Preview: Pro12, Round 13
These two teams met in Round 12 in Wales in the reverse fixture with Scarlets edging Connacht 21-19.
The West Wales region have obtained 14 league points from the five away games so far this season, getting the season off to a strong start with a victory over champions Glasgow in Round One. Scarlets have already matched last season's number of away wins, three, that came in the last four rounds of the 2014/15 campaign.
The region won six of the first seven Pro12 fixtures at the start of the season whilst without international players for the World Cup campaign.
"We've always planned to lose some players at this time," said Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac. "We're back to a squad minus Cubby [James Davies] and John [Barclay] really to what we had at the start of the year.
"Those guys did a pretty good job; we'd gone five from five by the time the internationals came back. We're a lot further into the season, a lot has happened since then, certainly the boys are looking forward to this group of games whilst the Six Nations is on."
Pivac said the goal for his team is to stay near the summit of the table while some of his players are on international duty during the Six Nations.
"Clearly we want to remain as high up the table as we can. There are eight or nine sides going for six slots, that doesn't work. There will be quality teams to miss out – we don't want to be one of those sides. It's all in front of us over next four or five games to stay in the top four if we can, that's certainly the aim. We know exactly what we've got to do now."
This weekend's Pro12 action kicks off on Friday when Newport Gwent Dragons take on Leinster who have come storming up the Guinness PRO12 table over recent weeks and now sit in second place with a game in hand
In Saturday other games, third-placed Edinburgh face the team who have scored most tries in competition to date, Cardiff Blues. Whilst the Blues have claimed three try bonus points so far Edinburgh have recorded just one, so this could prove a difficult trip for the Scotsmen.
The other two games on Saturday are both Italy versus Ireland affairs with Zebre hosting Munster and Ulster travelling to Benetton Treviso. For the home sides it is a race with each other to claim the single Italian spot in next season's Champions cup – presently Zebre have a 10-point lead over Benetton Treviso. For the Irish provinces, who both have a game in hand and sit equal on 32 points, the challenge is to reclaim a place in the play-off zone.
We look at all the Round 13 action!
Friday, January 29
Newport Gwent Dragons v Leinster
(Rodney Parade – Kick-off: 19.05; 19.05 GMT)
Newport Gwent Dragons have won just one of their last four encounters: 31-18 at home to Castres in the European Challenge Cup on January 15, whilst their only victory in their last six Pro12 fixtures was 22-6 over Munster at Rodney Parade in Round Nine.
Leinster have won their last seven Pro12 matches since tripping up at Scarlets on October 16, their only defeat this season to a Welsh Region.
Leinster won 37-13 when the two sides met in Round Three to reverse the trend of last season where the Welshmen achieved a Pro12 double over the Leinstermen for the first time.
Teams:
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Rynard Landman, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Phil Price, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James Benjamin, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Geraint Rhys Jones, 23 Nick Scott.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Fergus McFadden, 10 Cathal Marsh, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Dooley.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Oisín Heffernan, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Peadar Timmins, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Noel Reid.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Saturday, January 30
Connacht v Scarlets
(Sportsground – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Connacht's five game losing run in all competitions ended with their 47-5 victory over Russian outfit Enisei on Saturday.
The Irishmen's only defeat in their last nine matches at the Sportsground in all tournaments was 3-10 to Ulster in the Pro12 on December 26.
Scarlets remain at the top of the Pro12 table despite winning only three of their last six matches and gaining 15 points out of a possible 30. The Welshmen are the best away side in the Pro12 (along with Leinster) having obtained 14 league points from their five trips so far.
Connacht's only victory in their last eight encounters with Scarlets was 14-8 in this equivalent fixture last season, played in November 2014.
