Preview: Magners League, Round Seven
Threre is an exciting fixture list for the last round of Magners League action before a month's break with all ten teams hoping to finish this part of the season on a high and record moral boosting victories this weekend.
Sitting pretty at the top of the log, Ulster have come out of nowhere almost to put themselves in a fantastic position heading into this weekend clash with Munster at Thomond Park.
The Munsterman, by contrast, have had a shakey start to the season and are currently down in sixth spot on the log and come into the match fresh off a defeat at Murrayfield last weekend.
Friday nights big clash sees Glasgow heading to Wales to take on the Ospreys before, on Saturday, a rejuvenated Blues side head to the RDS to tackle Leinster.
Fri, 30 October
Connacht v Scarlets (19:00 GMT) (19:00 local) - Galway Sportsground -
Bottom of the log Connacht host an in-form Scarlets side this Friday. Despite their good form, including two good Heineken Cup victories in recent weeks, the Welsh region still find themselves languishing down in 8th spot on the Magners League table.
Connacht too enjoyed a couple successful weeks in Europe but last week crashed to a 34-20 defeat at the hands of Glasgow.
The Scarlets' last domestic outing, last week at home to the Dragons, saw them record an 18-3 victory - ensuring they headed to the Sportsground this weekend full of confidence.
rugby365 Prediction: It often depends which Scarlets side shows up but on paper they should be too strong for the Irish province. Scarlets to win by 10-12 points.
Ospreys v Glasgow (19:05 GMT) (19:05 local) - Liberty Stadium, Swansea -
The Ospreys' rollercoaster season saw them go down 20-12 to Cardiff last weekend while the Warriors, themselves back on an upward swing, recorded a comfortable win over Connacht.
Sitting fourth and fifth on the table respectively, both teams would dearly love to secure themselves spots in the playoff positions before the mini break.
Despite having struggled to score as freely as they may have liked the Ospreys defence has been impressive so far this season, conceding just 96 points in their six matches, the second lowest total of all the teams.
rugby365 Prediction: International call-up will no doubt have disrupted the Ospreys once again but, despite that, they should have the necessary talent in their ranks to put on a strong performance against an equally weakened Glasgow side. Ospreys, but by less than five.
Saturday, 31 October
Munster v Ulster (17:00 GMT) (17:00 local) - Thomond Park -
Possibly the clash of the weekend - the often underrated Ulster take on Munster at Thomond Park looking to maintain their position at the top of the table.
Three straight domestic victories will have given the visitors plenty of belief while Munster's poor performance at Edinburgh will have hurt them.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Munster's campaign so far has been their lack of attacking threat. With only Connacht having scored less points in the campaign so far, Tony McGahan's men will be concerned by their inability to really put teams to the sword.
rugby365 Prediction: Ulster will genuinely believe they can upset the defending champions at Thomond Park this weekend but the fact that they are back at their beloved home ground will be the biggest factor in favour of McGahan's men. The home side by four or more.
Leinster v Cardiff Blues (18:30 GMT) (18:30 local) - Royal Dublin Society -
Having gone down to an inform Ulster side last weekend Leinster will be looking to bounce back to winning ways at the RDS this weekend.
Despite the defeat, the reigning Heineken Cup Champions are still sitting comfortably in third place on the table and will be wanting to head into the international break on a high.
Cardiff meanwhile will finally be feeling a bit of confidence themselves this weekend. Winning last week's Welsh derby against the Ospreys, David Young's men seriously need another win this weekend to get their campaign back on track.
With just two wins from their opening six fixtures in the Magners League the Blues have been under pressure for much of the new season but a win this weekend would certainly restore plenty of the fans faith.
rugby365 Prediction: Despite their defeat last weekend the home side should still be the favourites this weekend. The Blues were impressive against the Ospreys but have been very inconsistent this season and might struggle to maintain that level of performance in Dublin. Leinster to win by five.
Sunday, 1 November
Edinburgh v Dragons (17:05 GMT) (17:05 local) - Murrayfield, Edinburgh -
The home side recorded a good win last weekend over Munster to push themselves back up into second place on the log, on 18 points, and will be targeting another set of points this weekend against an inconsistent Dragons side.
The Welsh side were disappointing last weekend against the Scarlets and, with injury issues upfront continuing to disrupt them, they find themselves in seventh place on the log.
Despite being five places further down the log, the Dragons have won just one less fixture this season than their opponents and will be looking to put themselves back in touch with the top of the table before the league breaks for a month.
rugby365 Prediction: There actually should not be that much between these two sides and yet, when asked to pick a winner, Edinburgh seem the logical choice. We're backing the Gunners to take it by ten points.
by rugby365