Preview: Pro12, Round 17

There were some significant results last weekend. The top five teams all stayed the same, although Leinster closed the gap slightly on Connacht thanks to a try bonus point in their victory over Zebre.

 

However, with Scarlets and Ulster losing, Edinburgh and Munster had a chance to draw closer to the top four whilst their losing bonus point saw Benetton Treviso keep chipping away at Zebre's lead for the Italian place in Europe's top tier.

 

Round 16 saw wins for three Irish provinces, (Connacht, Munster and Leinster); three victories on the road (Glasgow, Munster and Leinster), and three more losing bonus points claimed, by Dragons, Treviso and Scarlets whilst the Pro12 top try scorer, Matt Healy, has tallied five tries in his last three games for Connacht.

 

Four of the top five teams are in action as Round 17 opens on Friday, with almost every game now taking on a 'must win' scenario. 

 

Top of the table Connacht face a much improving Edinburgh, but the Irish province did win on their last trip to the Scottish capital. 

Third-placed Scarlets and fourth-placed Ulster host the Italian clubs Benetton Treviso and Zebre respectively. And with each team looking to garner as many points as possible in their quest for placings in the table these should be very entertaining games.

 

On Saturday, Leinster, the team in perhaps the most favourable position in the table - second with a game in hand - host an Ospreys side that slipped from sixth to eighth after their loss at Connacht last time out. 

Munster, who were leading the table after Round Four, will hope to consolidate their European Champions Cup qualifying slot when they host tenth place Newport Gwent Dragons at Thomond Park.

 

The round wraps up in Scotland on Sunday when current champions Glasgow Warriors face a Cardiff Blues side who beat Ulster 23-13 the last time out. Despite having two games in hand Warriors really need to maintain their recent run of successes against the Welsh region if they are to progress to the end of season Play-Offs and earn the chance to retain their title.

 

We take a look at all the Round 17 action!

Friday:

Edinburgh v Connacht

(Murrayfield - Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)

Edinburgh four game losing run in all tournaments ended with a single point victory over Scarlets at Murrayfield on Sunday. Edinburgh's only home defeat in any tournament this season was 14-16 to Munster in the Pro12 on November 7.

Connacht have won their last five matches in all tournaments since their 18-21 defeat in Brive on January 18. The Irishmen have won their last two away games in the Pro12 and have not won three on the road in the competition since season 2002/03.

Edinburgh's only victory in their last four fixtures with Connacht was 16-13 in Galway in January 2015 whilst Connacht have been victorious on two of their last three visits to Murrayfield. 

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland.

Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Sam Beard, 23 Dougie Fife.

Connacht: 15  Tiernan O’Halloran, 14  Danie Poolman, 13  Bundee Aki, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon (captain), 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Nathan White, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Danny Qualter, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Peter Robb, 23 Fionn Carr.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Cammy Rudkin (Scotland)

TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Scarlets v Benetton Treviso

(Parc y Scarlets - Kick-off: 19.05; 19.05 GMT)

Scarlets last three matches in the Pro12 have all been decided by a solitary point whilst seven of their last eight contests have had a winning margin of just two points. Scarlets only home defeat in the competition since round 18 last season was 26-27 to Ospreys on Boxing Day.

Treviso play their first away game in the Pro12 since January 8, but have not won on the road since their relatively short trip to Zebre at Christmas 2014. The Italians have won their last two games against Welsh regions but have never before won three in a row in the Pro12 against Welsh opponents.

Scarlets have won their last five fixtures with Treviso since the Italian's 41-17 victory at Parc y Scarlets in May 2013 – their only victory in Wales in the last four seasons. 

Teams:

Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Regan King, 12 Hadleigh Parkes (captain), 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Maselino Paulino, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Dylan Evans.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Tom Price, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Connor Lloyd, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Gareth Owen.

Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Alberto De Marchi.

Replacements: 16 Federico Zani, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Filippo Filippetto, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Dean Budd, 21 Abraham Steyn, 22 Chris Smylie, 23 Simone Ragusi.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)

TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Ulster v Zebre

(Kingspan Stadium - Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)

Ulster have slipped to successive defeats, to Scarlets and Cardiff Blues but have not lost three in a row in the same season in the Pro12 since 2011/12. The Ulstermen have lost twice in Belfast this season and have not lost three at home in an entire Pro12 campaign since 2009/10.

