Preview: Pro12, Round 13
Six teams are currently battling it out to reach a semifinal place with another four teams behind them hoping to press their claims for a Champions Cup qualification berth.
Five games take place this weekend due to the postponement of Edinburgh versus Munster as Pro12 clubs aim to fine tune themselves ahead of the final two European rounds.
With Pro12 leaders Munster in European action against Racing 92 in the Champions Cup, second-placed Ospreys have an opportunity to reach the top of the table for the first time since Round Three.
Steve Tandy's men take on Connacht at Liberty Stadium where they boast the best home record in the Championship having taken 29 points from a possible 30 this season.
The other game taking place in Wales in Round 13 is the meeting between Newport-Gwent Dragons and Benetton Treviso, where the visitors are looking to complete a double over their hosts after a win at Stadio Monigo earlier this season.
The Italians have won their last two games against Dragons, who lead Treviso by just four points in the table.
Zebre travel to Dublin to face Leinster at the RDS Arena where they face a formidable task in earning an historic win.
Third-placed Leinster have won all 13 games played at their Dublin home against Italian opposition in the Championship and they have won eight of their last 10 games in the Pro12.
Finally, in Scotland, Glasgow Warriors will be eager to pick a victory ahead of a pivotal final two rounds in the Champions Cup, but
Danny Wilson's Cardiff Blues side will be aiming to complete their first double over the Scots since 2011 and desperate to regain some momentum.
Scarlets have been resurgent since their early-season struggles and they have powered up the table on the back of some exciting rugby.
They will entertain Ulster who are eager to rebound from their defeat to Leinster and start climbing back into the top four positions, however, Scarlets have lost just once in their last eight Pro12 games and are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions at Parc y Scarlets.
This fixture will bring together some of the most impressive players in the Championship with Liam Williams and Charles Piutau likely to go up against each other from full back.
Scarlets wing Steffan Evans has been a menace to defences all year but he and his teammates will come across the Pro12's top tackler in Sean Reidy (148 tackles).
Top Performers in Round 12 – Powered by Opta Statistics
Metres Gained: Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) – 158
Carries: Sean O'Brien (Leinster) – 17
Breaks: Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) – three
Defenders Beaten: Charles Piutau (Ulster) – nine
Tackles Made: Lewis Rawlins (Scarlets) – 18
Offloads: Multiple Players – three
Turnovers won: Ollie Griffiths (Newport-Gwent Dragons) – four
We look at all the Round 13 action!
Friday, January 6
LEINSTER v ZEBRE
(RDS Arena – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Leinster's only defeat in their last five first team fixtures was 17-25 in Munster on St Stephen's Day.
Leinster have lost just once at the RDS Arena in the Pro12 since March 2013: 14-16 to Newport Gwent Dragons in February 2015.
Zebre have won just one game in the Pro12 this season, 19-14 in Edinburgh in Round Seven, but they have also picked up 5 losing bonus points along the way.
Leinster have a played nine, won nine record against Zebre and have won all thirteen previous games against Italian opposition at the RDS Arena with only Aironi (in February 2011) gaining any league points from those encounters.
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Rory O’Loughlin, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Dan Leavy, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Noel Reid.
Zebre: 15 Kurt Baker, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Matteo Pratichetti, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Lloyd Greeff, 10 Edoardo Padovani, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Federico Ruzza, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Tommaso D’Apice, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Maxime Mbandà, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Giovanbattista Venditti, 23 Serafin Bordoli.
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Neil Hennessey (Wales)
NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS v BENETTON TREVISO
(Rodney Parade – Kick-off: 19.15; 19.15 GMT)
Newport Gwent Dragons have lost their last three matches in the Pro12 since beating Edinburgh at Rodney Parade on 27 November.
The Welshmen's 0-10 reversal to Ospreys on New Year's Day ended a five game winning run in all competitions at Rodney Parade.
Benetton Treviso's three game winning run in first team fixtures came to an end when Glasgow Warriors visited Stadio Monigo on New Year's Eve.
Treviso won their most recent away game 28-15 in Bayonne in the European Challenge Cup but have not won successive matches on their travels since 2011, whilst their most recent victory on the road in the Pro12 was 26-16 at Zebre in December 2014.
Treviso have won their last two encounters with Dragons but these were played at Stadio Monigo, the Italians have not been victorious at Rodney Parade since a single point triumph in April 2012.
The teams:
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Pat Howard, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Lewis Evans (captain), 5 Cory Hill, 4 Nick Crosswell, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 Nic Cudd, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Jack Dixon.
Benetton Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Matteo Zanusso, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Teofilo Paulo, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Tommaso Iannone.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Sean Brickell (Wales)
SCARLETS v ULSTER
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Scarlets have been defeated just once in the last nine rounds of Pro12 play: 9-19 away to Ospreys on 27 December.
The Welshmen have won their last eight matches at Parc y Scarlets in all competitions since Munster beat them there in the opening round of this season's Pro12.
Ulster have gained just two victories in their last six Pro12 encounters: in Cardiff in round 10 and at home to Connacht in round 11, the victory over Blues being their only one on the road in any competition since September.
Ulster won 19-8 when the two sides met in Belfast in round 3 and have not achieved a season's double over Scarlets since they won all three encounters that were played in 2012/13, coinciding with their most recent victory at Parc y Scarlets in December 2012.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Lewis Rawlins, 5 Tom Price, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Nicky Thomas, 19 Joshua Macleod, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Steff Hughes.
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Andrew Trimble (captain), 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Ross Kane, 2 Rory Best, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Jonny Simpson, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Pete Browne, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Brett Herron, 23 Tommy Bowe.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Elia Rizzo (Italy), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Saturday, January 7
OSPREYS v CONNACHT
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 13.30; 13.30 GMT)
Ospreys have lost just one of their last seven Pro12 fixtures: 0-33 at Munster in Round Eight.
The Welshmen are the best home side in the Pro12 this season having dropped only one possible league point in their six encounters at Liberty Stadium so far.
Connacht have lost their last two Pro12 matches to fellow Irish provinces, Ulster and Munster, over the festive period.
Connacht's only victory in their last five visits to Wales was 26-21 against Newport Gwent Dragons in February 2016.
Ospreys only two previous defeats to Connacht since the 2012/13 season both came last season when Connacht became champions.
Prior to this the Irishmen's previous victory on Ospreys soil came at The Gnoll in November 2004.
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Brendon Leonard, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Kieron Fonotia.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Rory Parata, 12 Peter Robb, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 John Cooney, 8 Naulia Dawai, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 James Cannon, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney (captain), 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 John Andress, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Danie Poolman, 23 Ciaran Gaffney
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Dewi Phillips (Wales)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
GLASGOW WARRIORS v CARDIFF BLUES
(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Glasgow Warriors have won their last four matches in all tournaments since Munster beat them by a single point at Scotstoun in round 10 of the Pro12.
The Warriors have met Welsh opposition on four occasions this season with their only victory being at Newport Gwent Dragons in Round Five.
Cardiff Blues' two wins in the last eight rounds of the Pro12 were away to Treviso in Round Eight and at home to Dragons on Boxing Day.
The Blues two other away wins in the Pro12 this campaign were in Munster in Round Two and at Zebre in Round Four.
The Blues won 23-19 at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park in round 3 and are attempting to achieve a first season's double over the Scotsmen since 2010/11.
The Blues only previous victory at Scotstoun was 9-7 in the European Champions Cup in December 2013.
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Adam Ashe, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Sean Lamont
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 James Down, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Kristian Dacey,1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 BJ Edwards, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Rhun Williams
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Keith Allan (Scotland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Source: @PRO12rugby
