Preview: Pro12, Round One
Current champions Ospreys are in action in the opening night of the PRO12 season when they travel to Italy to face Benetton Treviso on Friday.
The title holders will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run against the Italians to give them the best possible start to this year's campaign.
Another Welsh v Italian fixture sees PRO12 newcomers Zebre the visitors to Rodney Parade.
The new franchise, which is packed with Italian internationals and led by former Italian captain Marco Bortolami, will be out to impress on their debut in the competition.
Also on Friday night Glasgow Warriors, who reached last season’s play-Offs , face European Cup finalists Ulster, at Ravenhill, where they have not tasted victory since December 2009.
The remaining round One games all take place on Saturday, one each in Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Something will have to give at the Sportsground in Connacht as both teams, Connacht and Cardiff Blues, have won their opening games over the last two seasons, whereas European Champions, Leinster, who are the visitors to Parc y Scarlets, last won their opening round game in 2007.
The final game of the round is in Scotland's capital city where Edinburgh face Munster. Overall history may favour the visitors, but Edinburgh won the equivalent fixture last season, so there is all to play for.
All the PRO12 Round One fixtures:
Friday, August 31
Benetton Treviso v Ospreys
(Stadio Monigo, Kick-off: 20.05; 19.05pm GMT)
Benetton Treviso ended last campaign with just one victory since the New Year: 33-32 against Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade on 13 April.
Treviso have not beaten a foreign side at Stadio Monigo since they lowered the colours of Biarritz there in the European Cup on 10 December.
Defending PRO12 champions, Ospreys, have won in round One in three of the past four seasons, and concluded last season with seven straight wins. Ospreys have never lost to an Italian side but came very close during their 26-all draw with Treviso in the European Cup last November.
The teams:
Benetton Treviso: 15 Kristopher Burton, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Corniel Van Zyl (captain), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Marco Filippucci, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Brendan Williams.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Isaacs, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 James King, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Joe Bearman, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Tom Grabham.
Referee: John Lacey
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini, Andrea Spadoni
TMO: Alan Falzone
Newport Gwent Dragons v Zebre
(Rodney Parade, Kick-off: 19.00; 19.00 GMT)
Newport Gwent Dragons have lost in round One in three of the past four seasons, and concluded last season's PRO12 campaign with four straight defeats.
The Dragons have a won 11, lost four record against Italian opponents in all competitions.
Zebre become the 24th different side to have participated in the tournament, which began as the Celtic League in season 2001/02.
The teams:
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Will Harries, 13 Pat Leach, 12 Andy Tuilagi, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Steffan Jones, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Jevon Groves, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Andrew Coombes, 4 Ian Nimmo, 3 Dan Way, 2 Steve Jones (captain), 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Gustafson, 17 Nathan Williams, 18 Nathan Buck, 19 Adam Jones, 20 Tom Brown, 21 J Evans, 22 Lewis Robling, 23 Ashley Smith.
Zebre: 15 Sinoti Sinoti, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Roberto Quartaroli, 12 Gonzalo Garcia (captain), 11 Samuele Pace, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Filippo Cristiano, 6 Nicola Cattina, 5 Emiliano Caffini, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 David Ryan, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea De Marchie, 18 Luciano Leibson, 19 Filippo Cazzola, 20 Filippo Ferrarini, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Alberto Chiesa, 23 Ruggero Trevisan.
Referee: George Clancy
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Jason Langdon
Ulster v Glasgow Warriors
(Ravenhill, Kick-off: 19.05; 19.05 GMT)
Ulster begin the season with a home game for the sixth time in the past seven seasons, and beat Glasgow 28-14 at Ravenhill in round One last season.
Ulster finished off last season's PRO12 tournament with three successive defeats, all to their three fellow Irish Provinces. The Ulstermen have won five of their last six clashes with Scottish opponents.
Glasgow Warriors have won five of their last six regular season encounters in the PRO12, but have been triumphant just once in Ireland since 2009: 23-19 at Leinster on 17 September 2011.