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 George Naoupu, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 James Connolly, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Rory Parata.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes (captain), 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Tom Price, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Jack Jones, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Connor Lloyd, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Michael Collins.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Eddie Hagan O’Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
Zebre v Munster
(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Zebre's four game winning run in all tournaments came to an end with their 11-14 reversal at home to Gloucester in the European Challenge Cup – the two sides had been drawing 11-all with only 6 minutes left.
Zebre won the back-to-back fixtures against Treviso over the holiday period but have never won three Pro12 matches in succession.
Munster's only loss in their last four matches was 7-27 at Stade Français in the Champions Cup on January 9. The Munstermen have won their last nine fixtures against Italian opponents in all tournaments.
The two sides have met on six previous occasions with Munster winning all six (five with a bonus point) and Zebre gaining just one losing bonus point – at Parma in May 2013.
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Kayle Van Zyl, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Michele Visentin, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Jean Cook, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Emiliano Caffini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea De Marchi
Replacements: 16 Emiliano Coria, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Giulio Toniolatti, 22 Mils Muliaina, 23 Ulrich Beyers
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Jack O'Donoghue, 6 Billy Holland (captain), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Dave Foley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Dave O'Callaghan, 20 Shane Buckley, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Cian Bohane, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Elia Rizzo (Italy), Filippo Bertelli (Italy)
TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)
Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh
(Cardiff Arms Park – Kick-off: 17.15; 17.15 GMT)
Cardiff Blues are the top try scoring team in the Pro12, having run in 31 five- pointers this campaign.
The Blues have won their last four fixtures at Cardiff Arms Park since their 20-32 reversal there to Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup.
Edinburgh's five-game winning run came to a halt with their defeat in Grenoble on Saturday evening. The Scotsmen have won both of the matches they have played against Welsh regions so far this season.
Edinburgh's only victory in their last five encounters with Blues was 28-13 at Murrayfield in November 2014 whilst they have not been successful on Cardiff soil since September 2012.
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata,3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Thomas Davies.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Bradley Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Elis-Wyn Benham.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks,14 Dougie Fife, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Mike Coman (captain), 4 Alex Toolis, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Magnus Bradbury, 20 George Turner, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Will Helu, 23 Blair Kinghorn.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Martyn Lewis (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Benetton Treviso v Ulster
(Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 18.00; 17.00 GMT)
Benetton Treviso have not won a game in any competition since beating Cardiff Blues at Stadio Monigo last February, although they have picked up 8 losing bonus points in that sequence.
The Italians have not beaten an Irish province since Connacht visited them in October 2013.
Ulster have won two of their last three away games in the Pro12, beating Dragons and Connacht and obtaining a losing bonus point against Leinster in the other.
Ulster's only defeat to an Italian opponent since October 2011 was on a trip to Zebre in September 2014.
The two sides have met on 17 previous occasions in all competitions with Treviso's solitary victory being 23-12 in Belfast in October 2011.
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Andrea De Marchi, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Palmer, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Roberto Santamaria, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Filippo Filippetto, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 James Ambrosini, 22 Simone Ragusi, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Rory Scholes, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Pete Browne, 20 Lorcan Dow, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Jacob Stockdale.
eferee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Sunday, January 31
Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors
Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
Ospreys' five-game winning run in the Pro12 ended with their 9-22 home defeat to Leinster in Round 12.
This was the Welshmen's only reversal at Liberty Stadium in their last seven matches in all tournaments.
Glasgow Warriors four-game losing run in all competitions ended with their impressive 22-5 victory over French powerhouse Racing 92 at Kilmarnock on Saturday. The defending Pro12 champions have won their last five encounters against Welsh regions in all tournaments.
Ospreys have won just one of their last nine fixtures with the Warriors: 21-10 at Liberty Stadium in Round 21 last year.
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Brendon Leonard (captain), 8 Dan Baker, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Ben John, 23 JJ Engelbrecht.
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Ryan Wilson (captain), 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19. Josh Strauss, 20 James Eddie, 21 Ali Price, 22 Gregor Hunter, 23 Glenn Bryce.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
