No fewer than 23 players who represented the Springboks in 2022 have been included in the various starting teams for the matches on Friday and Saturday - check out our full preview by clicking here.
The DHL Stormers welcome back team captain Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie and Damian Willemse for their clash with Leinster in Ireland on Friday night. The table-topping encounter at the RDS Arena kicks off at 21h35 (SA time).
The Emirates Lions are relatively unchanged from their Round 15 victory over the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, with the inclusion of Ruan Dreyer (prop), Reinhard Nothnagel (lock) and Travis Gordon (loose forward) on the bench the only changes to the team for Saturday's game against Benetton in Italy (15h00).
The Cell C Sharks have been bolstered with the inclusion of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Jaden Hendrikse, Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am in their team to face the Scarlets in Wales on Saturday (19h00).
Finally, both Vodacom Bulls players who attended the recent Bok camp in Cape Town, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, have been named to start in their match on Saturday evening in Belfast against Ulster (21h35), who will again feature Duane Vermeulen at No 8 and captain.
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.
Cell C Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Thaakir Abrahams.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Bismarck Du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans.
