Preview: Pro14, Round Six
DERBY DAY: Round Five brought the first set of derby matches this season and, as ever, we were not left disappointed on another weekend of thrilling rugby.
Munster sent out a statement of intent with a comfortable home win against Ulster, while Leinster edged out a determined Connacht – and the two winners meet this weekend at Aviva Stadium in one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season.
Round Six has it all.
Fierce rivalries across the Championship, fascinating match-ups and the guarantee of tries to end the first section of Championship matches before the teams prepare for European competition next week.
What’s at Stake
The action begins on Friday with a triple-header, the first of which sees the Edinburgh welcome Cheetahs to Murrayfield.
Having won just one of their first four games at the start of the new campaign, Richard Cockerill’s side got back on track with a 31-30 victory over Benetton after holding off a second-half fightback from the Italians. Simon Hickey’s accuracy from the tee ultimately proved vital, kicking a penalty and all four conversions, while Benetton missed four conversions.
Meanwhile, Cheetahs fell agonisingly short of their first win against Cardiff Blues in an equally tight game, after Sibahle Maxwane and Benhard Janse van Rensburg had put them ahead. The two sides have only met once before, with Cheetahs defeating Edinburgh 33-13 in Bloemfontein last season.
The second match on Friday sees Zebre clash with Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium . The hosts have only suffered one defeat in the first five rounds of the Pro14, bouncing back from their shock defeat against Southern Kings to dispatch Dragons 29-13 last time out. Oli Kebble was the star man for Warriors, who have won their last 25 matches against Italian opponents. Zebre have just one win from their last four matches, slipping to a 22-8 defeat to Ospreys in Round 5, and the odds are stacked against them on Friday.
Dave Rennie’s outfit have won all 12 previous encounters between the two side, including two dominant victories last season (Warriors winning 68-7 at home and 40-20 at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi).
An action-packed Friday schedule will also see Connacht travel to the Kingspan Stadium to face Ulster in search of their first victory in Belfast since November 1960. Despite a promising start to the season, which included three wins and a draw, the hosts were subjected to their biggest ever defeat in Munster last weekend. Dan McFarland’s troops will be desperate to get back to winning ways against a Connacht side that pushed Pro14 champions Leinster all the way in Round Five. A high penalty count cost them dearly, though, and their record away from home in inter-pro games does not inspire confidence, with just one win away from Galway in the Championship since April 2017.
Saturday’s opening fixture sees Scarlets welcome Ospreys to Parc y Scarlets in a battle between two in-form sides. Last season’s Pro14 Finalists Scarlets have won three of five games this term to sit second in Conference B – with their defeats coming away to Connacht and Ulster. Ospreys’ only defeat this season was a 49-13 reverse to Munster in Round 3 and they head to Llanelli off the back of 22-8 triumph over Zebre in Parma. Scarlets have a formidable record as hosts – being unbeaten in their last 24 Pro14 home games – and have also won their last nine fixtures against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship.
The other Welsh regional clash on Saturday sees Dragons on the hunt for a third win in six games as they play host to Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade . The Blues have the same two win-three loss record as their hosts but the five bonus points tallied in their opening fixtures mean they lie fourth in Conference A on 13 points. The Blues boast the joint-most turnovers in the Pro14 this season, Ellis Jenkins (8) in their ranks, while no-one has made more metres than Dragons flyer Jordan Williams’ 425.
After three consecutive defeats by two points or less to open the season, Blue are now protecting a two-game winning streak, while Dragons are seeking to finally end a 21-match losing run against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship.
The final game of the weekend is an intriguing Saturday evening clash between Benetton Southern Kings at Stadio Monigo . The Italian side are looking to bounce back from a heart-wrenching loss to Edinburgh last time out, where Luca Sperandio’s spectacular hat-trick wasn’t enough to stop them falling to a 31-30 defeat.
They have slipped to three straight losses in the Pro14 – their worst run since last December – but have won all three previous games against South African opponents, while the Kings are still seeking their first-ever away victory in the competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuPLx84GjWY
Pick of the Round
Leinster v Munster
Conference B leaders Leinster welcome Munster to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday looking to make it five wins from six this season.
