Preview: Pro12, Round 14
Round 14 is the first of four straight rounds of Pro12 tournament over February/March – with just three points separating the top four teams.
It means race to make the end of season play-offs is really on, not forgetting that qualification for next season's European Champions Cup is also at stake.
The two games on Friday, in Edinburgh and Belfast, could have the most impact on the Pro12 table.
Should Ospreys lose out on their trip to Edinburgh and other results go against them, they could lose the lead they've held at the top of the Pro12 for 11 of the 13 rounds played to date.
Ulster have the benefit of a home game, and victory over Benetton Treviso is vital if the hosts are to work their way back into the play-off zone, but even then it is still dependent upon other results.
Two of the four teams above Ulster also have home advantage – Munster, who face Cardiff Blues in the only game on Saturday, and Leinster, who wrap the round up with their fixtures against Newport Gwent Dragons on Sunday.
Both of them will be looking to make that advantage count in the scoreline.
Second-placed Glasgow Warriors are on the road in Italy – Zebre, for so long the top Italian side in this season's competition, are their hosts, and will be anxious to reclaim some of the ground they have lost to Treviso, however history must favour the visitors.
We look at all the Round 14 matches!
Friday 13th February
Ulster v Benetton Treviso
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Ulster's record in their last five Pro12 fixtures is won 2 lost 3, however only one of those games was played at Kingspan Stadium.
The Ulstermen have lost just once in Belfast this season: 13-23 to Toulon in the Champions Cup on October 25, whilst their only Pro12 defeat at the venue since September 2013 came at the hands of Leinster last May.
Treviso have won three of their last five matches in all competitions, but away from home their only victory in their last 24 trips in all tournaments came on their visit to Zebre in December.
Treviso's most recent victory outside Italy was in Llanelli in May 2013, whilst the last time they beat an Irish province on their own park was when they visited Connacht in December 2011.
The two sides have met on 15 previous occasions in all competitions with Treviso's only previous win being 23-12 in Belfast on 7 October 2011.
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Michael Allen, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Mike McComish, 6 Roger Wilson (captain), 5 Franco Van der Merwe, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Wiehan Herbst, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Stuart McCloskey, 23 Peter Nelson.
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dean Budd, 6 Meyer Swanepoel, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Josè Novak, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Nicola Cattina, 21 Andrea Pratichetti, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Henry Seniloli.
Referee: Ian Davies
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll, Brian MacNeice
TMO: Alan Rogan
Edinburgh v Ospreys
(Myreside – Kick-off: 20.05; 20.05 GMT)
Edinburgh return to Myreside for a Pro12 encounter for the first time since they beat Caerphilly there 27-20 in a pool game in the old Celtic League in September 2001.
Edinburgh's two defeats in their last eight matches in all tournaments have both been in away games, against Glasgow Warriors over Christmas and in Lyon on January 17.
The Scotsmen are unbeaten at home to Welsh teams this season, having drawn with Scarlets and beaten the Dragons and Blues at Murrayfield.
Ospreys have lost just one of their last four encounters in the Pro12: 10-22 at Scarlets in Round 12.
The Welshmen have lost their last three away games in the competition, but have not lost four in a row on the road since season 2007/08. Ospreys' only victory in their last nine visits to Scotland since 2009 was 15-14 over Edinburgh at Murrayfield in February 2012.
Edinburgh have won just one of their last four fixtures against Ospreys: 31-25 at Meggetland on 28 February 2014.
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Sam Beard, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Jade Te Rure, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Mike Coman, 7 Hugh Blake, 6 Roddy Grant, 5 Ollie Atkins, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 John Andress, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Alex Glashan, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Andries Strauss.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Tyler Ardron (captain), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 James King, 20 Ieuan Jones, 21 Dan Baker, 22 Tom Habberfield, 23 Jonathan Spratt.
Referee: Gary Conway
Assistant referees: Graeme Wells, Stephen Hart
TMO: Iain Ramage
Saturday 14th February
Munster v Cardiff Blues
(Irish Independent Park – Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35)
Munster's last eight fixtures in all tournaments have resulted in only three victories.
However, at home the Munstermen have lost just once in the Pro12 since round one: 14-19 to Ospreys on September 17.
Munster have won their last six matches at Irish Independent Park in Cork since the Blues themselves won there on 5 January 2013.
Cardiff Blues' last three matches in the Pro12 have all strangely been won by the away side on the day with the Welshmen winning their most recent away trip in the competition 11-9 against the Dragons at Rodney Parade.
The Blues are winless against Irish provinces this season, slipping to four defeats and a draw in their encounters so far.
Cardiff Blues only victory in their last nine encounters with Munster: 17-6 in Cork in January 2013. The Capital side's record in Cork is an impressive won three lost two.
Teams:
Munster: 15 JJ Hanrahan, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Denis Hurley (captain), 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 Jack O'Donoghue, 7 Dave O'Callaghan, 6 Sean Dougall, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 John Ryan.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Shane Buckley, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Ivan Dineen.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Richard Smith, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Lucas Amorosino, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Sam Hobbs.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Miles Normandale, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Tom Isaacs.
