Preview: Pro12, Round 21

"Judgement Day" in Wales, set to be the biggest to date, will surely live up to its billing with Cardiff Blues and Ospreys going head to head in their efforts to secure Wales a second place in next season's Champions Cup.

Only the top five teams are now shooting for the two home play-off spots, currently jointly held by Leinster and Connacht on 68 points, and should Glasgow Warriors and Connacht both win their games against Italian opposition this weekend, it will be nicely setup for a Round 22 head-to-head between them for one of the coveted home berths.

However, Benetton Treviso are only three points behind Zebre in the race for the guaranteed Italian spot, so one win could make a huge difference there also.

Two of the top four, Ulster and Leinster, face each other this weekend in what could be classed as a real "10 pointer". Ulster must win if they are to maintain their push for a home play-off, but should they lose to the leaders, their place in the top four could be at risk.

Scarlets are needing a victory to keep their hopes of reaching the play-offs alive. With defeats in the last two outings, Scarlets have fallen out of the top four for the first time this season and must now secure a victory on Saturday to keep their campaign alive going into the last round next weekend.

 

Scarlets tighthead prop Peter Edwards expressed that his side is fully focussed on the task at hand.

"We're not happy with our performances in the last two games, our main focus now is Dragons at 'Judgement Day'. We have to go there and put a performance together and hopefully get a win. We've had aspirations all season to get in the top four, we've been there all season and we can't let it slip at this moment.

 

"It's tight! Maybe a couple of games will go our way. We have to look after what we can look after and hopefully get back into that top four.

 

"We set goals at the beginning of the season. We wanted to be the top Welsh team, we wanted to be in the Champions Cup and we wanted to be in the top four. We're close to doing that. We have to do everything we can to get there," he said.

We look at all the Round 21 action!

Friday, April 29

Benetton Treviso v Connacht

(Stadio Monigo, Kick-off: 19.30; 18.30 GMT)

Benetton Treviso have lost their last five matches since beating Newport Dragons at home in Round 15 but are still within touching distance of Zebre for the automatic Italian Champion's Cup place next

year. Treviso have not beaten an Irish province in any tournament since their 23-3 victory over Connacht at Stadio Monigo in October 2013.

Connacht require just one more league point to qualify for the play-offs for the first time since the competition went home and away in 2003/04. The Irishmen's only defeat in the last eight rounds came at Ulster on April 1.

Treviso have beaten Connacht just once since 2011, whilst Connacht's record at Stadio Monigo is won two, drawn one, lost two, but they have not scored a try at the venue since April 2013.

Teams:

Benetton Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso.

Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Alberto Lucchese, 22 Luke McLean, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Rory Parata, 12 Peter Robb, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Jack Carty, 9 John Cooney, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Sean O'Brien, 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Tom McCartney (captain), 1 Ronan Loughney.

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 John Muldoon, 21 Coalin Blade, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Claudio Blessano (Italy), Stefano Bolzonella (Italy)

TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)

Glasgow Warriors v Zebre

(Scotstoun Stadium, Kick-off: 19.35 GMT)

A win for Glasgow Warriors would see them reach the play-offs for a fifth successive season and the chance to defend their title. The Scotsmen have won their last eight encounters and another victory would equal their best ever sequence in the tournament set during the 2013/14 campaign.

Zebre currently hold the Italian qualification place for next season's Champions Cup, but Benetton are only 3 points behind them. Zebre have lost their last nine encounters since beating Treviso on  January 3.

The two sides have met on seven previous occasions with Warriors victorious each time, with a try bonus in the last six. Zebre's only two losing bonus points were at Scotstoun 2012 and Parma in 2013.

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Rob Harley (captain), 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 D'arcy Rae, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Jerry Yanuyanutawa.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Finn Russell, 23 Tommy Seymour.

Zebre: 15 Ulrich Beyers, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Federico Ruzza, 7 Filippo Cristiano, 6 Emiliano Caffini, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea De Marchi.

