stop, especially at home.

“I think it’s really important we do well at home and create an environment where we are really hard to beat here. That’s certainly something we have talked about as a team.”

The Stormers welcome back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezelu at No 10 as he makes his first appearance of the season following knee surgery, while fellow Springbok Manie Libbok provides fly-half cover on the bench.

Coach John Dobson said: “These South African derbies are always big occasions and this is a great opportunity for us to show what we are all about and rise to the challenge we will face in Durban.”

Connacht Rugby v Vodacom Bulls, 5.30pm

Connacht coach Pete Wilkins says his team have a big period coming up over the next couple of months as they get into the “guts of the season”.

This weekend’s meeting with the high-flying Bulls in Galway will be followed by EPCR Challenge Cup fixtures against Zebre Parma and Perpignan, with league derbies versus Leinster and Ulster to come over the festive period.

“It’s a great time to be involved here,” said Wilkins.

“It’s tremendously exciting. You are starting to get into the guts of the season proper.

“The URC games become even more important as the table starts to take shape and then we’ve also got the start of our European campaign coming up, which is really important to us. The Challenge Cup is an enormous opportunity.”

The third-placed Bulls include Springbok stars Willie le Roux and Canan Moodie in their back line, with fellow autumn Test squad members Cameron Hanekom, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp waiting in reserve to reinforce the pack from the bench.

Looking ahead to the trip to the Galway Sportsground, coach Jake White said: “Playing away will always be difficult and this is an even more difficult place because of the conditions. Wind is a big factor because of the way the stadium is situated and that influences the game strategy.

“I am glad to have Willie (le Roux) back with us because one thing he can do is control the game from the back, so he will be massive for us because the wind at this ground can influence your game, unlike the stadium we have back at home, which are closed off.

“This is probably the one ground where you’ve got to win the toss. It is a bit like cricket in the sense that, at this ground, playing with the factors in your favour counts.

White concludes: “Playing away, you get the crowd behind their home team, the wind factor, a 4-G pitch which we have not played on in a long time. These are all factors we have to account for. Playing Connacht in Connacht is a tough gig for any team. They never give anything away.”

Edinburgh Rugby v Benetton Rugby, 7.35pm, Saturday

Scotland star Jamie Ritchie says Edinburgh will be in search of redemption when they take on Benetton at the Hive Stadium having lost both matches against the Italians last term.

After going down to a 24-22 home defeat last November, they were then thumped 31-6 out in Treviso in the final regular season fixture to scupper their hopes of reaching the play-offs.

Flanker Ritchie, who starts at No 6 despite having played the full 80 minutes in Scotland’s 27-13 victory over Australia last Sunday, says there’s a determination in the Edinburgh camp to set the record straight.

“We were quite frustrated with the two games against Benetton last season, so hopefully there will be a little bit of redemption,” he said.

“They kick the ball quite a lot. With the law changes, we will expect to see quite a few contestable kicks and they also look to play a little bit of rugby, so we will be expecting that.

“It will be a massive defensive performance for us, which will put us in good stead, and then when we have the ball we will be looking to get on the front foot.”

Ritchie is joined in a powerful Edinburgh line-up by wings Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, prop Pierre Schoeman, hooker Ewan Ashman and lock Grant Gilchrist who all also started in the win over the Wallabies.

Munster Rugby v Emirates Lions, 7.35pm, Saturday

Munster play their first league game since the departure of head coach Graham Rowntree at the end of last month.

After only winning two of their first six URC fixtures, they are down in twelfth in the table going into Round 7 and have a fair bit of ground to make up.

But it won’t be easy against the Lions of Johannesburg, who have won four of their five games to lie in fourth spot.

Munster back row forward Jack O’Donoghue, who starts on the blindside flank, commented: “It’s an incredibly important game. There is no secret where we sit in the table.

“We’ve worked hard on certain areas we needed to improve on and I hope this weekend we will be able to show we are heading in the right direction.

“The Lions are an incredible team. We know how deadly they are off unstructured attack, with the way they play off turnover ball, and they are a real threat around the breakdown.

“It’s going to be a really big challenge for us. We can’t dip our toe in, we have to dive straight into this next block of games and face it head on.”