Round 2.

The United Rugby Championship returns this weekend with eight cracking fixtures to look forward to with the four South African franchises back after missing the opening round due to the Currie Cup final.

Leinster are in action tonight when they take on the Dragons at the Aviva Stadium with Munster set to to travel to Italy to take on Zebre before they head out on their South African tour.

Ulster, in buoyant form after their win over champions Glasgow Warriors in Round 1 are in South Africa themselves to take on the Lions, with Connacht at home to Saffa opposition against the Sharks.

Leinster Rugby v Dragons RFC, 7.35pm, Friday

Dai Flanagan says his buoyant Dragons are relishing the prospect of running out at the Aviva Stadium.

They have headed to Dublin in good spirits following last weekend’s dramatic 23-21 Welsh derby victory over the Ospreys at Rodney Parade.

Now they are looking forward to lining up at the home of Irish rugby, which is Leinster’s base this season with the RDS being redeveloped.

“What an opportunity, we can’t wait,” said head coach Flanagan.

“It’s so exciting to play in the Aviva Stadium. If you can’t get yourselves up for that…

“We will be tested, so it’s about staying disciplined. It’s about us going out there, representing ourselves and our region in the best possible way we can. Leinster bring everything, but we’re excited for the challenge.

“The big message this week has been to look after ourselves and control what we can control.”

It will be a big night for Ireland prop Cian Healy who will become Leinster’s most capped player as he makes his 281st appearance for the province.

Fellow international forwards Josh van der Flier and Joe McCarthy have been named among the replacements and are due to take the field for the first time since sharing in Ireland’s victory over South Africa in Durban back in July.

Glasgow Warriors v Benetton Rugby, 7.35pm, Friday

Franco Smith goes up against a team he spent nine years with as a player and coach as he looks to ignite Glasgow’s title defence after last weekend’s last gasp defeat to Ulster.

The former Springboks fly-half saw out the final seasons of his playing career in Treviso before cutting his coaching teeth with the Italian outfit.

For this Scotstoun meeting with his former employers, he has made six changes to the side that lost 20-19 to Ulster in Belfast where the game was decided by an 85th minute try from the hosts.

“Well done to Ulster for sticking at it, but I think we handed them a victory in the end, to be honest,” said head coach Smith.

“We were obviously disappointed with not winning, but there were no excuses. There were a couple of lessons learned and the boys are back on the horse now.

“We will align what needs to be aligned and take it from there. We know Benetton will be a tough challenge and one we will need to meet head on.”

Outside-half Adam Hastings makes his first start for Glasgow since returning from Gloucester, while flanker Rory Darge comes into the game having made 39 tackles against Ulster, the second-highest tally in the club’s history after Jonny Gray’s 43 against Leinster in 2019.

Benetton boss Marco Bortolami is demanding an improvement from his team after labelling their second half display in the 20-20 draw with the Scarlets as “timid”.

Emirates Lions v Ulster Rugby, 11.55am, Saturday

The Lions will be looking to bounce back from their last-gasp Currie Cup final defeat to the Sharks as they become the first South African side to take the field in the URC this season.

The Rainbow Nation derbies originally scheduled for Round 1 were postponed until the new year because of a clash with the closing stages of the Currie Cup.

It looked as though the Lions were going to lift that trophy as they led going into the dying seconds of the final at the Emirates Airline Park, only to suffer the heartbreak of being beaten by a last minute penalty.

Now they open their league campaign against an Ulster team who experienced very different emotions amid further late drama last weekend, with replacement scrum-half Dave Shanahan grabbing an 85th-minute try to defeat champions Glasgow 20-19.

Coach Richie Murphy said:

“The lads rolled up their sleeves and, in the end, got the job done.

“But we are going to have to learn quickly, because that’s not going to be good enough on most nights. “We didn’t play our best rugby by a long way.”

Vodacom Bulls v Edinburgh Rugby, 2pm, Saturday

After reaching two finals in the first three seasons of the URC, the Bulls now embark on a quest to go that one step further and claim the title.

Coach Jake White said:

“Everyone in our club would be on the same page that we have exceeded where we should be up to now.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how we can kick on and learn from the lessons of the last three years. These are very exciting times for the Bulls.

“I’m hoping with the squad we have now we will be able to change the team around in the season, so we don’t lose our legs in the back end of the competition.”

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt will be looking for an improvement in his team’s kicking game after pointing to that as the main problem area following the 33-31 defeat at home to Leinster last weekend.

Zebre Parma v Munster Rugby, 3pm, Saturday

Munster travel out to northern Italy with coach Graham Rowntree encouraged by the resolve shown in the Round 1 win over Connacht.

It was a ten-try rollercoaster in Limerick with the lead changing hands a number of times before replacement fly-half Tony Butler landed a couple of key conversions to seal a 35-33 victory.

“Crikey, Connacht were good with how physical they were in their carry, their ruck, their shapes in attack and how they got to the edge, so we had to be good too,” said Rowntree.