Zebre have slipped to five straight defeats since their victory at Worcester in the European Challenge Cup on January 16. Zebre's only victory outside of Italy in the Pro12 came when they visited Cardiff Blues in September 2013.

The two sides have met on six previous occasions with Zebre's only victory being in their most recent encounter at Parma in September 2014. 

Teams: 

Ulster: 15 Craig Gilroy, 14 Rory Scholes, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Pete Browne, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Kyle McCall. 

Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Black, 18 Andrew Warwick, 19 Roger Wilson, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Sam Windsor, 23 Darren Cave.

Zebre: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Edoardo Padovani, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Federico Ruzza, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Emiliano Caffini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea De Marchi.

Replacements: 16 Emiliano Coria, 17 Guillermo Roan, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Ulrich Beyers.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Kevin Beggs (Ireland)

Saturday:

Leinster v Ospreys

(RDS Arena - Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Leinster are the only side remaining in the Pro12 with a 100 percent home winning record this season. The Leinstermen's solitary defeat anywhere in the last ten rounds of Pro12 play was 13-23 at Newport Gwent Dragons on January 29.

Ospreys three game unbeaten run the Pro12 ended in Galway on Saturday – their first away defeat in the competition since Round Six. Ospreys have been victorious in Ireland this season, winning 21-17 at Munster last month.

Leinster's only defeat in their last eight fixtures with Ospreys in all competitions was 19-25 at Liberty Stadium in the Pro12 in April 2014 whilst the Welshmen's most recent victory at the RDS Arena came in the 2012 Pro12 final against Leinster.

Teams:

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 Jordi Murphy, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mick Kearney, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Hayden Triggs, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Noel Reid.

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Josh Matavesi, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Ben John, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhys Webb (captain), 8 Dan Baker, 7 Olly Cracknell, 6 James King, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Tyler Ardron, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith.

Replacements:16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Jonathan Spratt, 23 Tom Grabham.

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)

Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Richard Kerr (Ireland)

TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Munster v Newport Gwent Dragons

(Thomond Park - Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)

Munster's only victory in their last five home games in all tournaments was 26-13 against Stade Francais in the Champions Cup on January 16. The Munstermen have lost their last three matches against Welsh regions since they overturned Cardiff Blues in Cork in Round Four.

Newport Gwent Dragons have lost their last four fixtures since beating Leinster 23-13 at Rodney Parade in Round 13. The Dragons have lost all eight away games they have played in the Guinness PRO12 this season whilst their only away victory over an Irish province since September 2008 was against Leinster at the RDS Arena in February 2015.

Dragons beat Munster 22-6 at Rodney Parade in Round Nine and have only once before achieved a season's double over the Munstermen – in 2003/04 when they obtained their one and only victory at Thomond Park. 

Teams:

Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 Jack O'Donoghue, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland (captain), 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.

Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Cathal Sheridan, 22 Johnny Holland, 23 David Johnston.

Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas (captain), 1 Phil Price.

Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Shaun Knight, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 Ed Jackson, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Ross Wardle.

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Jonathan Peak (Ireland)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Sunday:

Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues

(Scotstoun - Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)

Glasgow Warriors only loss in their last four Pro12 matches was 10-13 away to Ulster in Round 14. The Warriors have lost just one "home" game in the Pro12 since Round One: 11-14 to Edinburgh, played at Murrayfield on January 2. The Warriors only defeat to a Welsh region this season came when Scarlets visited Scotstoun in Round One.

Cardiff Blues beat Ulster 23-13 at Sport Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday, whilst away from home the Blues only victory in their last 13 trips in the Pr012 was 21-20 at Dragons on December 27.

Glasgow have won their last nine fixtures with Blues in the Pro12 since the Welshmen's 26-15 victory at Firhill in February 2011. The Blues most recent victory in Scotland came when they faced Edinburgh at Meggetland in April 2014.

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Munchie, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos (captain), 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid.

Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Simone Favart, 21 Mike Blair, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Glenn Bryce.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Aled Summerhill, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Dan Fish, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Thomas Davies.

Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Harri Millard.

Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Dunx McClement (Scotland)

TMO: Iain Ramage (Scotland)

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