Preview: Pro12, Round Six

Edinburgh's perfect start to the season was ended by Zebre last time out, and Solomons' side slid to fourth in the table as a result.

In Galway they will face a Connacht side who has also won four and lost one of their opening five games and currently sit second in the standings.

And Solomons – who will be without his returning World Cup stars for another week – has warned his side to raise their intensity.

"This game will be miles tougher," he said.

"Playing in Italy is always tough, they [Zebre] had all their World Cup players back. Connacht have a few injuries but they have had very few players out with the World Cup. They had [centre] Robbie Henshaw and one other player [prop Nathan White] and they are both back playing. At the moment we have something like 14 players out counting injuries and the World Cup players who need an extra week.

"Playing in Galway is always tough and the players know that. They've had a lot of continuity because, as I said, they've had very few players away at the World Cup."

The 19-11 loss in Italy has now been reviewed and Solomons has called on his side to learn their lessons.

"We definitely fell off our game too much. Ulster [a 16-10 home win the previous week] was a big game and it probably took a bit out of us," he added.

"You are always going to drop off a bit the next week but we dropped off too much. The key problem areas we had were that we turned over too many balls and gave away too many penalties."

Friday, October 30

Munster v Ulster

(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 18.00)

Munster’s perfect start to the new PRO12 season ended with their 22-25 defeat at Scarlets on Friday. 

The Munstermen have not lost back-to-back regular season fixtures in the same campaign since April 2013. 

Munster have won their last 11 home matches in all tournaments since losing out to Clermont Auvergne in the European Cup in Limerick in December.

Ulster’s last seven matches in the PRO12 have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Ulstermen’s most recent success on the road came when they visited Connacht in April.

Munster were undefeated against Ulster last season, winning the home clash at Thomond Park 21-20 and then drawing 23-all at Kingspan Stadium in May. Ulster have won just once in the PRO12 in Limerick since 2009: 19-17 in May 2014.

Teams:

Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Simon Zebo, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Jack O'Donoghue, 6 CJ Stander (captain), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 James Cronin.

Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 John Ryan, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Jordan Coghlan, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Ronan O'Mahony.

Ulster: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Andrew Warwick.

Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Black, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Paul Rowley, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Sammy Arnold.

Scarlets v Newport Gwent Dragons

(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 18.00)

Scarlets now remain as the only unbeaten side in the PRO12 this season and have in fact won their last nine fixtures in the competition since their home defeat to Edinburgh in March. 

That 15-26 reversal is their only defeat at Parc y Scarlets in the PRO12 in their last twenty matches since December 2013.

Newport Gwent Dragons last seven matches in the PRO12 have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Dragons most recent away victory in the competition came when they visited Treviso in March.

The Dragons have beaten Scarlets just once in their past 14 encounters in the PRO12: 23-16 at Rodney Parade in September 2013, whilst they have been defeated on all nine trips they have made to Parc y Scarlets in all competitions.

Teams:

Scarlets: 15 Aled Thomas, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Regan King, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Phil John.

Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Will Taylor, 19 George Earle, 20 Jack Condy, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Jacob Cowley.

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Ed Jackson, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Boris Stankovich.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Phil Price, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Ollie Griffiths, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Geraint Rhys Jones, 23 Carl Meyer.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Assistant referees: Neil Hennessy (Wales), Dan Jones (Wales)

TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)

Saturday, October 31

Zebre v Cardiff 

(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – Kick-off: 14.00)

Zebre achieved their ninth victory in PRO12 history in beating Edinburgh 19-11 on Saturday. 

In only three of these victories have they also deprived their opponents of even a losing bonus point – all three instances have been against the unfortunate Scotsmen.

Cardiff Blues have slipped to four straight PRO12 defeats, but all four loses have been on the road. The Blues only defeat to an Italian opponent in any tournament since March 2014 was on a trip to Treviso in the PRO12 last February.

The Blues have already beaten Zebre this season, winning 61-13 at Cardiff Arms Park, whilst the two sides have met on seven previous occasions in all with Zebre victorious twice, both in season 2013/14.

Teams:

Zebre: 15 Dion Berryman, 14 Kayle Van Zyl, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jean Cook, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Andrea Lovotti.

Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Jacopo Sarto, 21 Marcello Violi, 22 Guglielmo Palazzani, 23 Edoardo Padovani.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Adam Thomas, 11 Tom James, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Josh Navidi (captain) 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 James Down, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Sam Hobbs,

Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Garyn Smith.

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), tba

TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)

Connacht v Edinburgh

(Sportsground – Kick-off: 18.45)

Connacht lie in second place in the PRO12 table, which is their best position after a round of games since they topped the pile following the opening round of fixtures in season 2010/11. 

Connacht’s only reversal so far this season was 32-33 at Glasgow Warriors in Round Two.

Edinburgh’s perfect start to the new PRO12 campaign ended with their trip to Zebre on Saturday. The Scotsmen have won both of their fixtures played against Irish Provinces this season, beating Leinster in Round One and Ulster in Round Four.

Each side won its respective away game when the two teams met in the PRO12 last season with Edinburgh winning on two of their last three visits to the Sportsground.

Teams: 

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Darragh Leader, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Aly Muldowney, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Nathan White, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Rory Parata, 23 Niyi Adeolokun.

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Sam Beard, 11 Will Helu, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland.

Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Cornell Du Preez, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Dougie Fife, 23 Nick McLennan.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)

Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Stuart Douglas (Ireland)

Sunday, November 1

Glasgow Warriors v Ospreys

(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30)

Reigning Champions Glasgow Warriors’ only defeat in their last dozen matches at Scotstoun in all tournaments came when they hosted Scarlets in the PRO12 in the opening round this season.

Ospreys have won just one of their last six PRO12 fixtures: 25-22 at Treviso on 17th October, whilst the Welshmen’s only success on their last dozen visits to Scotland was 15-14 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in February 2012.

Ospreys beat the Warriors 21-10 on the most recent occasion that the two sides met at Liberty Stadium in May to end a six game Glasgow winning run against the Welshmen. Ospreys last victory on Glasgow soil was at Firhill in September 2009.

Teams: 

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Tommy Seymour, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Rob Harley (captain), 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.

Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Ben John, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Lloyd Ashley (captain), 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Paul James.

Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jonathan Spratt.

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Treviso v Leinster

(Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 16.00)

Treviso slipped to a twelfth straight PRO12 defeat with their 12-9 reversal at Dragons on Friday. 

Treviso have not been victorious in the tournament since they beat Cardiff Blues at Stadio Monigo in February, whilst they have failed to defeat an Irish province since Connacht visited Treviso in October 2013.

All five of Leinster’s fixtures in the PRO12 this season have been won by the home side on the day, whilst Leinster’s only away victory in their last eight trips in all competitions was over Edinburgh at Murrayfield in Round 22 last season.

The only time that Treviso have beaten Leinster in a dozen previous encounters in all tournaments was when the Irishmen visited Stadio Monigo in September 2010 and lost 13-29. The two sides played out a 24-all draw at the venue last November.

Teams: 

Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Andrea Pratichetti, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Simone Ragusi, 10 Luke Mclean, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Alessandro Zanni (captain), 6 Francesco Minto , 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Rupert Harden 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.

Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa (captain), 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Noel Reid.

Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy), Gregorio Piran (Italy)

TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)