Round three of the Guinness PRO14 season is nearly upon us. The teams for Friday night’s marquee match-ups are out and there are returns, farewells, broken bones and bruised egos aplenty. But we start withDave Kearney, Leinster’s hat-trick hero from round one who is back in blue this weekend at the RDS Arena after sitting out round two. It’s been quite a journey for Kearney, who has had such a miserable time of things with injury since the last World Cup and missed out on this one after being included in the training camp. But the man himself is just happy to be back out on the pitch, as he told the 42.ie. Similar World Cup heartache is motivatingGlasgow Warriors pair Nick Grigg and Matt Fagerson. The duo were two of the last cuts from Gregor Townsend’s squad and are keen to make up for their disappointment for Dave Rennie’s so far misfiring side. Sticking in Scotland, andEdinburgh are at the RDS this weekend looking to make it three wins from three. And Richard Cockerill is never one to shirk a challenge. Meanwhile, the high-flyingToyota Cheetahs welcomeMunster to Bloemfontein for a special occasion. Not only are the Cheetahs looking to go three from three, but they are also bidding farewell to Franco Smith. The head coach will be in charge for the last time, before heading to Italy to join the national coaching set-up there. And the former Benetton boss, who led the Cheetahs to Currie Cup success and the Guinness PRO14 play-offs at the first time of asking, has had his say. ButMunster will not be just rolling over to let Franco have his farewell party. They want a hat-trick of their own, and Johann van Graan’s side clearly mean business. Elsewhere,Connacht head coach Andy Friend has handed a full debut to Australian Sevens star John Porch in the only change ahead of tomorrow’s Guinness PRO14 clash with the Dragons at Rodney Parade. Their opponents theDragons have finally ended their away day hell that stretched all the way back to 2015. But the challenge now, according to the South Wales Argus, is to build on that win in Parma last time out.
