Preview: Pro12, Round 10
However only two points separate the teams placed third to sixth in the table, with two of those, Leinster and Glasgow Warriors, having a game in hand, so the competition for the end of season play-offs will be tight.
The traditional round of festive derbies take place over the holidays, one of the oldest inter-city rivalries in Scotland celebrated with the 1872 Cup being awarded to the winner over two legs of the games between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors. Edinburgh currently hold the trophy after a gap of six years.
Inter-provincial rivalry in Ireland takes on added impetus as all four provinces sit second to fifth on the table, and with an eye on both the play-offs and qualification for the European Cup next season, the results of these games will be even more crucial than usual.
With qualification for Europe's top tier based on meritocracy and with Scarlets having already pulled out an impressive lead on their regional rivals, the three remaining Welsh sides will need to start mounting a serious challenge, starting with the traditional regional derbies this round.
The honour of being the highest placed team in Italy, and along with that entry to the European Cup next year, is also on the line when Zebre and Treviso meet in back-to-back games over the holidays.
Whilst the festive derbies may provide a highlight of the holidays for many fans, the players know that the serious business of winning games, especially when they are against your fiercest local adversaries, is what this time of year is all about.
We look at this weekend's action!
Saturday, December 26
Connacht v Ulster
(Sportsground – Kick-off: 18.00 GMT)
Connacht's six match winning run ended with their 16-20 defeat at Cardiff Blues in Round Nine. Connacht are the top try scorers so far in the tournament and are also unbeaten at the Sportsground in any competition this season. Ulster but have not won back-to-back games in the competition since April. The Ulstermen have won just once on the road in their last seven trip. Connacht's only victory in their last 18 fixtures with Ulster was 26-21 at the Sportsground in April 2012, although they have managed to secure losing bonus points from each of their last two matches.
Teams:
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 James Connolly, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Nathan White, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Finlay Bealham.
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Andrew Browne, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Ian Porter, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Rory Parata.
Ulster: 15 L Ludik, 14 A Trimble, 13 L Marshall, 12 S McCloskey, 11 R Scholes, 10 P Jackson, 9 R Pienaar, 8 N Williams, 7 S Reidy, 6 R Diack, 5 F van der Merwe, 4 A O'Connor, 3 W Herbst, 2 R Herring (captain), 1 A Warwick.
Replacements: 16 J Andrew, 17 C Black, 18 R Lutton, 19 S Mulholland, 20 R Wilson, 21 P Marshall, 22 I Humphreys, 23 S Arnold.
Referee: Peter Ferguson (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Jude Quins (Ireland)
Scarlets v Ospreys
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 14.05 GMT)
Top of the table Scarlets have lost just one game since Edinburgh visited Llanelli in March. That defeat to the Scotsmen is their only loss in their last 22 home fixtures at Parc y Scarlets. The only fellow Welsh region to have defeated Scarlets in a home game since April 2010, is Ospreys, who have done so three times. Ospreys have won their last three encounters but have not won an away game other than in Italy in any tournament since May. Ospreys have lost just one of their last seven away games against fellow Welsh regions.
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 George Earle, 20 Jack Condy, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Steve Shingler, 23 Regan King.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben John, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Eli Walker.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
Sunday, December 27
Zebre v Treviso
(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – Kick-off: 14.00 GMT)
Zebre achieved their biggest ever winning margin in their short history, beating La Rochelle 25-5 in the Challenge Cup. Zebre have not won in the Pro12 since their Round Six eclipsing of Cardiff Blues in Parma. Treviso have lost their last 20 fixtures in all tournaments, since defeating the Blues at Stadio Monigo in February. Treviso have at least gained seven losing bonus points from their last 10 defeats.
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jacopo Sarto, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Kelly Haimona, 23 Ulrich Beyers.
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Simone Ragusi, 10 Jayden Hayward, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Alessandro Zanni (captain), 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Filo Paulo, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Robert Barbieri, 22 Chris Smylie, 23 Alberto Sgarbi.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Claudio Blessano (Italy, Matteo Liperini (Italy)
TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)
Newport Dragons v Cardiff Blues
(Rodney Parade – Kick-off: 15.00 GMT)
Newport Dragons have won their last three matches in all tournaments but their most recent victory at home to Munster in the last round ended a three game losing run. Dragons have lost just once at Rodney Parade in their last 10 encounters in all tournaments. Cardiff Blues victory at home to Connacht in Round Nine ended a seven game losing streak. The Blues have lost their last 11 away games since they beat Dragons at Rodney Parade on New Year's Day.
Teams:
Newport Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Nick Scott, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas (captain), 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Ollie Griffiths, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Ross Wardle.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Tom James, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 James Down, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Cory Allen, 23 Dan Fish.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Neil Hennessey (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
(Murrayfield – Kick-off: 15.05 GMT)
Edinburgh's only victory in their last five fixtures was 32-13 at home to Newport Dragons in Round Eight. Edinburgh's only loss this season at Murrayfield came when Munster were the visitors in November. Glasgow have lost just one of their last six matches in all tournaments and have played only three away games this season.
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 John Hardie, 6 Mike Coman (c), 5 Alex Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Allan Dell, 18 John Andress, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Andries Strauss.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray (c), 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Lee Jones.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Bob Nevins (Scotland)
TMO: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Munster v Leinster
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 17.15 GMT)
Munster have lost their last two matches since beating Edinburgh at Murrayfield in November. The Munstermen's home loss to Connacht in Round Eight ended a seven game winning run at Thomond Park. Leinster lie in fourth spot, and in accumulating 27 league points from their first eight games, have made their best ever start to a campaign. Munster achieved the season's double over Leinster last year, something that has not occurred in the regular season since 2008/09. Leinster have not been victorious at Thomond Park since April 2013.
Teams:
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander (captain), 7 Jack O'Donoghue, 6 Robin Copeland, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 John Ryan, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Tomás O'Leary, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Isa Nacewa (captain), 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Tom Denton, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Dave Kearney.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