Both teams are coming off inter-pro wins in Round Five, although they couldn’t have been more contrasting, as Leinster edged a low-scoring affair with Connacht 20-3 while Munster ran in nine tries to overwhelm Ulster 64-7.
The Leinstermen have won their last nine matches at Aviva Stadium in all tournaments, since Toulon beat them there in December 2015, while Munster have only won once in the last seven fixtures between the sides.
All the Round Six matches!
Friday, October 5
EDINBURGH v CHEETAHS
(Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh – Kick-off: 19.35; 20.35 SA time; 18.35 GMT)
Edinburgh’s last eight matches have all gone the way of the home side on the day.
Edinburgh have not been defeated at home since Ulster visited Murrayfield in the Pro14 on 6 April.
Cheetahs are without a win in their last six Pro14 matches since beating Southern Kings in Round 21 last season.
Cheetahs have not won outside South Africa since they visited Dragons in March.
Cheetahs were defeated on their only previous visit to Scotland, 23-37 at Glasgow in February.
The two sides have only met once before with Cheetahs victorious in Bloemfontein in round 9 last season.
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (captain), 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Murray McCallum, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Luke Hamilton, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Chris Dean.
Cheetahs: 15 Louis Fouche, 14 William Small Smith, 13 Benhard van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Stephan Malan, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Neil Jordaan, 5 Jean-Pierre du Preez, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Günther Janse van Vuuren, 19 Walt Steenkamp, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Abongile Nonkontwana, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Ali Mgijima.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Manuel Bottino (Italy), Ian Kenny (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTw6qN6GLJM
GLASGOW WARRIORS v ZEBRE
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 19.35; 20.35 Italian time; 18.35 GMT)
Glasgow Warriors only defeat in the first five rounds of the Pro14 came on their trip to Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth two weeks ago.
The Scotsmen have lost only once at Scotstoun in the Championship since May 2017, last season’s semifinal to Scarlets.
Glasgow have won their last 25 matches against Italian opponents.
Zebre’s only win in their last four Pro14 matches was 26-24 at home to Cardiff Blues on 15 September.
The Italians have won just once away from home since February 22-17 at local rivals Benetton in round 21 last season.
Zebre have won just one of their last ten fixtures against Scottish opponents, beating Edinburgh at Murrayfield in October 2016.
Glasgow Warriors have won all twelve previous matches they have played against Zebre.
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Adam Ashe, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Andrew Davidson, 3 Adam Nicol, 2 George Turner, 1 Oli Kebble.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Matt Smith, 21 Tevita Tameilau, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Niko Matawalu.
Zebre: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Gabriele Di Giulio, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Paula Balekana, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Apisai Tauyavuca, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Cruze Ah-Nau.
Replacements: 16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Roberto Tenga, 19 Samuele Ortis, 20 Giosué Zilocchi, 21 Riccardo Raffaele, 22 Maicol Azzolini, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti.
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton, Hollie Davidson (both Scotland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ALXSEn68K8
ULSTER v CONNACHT
(Kingspan Stadium, Belfast – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)
Ulster suffered their biggest ever defeat in Munster last weekend but at Kingspan Stadium their only loss since last October was by the narrowest of margins to Edinburgh in February.
Connacht’s three most recent victories in the Pro14 have all been since the end of April, and all at Galway.
Connacht have won just once away from home in the Championship since April 2017: 22-19 in Treviso in February 2018.
Connacht have only once won away from home against a fellow Irish province in the last sixteen years, 18-12 at Munster in November 2015.
The last five matches between the two sides have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Connacht have not been victorious in Belfast since November 1960.
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Angus Kernohan, 13 Angus Curtis, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Johnny McPhillips, 23 James Hume.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Jarrad Butler (captain), 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Conor Carey, 19 James Cannon, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Cian Kelleher.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy, Sean Gallagher (both Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Saturday, October 6
SCARLETS v OSPREYS
(Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Scarlets have lost just one of their last four Pro14 encounters: 20-33 in Connacht in round 4.
Scarlets are unbeaten in their last 24 home games in the Championship, only Leinster have had two longer sequences of success at home.
Scarlets have won their last nine fixtures against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship.
Ospreys only defeat this season was in Munster in round 3.