“I’m chuffed with the resolve we showed to stick in the game. We were snatching at things a bit, but we wrestled control again at the end. There’s plenty to work on, but we were delighted with the win.”

Zebre will also take heart from the way they rallied against Cardiff at the Arms Park claiming two second half tries to secure a losing bonus point in a 22-17 defeat.

Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby, 5.15pm, Saturday

Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies will be aiming to celebrate a major career landmark in winning style in this big derby day clash.

Davies will become just the third player – after front row duo Ken Owens and Phil John – to make 250 appearances for the Scarlets since the start of the regional era.

“It’s quite a good achievement, I think, ” said the 34-year-old.

“There are some big names with that many appearances, so it’s quite an honour for me really to be associated with the likes of them.

“I think this is my 17th season here. It’s been a good shift so far, but hopefully there is plenty more to come. I just want to keep playing for as long as I can. I still feel pretty good. I am the oldest in the squad now, but I still feel like I am in my late 20s.

“I am keeping myself fit and strong and still playing some good stuff, I think.

“Seventeen seasons sounds like quite a lot, but the years have just flown, which just shows how much I have enjoyed myself.

“This club means absolutely everything to me and I absolutely love being here.”

With club captain Josh Macleod sidelined, the 77-cap Davies skippered the Scarlets in last weekend’s courageous 20-20 draw with Benetton out in Treviso.

“I did it a couple of times last season as well and I have quite enjoyed it,” he says.

“It’s a role I like doing and, as an experienced player, I feel like quite a natural leader in the squad.”

Looking at this weekend’s derby, Davies said: “We beat Cardiff twice last season, so we will take a bit of confidence from that.

“But it’s a different team now and a new season and obviously a massive challenge for us.

“Cardiff play some really nice attacking rugby, so we know it will be a tough game and we have got to improve again from our efforts in Treviso.

“We have strengthened our pack and the forwards put in an outstanding shift last weekend.

“We have got some exciting backs as well, so if we can have a platform from the big boys up front hopefully we can be a really quality team.”

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt commented:

“The Scarlets beat us twice last year and it’s always very tough down in west Wales.

“I know it’s a bit cliched, but form goes out of the window with any of the Welsh derbies.”

Ospreys v DHL Stormers, 7.35pm, Saturday

Ospreys coach Toby Booth says they can take a lot of self belief and confidence from having beaten the Stormers away from home last season.

They claimed a famous 27-21 bonus point victory out in Cape Town back in April on the way to reaching the URC play-offs.

Giving his thoughts on the Stormers, Booth said: “They have got good athletes, they want to be positive. They will try and keep the game quick and try and stretch you with kicking, passing and offloading.

“So it’s going to be a defensive challenge for us, similar to what we experienced out there.

“But the good thing is we have experienced it and won against that type of game.

“So we should take a lot of belief from the fact we can do it and we will have to do it again because they are a very good team, a very tough opponent.

“If they get their own way, they are a handful. So to win over there gives you confidence and it builds self belief.”

Due to a fixture clash with Swansea City, the game has been moved from the Swansea.com Stadium to Bridgend’s Brewery Field.

“We have always loved the crowd there,” said Booth.

“It’s been fantastic. You know you can use the atmosphere and the proximity of the fans to the pitch to your advantage. So hopefully a lot of people come to watch.”

For the Stormers, it’s the start of a three week European tour which also takes in trips to Italy and Scotland to face Zebre and Edinburgh.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “We know how important it is in this competition to perform on the road, so we will give these three matches all we have.

“It’s vital we make a positive start to the campaign and take some momentum into our home matches against Munster and Glasgow.

“There are some new faces as well as a few old ones, but all of these players are hungry to make an impression in the Stormers jersey over the next three weeks.”

Connacht Rugby v Hollywoodbets Sharks, 7.35pm, Saturday

Having won two trophies in the space of five months, the Sharks will now be looking to replicate that success at league level, starting with their trip to Galway.

John Plumtree’s team beat Gloucester to win the EPCR Challenge Cup in May and then defeated the Lions in the Currie Cup final last weekend.

Yet they only won four of their 18 URC matches last season, finishing down in 14th in the table.

So there’s plenty of room for improvement there.

Yet they will head into the campaign suitably boosted by a first Currie Cup title since 2018, with full-back Jordan Hendrikse having landed a last minute penalty from well inside his own half to secure the 16-14 victory over the Lions in Johannesburg.

Coach John Plumtree said:

“I was just really proud of the boys. They showed the never-give-up attitude we have tried to instill in them.”

Connacht boss Pete Wilkins admitted he was left with “very much mixed feelings” following his team’s 35-33 defeat away to Munster in Round 1, saying there was “huge disappointment” after putting themselves in a position to claim “a famous result”, but that it was also a “really promising performance”.

“I think we’ll see the positives of that and it’s important we build on it against the Sharks,” he said.