Preview: Pro12, Round 15
Warriors have two games in hand compared to many of their opponents and will be looking to turn that advantage into points on their quest to finish in the top four.
On Friday Ospreys host Edinburgh, a bonus point victory could see the Welshmen overtake their Scottish opponents in the table, but European Champions Cup qualification is more complicated as there must be a representative from each country in the Pro12 in the final mix.
Benetton Treviso will be looking for a second consecutive home win when Newport Gwent Dragons are the visitors to Stadio Monigo and reclaim ground on Zebre who face joint table-leaders Connacht in Parma a day later.
Treviso's first win of the 2015/16 campaign pulled them to within seven points of Zebre and the Italian qualification spot for next season's Champions Cup. The gap between the two Italians is closing but to date, Zebre have recorded more victories than their compatriots.
Cardiff Blues will want to put their Round 14 defeat at the hands of Benetton Treviso behind them when they face Leinster on Saturday. Danny Wilson's team will need to be at the top of their game to overcome the Irish province who are back on form following their 52-0 win against Zebre.
The round wraps up in Belfast on Sunday with league leaders Ulster hosting fourth placed Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium. Only one point separates the teams in the table and the result of this game could see yet another set of changes in the potential makeup of the Pro play-offs.
Ulster remain top of the table, but a bonus point win by Connacht in Round 14 drew them level on league points, and as both teams have tens wins apiece they are separated purely on points difference in their matches played.
Scarlets could be considered the unluckiest losers last weekend. Despite beating Edinburgh by the narrowest of margins, they dropped to fourth place, level with Leinster on points but the Irishmen still have a game in hand over their top four opponents.
We take a look at all the Round 15 action!
Friday:
Ospreys v Edinburgh
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 19.05; 19.05 GMT)
Ospreys – the Welsh region are without a victory in their last two home games in the tournament and have never before gone winless in three successive home games.
The Ospreys have actually amassed as many league points on the road this season as they have at the Liberty Stadium.
Edinburgh have lost their last three fixtures in all competitions, although in the most recent two of those, both in the Pro12, they have at least managed to garner a losing bonus point.
They have not been victorious outside of Scotland in the tournament since they visited Treviso in September, while Ospreys' only win in their last four fixtures with Edinburgh was 62-13 in Swansea in September 2014.
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Ben John, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Brendon Leonard (captain), 8 Dan Baker, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 James King, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Eli Walker.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Sam Beard, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane (captain), 1 Allan Dell.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Grant Sheills, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyde, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Blair Kinghorn.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Benetton Treviso v Newport Gwent Dragons
(Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 18.10; 19.10 GMT)
The Italians have scored exactly one try in each of their last six matches in all tournaments.
Newport Gwent Dragons only victory in their last five Guinness PRO12 fixtures was 23-13 at home to Leinster in round 13. Dragons along with Treviso are the only two sides left in the competition who have failed to win away from home this season.
Dragons only loss in their last six matches with Treviso was 27- 45 at Stadio Monigo in April 2014.
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Andrea De Marchi, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Cherif Traorè.
Replacements: 16 Filippo Filippetto, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Manu Salesi, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Robert Barbieri, 22 Chris Smylie, 23 Tommaso Iannone.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Nick Crosswell, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Ben White, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas (captain), 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Hugh Gustafson, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Lewis Evans, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Geraint Rhys Jones, 23 Ross Wardle.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Marius Liperini (Italy), Emanuele Tomo (Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Glasgow Warriors v Munster
(Rugby Park – 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Glasgow Warriors only victory in their last seven matches in all tournaments came on their only previous visit to Kilmarnock, beating Racing 92 there in the Champions Cup on January 23. The Warriors have won their last nine home games against Irish Provinces since Munster beat them at Scotstoun in October 2013.
Munster have won just two of their last six Pro12 encounters, both away from home, at Ulster in Round 11 and at Zebre in Round 13. The Munstermen's solitary defeat to a Scottish side since December 2014 came in last season's final to Glasgow in Belfast.
Munster defeated Glasgow 23-21 in Limerick in Rround Three and have not achieved a season's double over Warriors since 2011/12.
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Glenn Bryce, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Ali Price, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 James Malcolm, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Cammy Fenton, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Fraser Lyle, 23 Rory Hughes.
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 David Johnston, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Jack O'Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (captain), 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 James Cronin, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Johnny Holland, 23 Cian Bohane.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Saturday:
Cardiff Blues v Leinster
(Cardiff Arms Park – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
The Blues have won their last five matches at Cardiff Arms Park in all tournaments since Harlequins beat them there in the European Challenge Cup on November 19.
Leinster have the best defence in the Pro12 having conceded only 13 tries so far. The Leinstermen's single defeat in their last nine fixtures in the tournament was 13-23 on a visit to Dragons in Round 13. Leinster have won just once in their last six visits to Wales, beating Ospreys at Liberty Stadium on January 8.
Cardiff Blues have beaten Leinster only once in their last 18 fixtures in all competitions: 11-3 at Cardiff City Stadium in the Pro12 in February 2011 whilst Leinster's most recent defeat at Cardiff Arms Park came in May 2007.
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Lloyd Williams (captain), 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Thomas Davies.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Bradley Thyer, 18 Taufa’ao Filise, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Tom James, 23 Dan Fish.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Isa Nacewa (captain), 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Adam Byrne.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Zebre v Connacht
(Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi – Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30 GMT)
Connacht have the best attack in the Pro12 having scored 36 tries in their campaign so far. The Irishmen have won their last three matches in all competitions and have also won on their last four visits to Italy.
The two sides have met on eleven previous occasions in all tournaments with Connacht winning them all, the most recent four with a try bonus, whilst Zebre have secured just two losing bonus points – both in 2013.
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Emiliano Caffini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Bruno Postiglioni.
Replacements: 16 Emiliano Coria, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Matteo Panunzi, 22 Ulrich Beyers, 23 Tommaso Boni.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Ben Marshall, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 George Naoupu, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Peter Robb, 23 Danie Poolman.
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Sunday:
Ulster v Scarlets
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
The Ulstermen have not lost at home to a team from outside the island since Glasgow visited the Kingspan Stadium in September 2013.
Scarlets last four Pro12 fixtures have all gone with home field advantage whilst the Welshmen have not won on the road in the Pro12 since they visited Treviso in early December.
Scarlets won 22-12 when the two sides met in Llanelli in September and have not achieved a seasons' double over the Ulstermen since 2008/09.
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Stuart Olding, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Paddy Jackson (captain), 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Murphy, 17 Kyle McCall, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Pete Browne, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Ian umphreys, 23 Sammy Arnold.
Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Gareth Owen, 13 Regan King, 12 Hadleigh Parkes (captain), 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 David Bulbring, 4 George Earle, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Maselino Paulino, 20 Rory Pitman, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Steffan Evans.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Alan Rogan (Ireland)