Ospreys won their most recent away game 22-8 over Zebre, but have not won successive away games in the Pro14 since March 2017.
Ospreys only defeat in their last six matches against fellow Welsh regions was in this equivalent fixture at Parc y Scarlets in Round 11 last season.
Ospreys most recent victory over Scarlets was at Liberty Stadium in December 2016 whilst they have not triumphed in Llanelli since Boxing Day 2015.
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil Price, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Tom Price, 20 Josh Macleod, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Paul Asquith
Ospreys: 15 James Hook, 14 George North, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Aled Davies, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 Sam Cross, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Joe Thomas, 23 Hanno Dirksen
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones, Simon Rees (both Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrCLtZFD6r4
DRAGONS v CARDIFF BLUES
(Rodney Parade, Newport – Kick-off: 17.15; 16.15 GMT)
Dragons last four matches have all been won by the home side on the day.
Dragons have won their last two matches at Rodney Parade, against Southern Kings and Zebre, but have not won three in a row at home in the Pro14 since October 2015.
Dragons have lost their last twenty-one fixtures against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship since beating the Blues at Cardiff Arms Park at Christmas 2014.
Cardiff Blues have won their last two games, both at home to Munster and Cheetahs, but have not won three in a row in the Championship since last March.
Blues have won just one of their last four away games in the PRO14, 45-12 at Southern Kings in April.
The Blues only win in their last five fixtures against fellow Welsh regions in the Championship came in this
equivalent fixture at Rodney Parade on Boxing Day last year.
Dragons most recent victory over Cardiff Blues came in the quarter final of the European Challenge Cup at Rodney Parade in April 2015.
Teams
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Josh Lewis, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Cory Hill (captain), 4 Brandon Nansen, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Nic Cudd, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Tyler Morgan, 23 Will Talbot-Davies
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Harris, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Ellis Jenkins (captain), 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 George Earle, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Olly Robinson, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Garyn Smith
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Gareth Newman (Wales)
Television match official: Sean Brickell (Wales)
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris, Gareth Newman (both Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ALXSEn68K8
LEINSTER v MUNSTER
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Kick-off: 18.00; 17.00 GMT)
Leinster’s only defeat in their last seven Pro14 matches was 21-23 at Scarlets on 8 September.
The Leinstermen have won their last nine matches at Aviva Stadium in all tournaments since Toulon beat them there in December 2015.
Leinster’s only loss in their last eight fixtures against fellow Irish provinces was to Connacht in Galway in April.
Munster’s last seven matches have all gone the way of the home side on the day whilst their only victory at Lansdowne Road/Aviva Stadium in their last eleven visits against all opponents in all tournaments was 34-23 over Leinster in the PRO14 in October 2014.
Leinster’s only loss in their last seven encounters with Munster was 17-29 at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day 2016.
Teams
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Seán O’Brien, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Seán Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Dave Kearney
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Dan Goggin, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 James Cronin, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Rory Scannell
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Mike English (Wales)
Television match official: Jon Mason (Wales)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (
Assistant referees: Dan Jones, Mike English (both Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddKFw-vKcaA
BENETTON v SOUTHERN KINGS
(Stadio Monigo, Treviso – Kick-off 20.00; 20.00 SA time; 18.00 GMT)
Benetton have slipped to three straight defeats in the Pro14, their worst sequence since last December.
The Italians have won all three previous matches they have played against South African opponents.
Southern Kings only win since March was 38-28 over Glasgow Warriors in Port Elizabeth in Round Four of the Pro14.
Kings have lost all thirteen previous away games they have played in the Championship.
The two sides have met twice before with Benetton victorious, with a try bonus point, on both occasions.
Teams
Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Robert Barbieri (captain), 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Alberto De Marchi, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Irné Herbst, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Alberto Sgarbi
Southern Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Martin Du Toit, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Luvuyo Pupuma, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Justin Forwood
Replacements: 16 Alandre Van Rooyen, 17 Lupumlo Mguca, 18 Rossouw De Klerk, 19 Bobby De Wee , 20 Marthinus Burger, 21 Ruan Van Rensburg, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Tristan Blewett
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Television match official: Alan Falzone (Italy)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Matteo Liperini (Italy)
TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)
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