Replacements: 16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Emiliano Coria, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Giulio Bisegni, 23 Kelly Haimona.

Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Graeme Wells (Scotland), Bob Nevins (Scotland)

TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Munster vs Edinburgh

(Irish Independent Park, Kick-off: 19.35 GMT)

Realistically both Munster and Edinburgh require a victory to keep their hopes of a Champions Cup place alive. Munster's only victory in the last four rounds was 47-0 against Zebre at Thomond Park in

Round 18. The Munstermen's 12-match winning run in Cork ended when Ospreys beat them there on February 14.

Edinburgh have won three of their last five fixtures but away from home, their only victory since early January was by a single point at Newport Dragons on March 27.

Munster have lost just one of their last eight encounters with Edinburgh: 13-14 in Limerick in September 2014. Edinburgh have won only once in six previous visits to Irish Independent Park and that was in April 2004.

Teams:

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Johnny Holland, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander (captain), 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Dave Foley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.

Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 James Cronin, 18 John Ryan, 19 Robin Copeland, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Ronan O'Mahony.

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 John Hardie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford (captain), 1 Alasdair Dickinson.

Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 John Andress, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Dougie Fife.

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)

Assistant referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland),  Paul Haycock (Ireland)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Saturday, April 30

Cardiff Blues v Ospreys

(Principality Stadium, Kick-off: 14.30 GMT)

Cardiff Blues and Ospreys are chasing to become the second highest placed Welsh side. Cardiff Blues have won their last four matches and have not won five in a row in the tournament since 2010. The Blues' only previous win on "Judgement Day" came on the only occasion they have not faced Ospreys - beating Scarlets in 2014.

Ospreys have won their last two matches since their 16-25 reversal at home to Scarlets in Round 18. Ospreys have made five previous appearances at Principality Stadium in all tournaments, and won them all.

Ospreys have won their last nine encounters with the Blues since the two sides played out a 21-all draw at Liberty Stadium in April 2011.

Teams:

Cardiff Blues: TBC

Ospreys: TBC

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Martyn Lewis (Wales)

TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Ulster v Leinster

(Kingspan Stadium, Kick-off: 15.00 GMT)

This is a must win game for Ulster if they wish to claim a home play-off spot. The Ulstermen's only defeat in the last four rounds was to Glasgow at Scotstoun in Round 18, whilst their only defeat at Kingspan Stadium since early January was 20-21 to Scarlets in Round 15.

Leinster's last five fixtures have all gone in favour of the home side on the day, whilst the Leinstermen have won five of their last eight away games in the competition.

Leinster's only defeat in their last seven encounters with Ulster was 10-26 in this equivalent fixture in Belfast in Round 20 last year.

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Peter Browne, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Callum Black.

Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Kyle McCall, 18 Andrew Warwick, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Stuart Olding, 23 Darren Cave.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Isa Nacewa (captain), 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Leo Colgan (Ireland)

TMO: Seamus Flannery (Ireland)

Newport Dragons v Scarlets

(Principality Stadium, Kick-off: 17.00 GMT)

Newport Dragons have slipped to eight successive defeats since beating Leinster in Newport in Round 13 - their worst run ever. Dragons have visited Principality Stadium on three previous occasions and have yet to record a win.

A Scarlets victory would guarantee their seeding as the top Welsh region, maybe less if the earlier "Judgement Day" result goes their way. Scarlets have lost their last two fixtures, at home to Cardiff Blues and Glasgow Warriors but their only defeat in four precious visits to Principality Stadium in all tournaments was 13-17 to the Blues.

Scarlets' only defeat in their last 15 encounters with Dragons was 16-23 at Rodney Parade in September 2013.

Teams:

Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Lewis Evans (captain), 5 Nick Crosswell, 4 Rynard Landman, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Phil Price. 

Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Ed Jackson, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Geraint Rhys Jones.

Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies, 6 Lewis Rawlins, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Jack Condy,20  Morgan Allen, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Gareth Owen.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)

TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)