Hougaard back for the Bulls, who rotate their props, Watts in for Francis, plenty changes for Stormers, Alberts back into the Sharks starting XV … A look at the weekend’s teams, times, venues and refs.
Friday 17 May
09:35 Hurricanes vs Chiefs, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Reynold Lee-Lo, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito (c), 7 Jack Lam, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Ben Franks.
Bench: 16 Reggie Goodes, 17 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18 James Broadhurst, 19 Brad Shields, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Tusi Pisi, 22 James Marshall.
11:40 Rebels vs Stormers, AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
AR: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), Ed Martin (Australia)
TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Stormers: 15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Pat Cilliers, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Bench: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Frans Malherbe, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Don Armand, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Gerhard van den Heever
13:45 Force vs Sharks, NIB Stadium, Perth
Referee: James Leckie (Australia)
AR: Ian Smith (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
TMO: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Sharks: 15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel (capt), 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Anton Bresler, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg
Bench: 16. Monde Hadebe , 17. Wiehahn Herbst , 18. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19. Derick Minnie/Tera Mtembu, 20. Jean Deysel , 21. Tian Meyer, 22. Piet Lindeque
Saturday 18 May
09:35 Crusaders vs Blues, AMI Stadium, Addington Christchurch
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
11:40 Waratahs vs Brumbies, ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
17:05 Bulls vs Highlanders, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
AR: Ben Crouse (South Africa), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Lionel Mapoe, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Frik Kirsten, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Morne Mellett
Bench: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Bjorn Basson
19:10 Cheetahs vs Reds, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
AR: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Sieg van Staden (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Bench: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Rynhardt Landman, 19 Johannes Prinsloo, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Ryno Benjamin
