Edinburgh vs Munster
Date: Sat 30 March 2019 12:45 (GMT)
Venue: BT Murrayfield Stadium
Live on Channel 4
Richard Cockerill has gone for form in the selection of his forward pack to face the might of Munster, foregoing a replacement in favour of both Jamie Ritchie and Magnus Bradbury on the bench. It’s a strong group of players and the bench looks great too. If any Scottish pack of the last decade could stand up to a /monstering, it’ll be this one.
In the it’s a little bit different with Darcy Graham sure to be the centre of attention as the last line of defence at fullback. The Prince of Hawick is picked ahead of Blair Kinghorn (injured) and Dougie Fife (??). Watch out for Peter O’Mahony’s elbows.
The centre pairing of Dean and Johnstone that got them to this point is restored for the big game without disruption from either Matt Scott or Mark Bennett who are now fit, although Bennett sits on the bench.
also their strongest team. If we can avoid the 10-man rugby they were clearly rehearsing last week in the PRO14, it could be a great game in front of a record crowd and on free-to-air telly too.
Saying that, if Edinburgh can win against the bookies odds, the home fans probably won’t care.
Edinburgh Rugby: 15. Darcy Graham, 14. Damien Hoyland, 13. James Johnstone, 12. Chris Dean, 11. Duhan Van Der Merwe, 10. Jaco van der Walt, 9. Henry Pyrgos; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. Stuart McInally (capt), 3. WP Nel, 4. Ben Toolis, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. John Barclay, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Viliame Mata.
Replacements:16. Ross Ford, 17. Allan Dell, 18. Simon Berghan, 19. Magnus Bradbury, 20. Jamie Ritchie, 21. Charlie Shiel, 22. Simon Hickey, 23. Mark Bennett.
Munster: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Chris Farrell, 12. Rory Scannell, 11. Keith Earls, 10. Joey Carbery, 9. Conor Murray, 1. Dave Kilcoyne, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. John Ryan, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Peter O’Mahony (c), 7. Jack O’Donoghue, 8. CJ Stander.
Replacements:16. Rhys Marshall, 17. Jeremy Loughman, 18. Stephen Archer, 19. Billy Holland, 20. Arno Botha, 21. Alby Mathewson, 22. Tyler Bleyendaal, 23. Dan Goggin,
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (FFR)
Saracens vs Glasgow
Straight after that one on Saturday is a resumption of hostilities between the players (and friendships between the fans) as Glasgow aim to redefine insanity by trying this fixture again and getting a different result.
Saracens have their full team out and it will require a monumental effort from Glasgow to turn this one around.
The surprise for Glasgow is perhaps Jonny Gray on the bench but the return of Stuart Hogg and George Horne gives hope that Glasgow can impose some of the swashbuckling that suits them so well.
It’s also a huge opportunity for Stafford McDowell at 13 alongside man of the moment Sam Johnson, with both Huw Jones and Nick Grigg injured, as is Tommy Seymour.
The chances of an all Scottish semi-final are slim, but we should see some great rugby in the process of deciding that outcome.
Date: Sat 30 March 2019 15:15 (GMT)
Venue: Allianz Park
Live on BT Sport
Saracens: 15. Alex Goode, 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Alex Lozowski, 12. Brad Barritt (capt), 11. Liam Williams, 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Ben Spencer, 1. Richard Barrington, 2. Jamie George, 3. Christian Judge, 4. Will Skelton, 5. George Kruis, 6. Maro Itoje, 7. Jackson Wray, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Replacements:16. Tom Woolstencroft, 17. Titi Lamositele, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Nick Isiekwe, 20. Schalk Burger, 21. Tom Whiteley, 22. Nick Tompkins, 23. David Strettle.
Glasgow Warriors: 15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Kyle Steyn, 13. Stafford McDowell, 12. Sam Johnson, 11. Rory Hughes, 10. Adam Hastings, 9. Ali Price; 1. Oli Kebble, 2. Fraser Brown, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Tim Swinson, 5. Scott Cummings, 6. Robert Harley, 7. Callum Gibbins (c), 8. Matt Fagerson.
Replacements:16. Kevin Bryce, 17. Jamie Bhatti, 18. Siosiua Halanukonuka, 19. Jonny Gray, 20. Chris Fusaro, 21. George Horne, 22. Peter Horne, 23. Niko Matawalu,
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Unavailable players: Bruce Flockhart (back), Nick Grigg (ankle surgery), Huw Jones (knee), Lee Jones (knee), Kiran McDonald (back), D’Arcy Rae (ankle), Tommy Seymour (ribs), Matt Smith (shoulder), George Turner (head), DTH van der Merwe (shoulder) and Ryan Wilson (knee).