Referee: Lloyd Linton
Assistant referees: Andrew McMenemy, Duncan McClement
TMO: David Changleng
Sunday 15th February
Scarlets v Connacht
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 12.45; 12.45 GMT)
Scarlets have won just one of their last five contests in the Pro12: 22-10 at home to Ospreys on January 3.
Scarlets are unbeaten in their last dozen fixtures at Parc y Scarlets in the Pro12 since Ospreys beat them there 10-6 on Boxing Day 2013.
The Welshmen have yet to beat an Irish province in the Pro12 this season.
However, only one Irish side has been victorious at Parc y Scarlets since December 2012: Leinster in the Pro12 on 6 September 2013.
Connacht's only victory in their last four Pro12 encounters was 24-16 at home to Munster on New Year's Day. Connacht have not won away from home in the Pro12 since beating Benetton Treviso 9-6 at the Stadio Monigo in Round Six.
The Irishmen have lost on their last three visits to Wales since beating Newport Gwent Dragons 24-8 at Rodney Parade on 23rd March 2014.
Connacht beat Scarlets 14-8 in Galway in round 9 and are going for a first ever Pro12 season's double over the Welshmen, however they have not beaten Scarlets on their own soil since a trip to Stradey Park on 9th October 2004.
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Lewis Rawlins, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Ben Leung, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 George Earle, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Adam Warren, 23 Kristian Phillips.
Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Danie Poolman, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Nathan White, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Shane O'Leary, 23 Tiernan O'Halloran.
Referee: Marius Mitrea
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies, Martyn Lewis
TMO: Tim Hayes
Zebre v Glasgow Warriors
(Stadio Lanfranchi – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
This is Zebre's first game since their stadium has been renamed Stadio Lanfranchi.
Zebre's only victory in their last eight matches in all tournaments was 23-13 at home to Brive in the European Challenge Cup on January 17.
Zebre's most recent home win in the Pro12 came on November 29, when Edinburgh were the visitors.
Glasgow Warriors have lost just one of their last five Pro12 encounters: 8-20 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on 2nd January.
The Scotsmen have lost their last four away games in all competitions since they won 15 -13 in Montpellier in the European Champions Cup on October 25.
In 24 previous fixtures against Italian opponents in all competitions, Glasgow have only been defeated on three occasions – all by Treviso and none since September 2011.
The two sides have met four times before, the Warriors winning all four, two with a try bonus whilst Zebre have twice gained a losing bonus.
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Hendrik Daniller, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Giulio Toniolatti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Jacopo Sarto, 7 Filippo Cristiano (captain), 6 Valerio Bernabò, 5 Augustin Cavalieri, 4 Andrei Mahu, 3 Luca Redolfini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Luigi Ferraro, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Luciano Leibson, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Ruben Riccioli, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Matteo Pratichetti, 23 Edoardo Padovani.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Fraser Lyle, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Horne, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 James Eddie, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alex Allan.
Replacements: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Josh Strauss, 20 Will Bordill, 21 Ali Price, 22 Connor Braid, 23 Rory Hughes.
Referee: Leo Colgan
Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini, Stefano Roscini
TMO: Stefano Penne
Leinster v Newport Gwent Dragons
(RDS Arena – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Leinster are so far unbeaten in 2015 having gained three wins and a draw in all tournaments since the turn of the New Year.
The Leinstermen's solitary defeat in the last eight rounds of Pro12 play came when they visited Munster on St Stephen's Day.
Leinster have won their last 21 home games played at the RDS Arena since drawing there 29-all with Ospreys in the Pro12 in September 2013, whilst their most recent reversal at the venue came at the hands of Ulster, again in the Pro12, the previous March.
The Irishmen have suffered only one defeat in their last 19 fixtures with Welsh regions: 19-25 to Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in April 2014.
Newport Gwent Dragons have lost their last two Pro12 encounters, against Cardiff Blues and Ospreys, but on the road have won three of their last four away games in all competitions.
Dragons have not overturned an Irish province since Ulster visited Rodney Parade in the opening round of the 2013/14 season whilst the Welshmen have won only once against an Irish province on their own ground since 2004: 16-14 over Ulster in Belfast in September 2008.
Leinster have won their last eight encounters with Dragons since the Men from Gwent were victorious 30-14 in Newport in December 2009. The Dragons have never won in 11 previous visits to Leinster in the Pro12.
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Dave Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Darragh Fanning, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Tom Denton, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Josh Van Der Flier, 21 John Cooney, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Pat Leach, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Nick Crosswell, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 James Thomas, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Brok Harris, 2 T. Rhys Thomas, 1 Owen Evans.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Dan Way, 19 Ian Gough, 20 James Benjamin, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Ashley Smith, 23 Matthew Pewtner.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin, Oisin Quinn
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