PREVIEW: Pro12, Round 11
The traditional rivalries always add to the intensity and many of the teams are going into this round off the back of some strong form in European competition.
High-scoring continues to be the dominant theme of the season with 316 tries scored already as we reach the halfway point of the campaign. All Championship clubs are aspiring to play positively and that is clearly evident in the figures which show that only 18 percent of 2 504 points scored have come from penalties.
Competition to reach the Pro12 Final at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on May 27 is fierce and just one point separates the top three teams going into Round 11.
Round 11 takes place across the Festive period and the first Italian derby of the season is just one of the many highlights. Zebre completed the double over Benetton Treviso last year and Kieran Crowley's team will be eager to stop that trend in front of a big crowd at Stadio Monigo.
Connacht will travel to Belfast to take on Ulster at Kingspan Stadium where they are still seeking their first victory since 1960 and both teams will be battle-hardened after strong performances in Europe.
Cardiff Blues and Newport-Gwent Dragons will be eager to shake some unwanted runs of form with neither having won against another Welsh region this season while Glasgow Warriors arrive at Murrayfield for the 1872 Cup eager to claim their first win in the Scottish capital since 2013.
Scarlets will face a daunting task when they make the short trip east to take on Ospreys at Liberty Stadium where the home team have won every game this season with a try-bonus point. However, Scarlets are serious form at the moment having won their previous last seven games in the Championship.
The top two will meet at a sold-out Thomond Park where hosts Munster have installed extra seating in order to set a new attendance record for the venue in the Pro12. Leinster and Munster are both level on 37 points and with each province having won eight games they can only be separated by taking points difference into account.
Munster have not lost a game in the Pro12 since their visit to Aviva Stadium to take on Leinster in Round Six while the blue province are also the last team to beat Munster in Limerick after their victory at Thomond Park this time last year.
Tyler Bleyendaal (57 points) and Isa Nacewa (64) also enter in this fixture among the top scorers in the Championship while they boast near identical kicking percentages – Bleyendaal has an 83 percent success rate and Nacewa's is 84.
We take a look a all the Round 11 action!
Friday, December 23:
Treviso v Zebre
(Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)
Benetton Treviso have won their last two matches, home and away to Bayonne in the European Challenge Cup, but in the Pro12 their only victory in 2016/17 was at home to Newport Gwent Dragons in Round Four.
Zebre's solitary victory in any competition this season was 19-14 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in Round Six of the Pro12.
Zebre achieved the season's double over their fiercest rivals last year and overall have won three of the eight previous meeting with Benetton Treviso.
The only other fellow Italian sides who have won twice at Stadio Monigo in the professional era were Calvisano in 2001 and 2005 and Viadana in 2002 and 2005.
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Robert Barbieri, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Luca Morisi.
Zebre: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Boni, 23 Kayle Van Zyl.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Emmanuele Tomò (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Ulster v Connacht
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Ulster 35-23 victory over The Blues in Cardiff in Round 10 of the Pro12 ended a three game losing run in the Championship.
The Ulstermen's only defeat in their last nine fixtures in Belfast was by a single point to Munster in the Pro12 on October 28.
Connacht have suffered just one reversal in their last four fixtures: 17-32 to Wasps in Coventry in Round Three of the European Champions Cup.
Connacht have not won away from home in the Pro12 since a visit to Edinburgh on March 4.
Connacht beat Ulster 30-25 in Galway in Round Six and have not recorded back-to-back victories over the Ulstermen since 1997-98, whilst they have not been victorious in Belfast since November 1960.
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Darren Cave, 23 Tommy Bowe.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Rory Parata, 12 Danie Poolman, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon (captain), 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 James Cannon, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Tom McCartney, 18 JP Cooney, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Ciaran Gaffney, 23 Naulia Dawai.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Monday, December 26:
Cardiff Blue v Newport Gwent Dragons
(Cardiff Arms Park – Kick-off: 14.05; 14.05 GMT)
Cardiff Blues have won just one of their last five matches in all tournaments: 28-3 at home to Bath in Round Three of the European Challenge Cup, whilst their most recent victory in the Pro12 was at Treviso on November 4.
The Blues have lost their last three matches against a fellow Welsh region in the Championship.
Newport Gwent Dragons have won two of their last three Pro12 fixtures, at home to Connacht in Round Eight and Edinburgh in Round Nine, but they have not won away from home since beating Gloucester at Kingsholm in the quarter-finals of last season's European Challenge Cup.
Dragons have lost their last eleven encounters against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship.
Cardiff Blues have lost just once to Newport Gwent Dragons at Cardiff Arms Park since 2003; on Boxing Day 2014.
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Tom James, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Josh Navidi, 5 James Down, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Cory Allen.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Tom Prydie, 14 Pat Howard, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Lewis Evans (captain), 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 1 Sam Hobbs.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Nick Crosswell, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Sam Beard.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
(Murrayfield – Kick-off: 16.05; 16.05 GMT)
Edinburgh have secured just two victories in the last eight rounds of the Pro12, both at home to Benetton Treviso on October 7 and Ulster on November 4, whilst their only defeat in any tournament at Murrayfield since Duncan Hodge took over as head coach was to Zebre in Round Seven.
Glasgow Warriors beat Racing 92 home and away to retain their spot at the top of Pool One of the European Champions Cup, however in the Pro12 they have slipped to three straight defeats but have not lost four in a row in the Championship since 2011.
Edinburgh hold the 1872 Cup following three straight wins over their fiercest rivals with all those games being played at Murrayfield.
Warriors have not won at the famous old venue since Boxing Day 2013.
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Glenn Bryce.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Junior Bulumakau, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos (co-captain), 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray (co-captain), 4 Brian Alainu'uese, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown,1 Alex Allan.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Adam Ashe, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Nick Grigg, 23 Sean Lamont.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Munster v Leinster
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Munster's only defeat in the last eight rounds of the Pro12 was to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on October 8.
The Munstermen have won their last ten matches at Thomond Park in all tournaments since Leinster beat them there 12 months ago.
Leinster have also lost only once in their last eight Pro12 fixtures: 29-38 at Scarlets on November 25.
The Leinstermen have played two matches in 2016 away to fellow Irish provinces, losing both and failing to score a try, at Connacht in March and at Ulster in April.
Leinster have won their last three matches against Munster since the Munstermen' s 28-13 victory at Thomond Park exactly two years ago.
Teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain), 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Francis Saili, 23 Andrew Conway.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Isa Nacewa (captain), 13 Rory O'Loughlin, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Barry Daly, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Charlie Rock, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Tom Daly.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Tuesday, December 27:
Ospreys v Scarlets
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Ospreys have won their last five matches in all competitions and in the Pro12 have lost just one of their last five: 0-33 in Munster in Round Eight.
Ospreys are the best home side in the PRO12 this season having recorded a perfect five maximum point victories.
Scarlets have won their last seven Pro12 matches, their best ever run in a single season, and have picked up 24 out of a possible 25 league points from their last five Championship games.
Last season each side won at their opponent's home ground in the Pro12, Scarlets triumphing at Liberty Stadium for the first time since 2007.
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Dan Evans, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Rory Thornton, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Sam Underhill, 22 Tom Habberfield, 23 Kieron Fonotia.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Scott Williams, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Tom Price, 20 Josh Macleod, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Steff Evans.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