The two encounters between the teams last season were both won by the home side on the day, whilst the Warriors' most recent victory at Ravenhill was in December 2009.
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Michael Allen, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Lewis Stevenson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Tom Court, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Niall O'Connor, 23 Darren Cave.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Finlay Gillies, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Ryan Grant, 19 James Eddie, 20 John Barclay, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Peter Horne.
Referee: Marius Mitrea
Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips, Brian MacNeice
TMO: Peter Ferguson
Saturday September 1
Connacht v Cardiff Blues
(Sportsground, Kick-off: 17.00; 17.00 GMT)
Both Connacht and Cardiff Blues have begun with an opening weekend victory for the past two seasons.
Connacht achieved their highest tournament finishing position last season (8th), and won three of their last four games.
Connacht have lost only one of their last six matches at the Sportsground: 16-20 to Munster on 24 March.
Cardiff Blues had a disappointing end to the 2011/12 PRO12 season, winning just one of their last six
encounters: 38-13 over Edinburgh at the City Stadium in round 21.
The Blues’ solo away victory since January came in Treviso on 3 March.
Connacht have beaten the Blues only once since 2005: 18-16 at the Galway Sportsground on 18 September 2009.
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy (captain), 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Mata Fifita, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Rodney Ah You, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 David Moore, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Robbie Henshaw.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Gareth Davies, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Andries Pretorius (captain), 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Rory Watts-Jones, 5 James Down, 4 Robin Copeland, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Thomas Davies.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Beniot Borrust, 18 Nathan Trevett, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Cory Allen, 23 Tom Williams, 24 Owen Williams.
Referee: Andrew McMenemy
Assistant Referees: Leo Colgan, Olly Hodges
Edinburgh v Munster
(Murrayfield, Kickoff: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)
Edinburgh's only round One victory since 2005 came at Cardiff Blues in 2009. The Scotsmen finished off last season's PRO12 season with victory at home to Benetton Treviso.
Edinburgh have won their last three games at Murrayfield in all competitions, but have not beaten any Irish province since this equivalent fixture last season.
Munster have begun their new campaign with a win in four of the past five seasons. The Munstermen's only victory away from home in their last four trips was 20-16 at Connacht on 24 March. Munster have lost just one of their last ten encounters with Scottish opponents.
In the history of the tournament the two sides have met on 21 previous occasions, with Edinburgh victorious on just five occasions.
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 9 Richie Rees, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Perry Parker, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Gregor Hunter, 23 John Houston.
Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett (captain), 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Luke O'Dea, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Peter Butler, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Barry O'Mahony, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Ivan Dineen.
Referee: Leighton Hodges
Assistant Referees: Andy Macpherson, Bob Nevins
TMO: Iain Ramage
Scarlets v Leinster
(Parc y Scarlets, Kick-off: 18.30; 18.30 GMT)
Scarlets have begun in round one of the PRO12 with victory in three of the last four years.
The Welshmen concluded the last campaign with just one defeat in their last seven matches: 23-26 at Edinburgh on 30 March.
Leinster were the only side to beat Scarlets at home in the PRO12 last season.
Since the tournament became a season long one in 2003/04 amazingly Leinster have won in round One just once: 23-8 at home to Edinburgh in 2007.
The only side to defeat the Leinstermen in the PRO12 after the 2011 World Cup was Ospreys, who did it twice.
Scarlets have not beaten Leinster in their last seven encounters in all competitions, since their 18-16 victory at Parc y Scarlets in the opening round of this competition in season 2009/10.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Rob McCusker (captain), 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Richard Kelly, 4 George Earle, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Phil John, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Kieran Murphy, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Jonathan Davies.
Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Leo Auva'a, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Damian Browne, 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Collie O'Shea, 23 Darren Hudson.
Referee: Neil Paterson
Assistant Referees: Tim Hayes, Martyn Lewis
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse
