Preview: Pro12, Round 11
On Friday Ospreys host Newport Gwent Dragons after their narrow victory against Scarlets, whilst Scarlets go to Cardiff to face the Blues and Leinster take on Connacht.
On Saturday Ulster take on Munster and Edinburgh face Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield, with the weekend ending in Italy on Sunday as Treviso seek revenge against Zebre.
Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss believes a strong mindset is responsible for his side picking up four wins on the bounce in all competitions.
Defeat to Saracens in the Champions Cup was followed by an 8-3 loss to Leinster in November but since then Ulster have been in fine form.
A pair of victories in Europe over Toulouse were sandwiched between PRO12 wins over Edinburgh and Connacht as Ulster ensured they entered the New Year in the top four.
And Kiss thinks the squad have embraced his new tactical philosophy as they look to make it five wins in a row in a clash with Munster on Saturday.
"It's probably a collection of things, but I think it would be the mindset that has been very important to us in embracing some of the areas of our game," said Kiss, who took over as Ulster boss following the World Cup.
"The commitment to that has been good. Tactically the game we had moved to was something the players had not only to embrace but that it made sense to them.
"They are now really finding their feet in it now. When you get that mindset about committing to something your skillsets can be executed more accurately.
"That's what I've been doing since I came in. We've challenged ourselves, our group, and tried to change the way we look at things and those habits are forming all the time.
"Players are now demanding more of each other and I've got to say that I've been very happy the way they have faced each challenge, and Saturday will be another big one."
All of the weekend's match details:
Friday, January 1
Ospreys v Newport Gwent Dragons
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 14.00)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben John, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James King, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Jonathan Spratt.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Nick Scott, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Ed Jackson. 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas (captain), 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Phil Price, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Nic Cudd, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Ross Wardle.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Rhys Thomas (Wales)
TMO: Jonathan Mason (Wales)
Cardiff Blues v Scarlets
(Cardiff Arms Park – Kick-off: 17.00)
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Tom James, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Macauley Cook, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Garyn Smith.
Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Jack Condy, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Tom Price, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Maselino Paulino, 20 Emyr Phillips, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Steve Shingler, 23 Regan King.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Leinster v Connacht
(RDS – Kick-off: 17.00)
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Zane Kirchner.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoghan Masterson. 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Aly Muldowney, 3 Nathan White, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Finlay Bealham.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Ian Porter, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Rory Parata.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Leo Colgan (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Saturday, January 2
Ulster v Munster
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 15.00)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rory Scholes, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 5 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Alan O'Connor, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, Sammy Arnold.
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Ronan O'Mahony, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 CJ Stander (captain), 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Jack O'Donoghue, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 John Ryan, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Denis Hurley.
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
TMO: Alan Rogan (Ireland)
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
(Murrayfield – Kick-off: 17.15)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: TBC
Edinburgh: TBC
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Graeme Wells (Scotland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Sunday, January 3
Treviso v Zebre
(Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 14.30)
Teams:
Treviso: TBC
Zebre: TBC
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
