Preview: Pro12, Round Two
Round Two of the PRO12 sees the introduction of two new grounds into the competition, and the return to an old favourite.
Tournament newcomers Zebre play their first home game at the Stadio Aprile in Parma when Connacht are the visitors. Both teams are looking for their first victory this season, and the hosts will be hoping to improve on their opening performance.
The second new ground will be Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, the new home to Glasgow Warriors. The stadium has already played host to the IRB World Sevens Series in May, and will feature in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Friday night sees Warriors take on Scarlets, who do not boast a very good record in Scotland, in the first ever PRO12 game at the ground.
In a battle of the capital cities, Edinburgh also face Welsh opposition on Friday night, but this time in the Principality as they travel to Cardiff to take on a Blues team who have returned to their spiritual home at Cardiff Arms Park, a venue where they won both home games played there last season.
In the final fixture on Friday night Benetton Treviso face Munster in one of the most iconic of PRO12 stadia, Thomond Park.
Treviso may have beaten Munster last season, but not on their own patch, and face a tough task if they wish to come away from Limerick with the points, however Treviso did lower the colours of the reigning champions, Ospreys, in last week's opening game.
The round wraps up with two games on Saturday, both Irish-Welsh affairs. Leinster host table topping Newport Gwent Dragons, and must be hoping they can maintain their home unbeaten run against the visitors, whilst Ulster travel to the Liberty Stadium to take on title holders, Ospreys, a venue where the Ulstermen have not won since 2009.
All the PRO12 Round Two fixtures:
Friday, September 7
Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh
(Cardiff Arms Park, Kick-off: 19.05 GMT)
Cardiff Blues began the new season of PRO12 action with a 13-9 victory in Connacht.
The Blues won both matches they played at the arms Park last season, against Connacht and Ulster.
Edinburgh gained a losing bonus point in their reversal to Munster at Murrayfield last Saturday, and have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions.
The Scotsmen's only away win in their last 19 trips in the PRO12 was at Treviso last november. Edinburgh have not won in Wales since a visit to Scarlets in December 2009.
The Blues have won their last four games against Edinburgh in the PRO12, whilst Edinburgh have been victorious on four of their last five visits to the Arms Park.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Andries Pretorius (capt), 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 James Down, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Rhys Williams, 1 Taufa'ao Filise.
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Thomas Davies, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Thomas Williams.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw (capt), 9 Richie Rees, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 John Yapp, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Perry Parker, 20 Netani Talei, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Gregor Hunter, 23 Sep Visser.
Referee: David Wilkinson
Assistant Referees: Sean Brickell, Jason Langdon
TMO: Neil Ballard
Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets
(Scotstoun Stadium, Kick-off: 19.35 GMT)
Scotstoun stadium becomes the 35th different ground to host a game in the history of this tournament.
Glasgow Warriors tripped up 10-18 at Ulster last week on top of losing their opening two games of the 2011/12 season.
The Warriors have lost just one of their last nine matches against the Welsh regions.
Scarlets defeated Leinster 45-20 at Parc y Scarlets last week and are now unbeaten in their last four PRO12 encounters. Scarlets have lost on their last two visits to Scotland.
Both clashes between the two sides last season were won by the home side on the day, whilst Scarlets have won just once in Glasgow on their last seven visits.
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Barclay, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Moray Low, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Mike Cusack, 18 Gordon Reid, 19 James Eddie, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Peter Horne.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andy Fenby 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Rob McCusker (captain), 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Richard Kelly, 4 George Earle, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Kieran Murphy, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Adam Warren.
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Assistant Referees: David Changleng, Graeme Marshall
TMO: Jim Yuille
Munster v Benetton Treviso
(Thomond Park, Kick-off: 20.00 GMT)
Munster began their campaign with a 23-18 victory against Edinburgh at Murrayfield last week. The Munstermen have won seven of their last eight home games in the competition.
Munster lost their most recent encounter with an Italian opponent: 17-21 at Aironi in March.
Benetton Treviso beat Ospreys 12-6 at Stadio Monigo in Round One. Treviso had a won 2, lost 6 record against Irish provinces last season, with both victories coming away from home in Belfast and Galway.
Treviso's only previous win against Munster was 19-18 at Stadio Monigo in February 2011.
The teams:
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 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Ivan Dineen.
Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Alberto Sgarbi, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Paul Derbyshire, 7 Dean Budd, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Valerio Bernabò, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Maistri, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Corniel Van Zyl, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Alessandro Zanni, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Kristopher Burton.
Referee: Andrew Mcmenemy
Assistant Referees: Paul Haycock, David Keane
TMO: Seamus Flannery
Zebre v Connacht
(Stadio Aprile, Kick-off: 19.05; 18.05 GMT)
Stadio Aprile becomes the 36th different ground, and the third in Italy, to host a game in the history of this tournament.
The new Italian franchise, Zebre, lost 6-37 to Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade on their debut last Friday.
Connacht have lost their last two matches in the competition to Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Blues, whilst their only victory on the road since Round One last season was 27-19 at the Dragons in March.
The Irishmen have won just one previous Pro12 game in Italy: 11-9 at Treviso in September 2011.
The teams:
Zebre: 15 Sinoti Sinoti, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Alberto Benettin, 12 Gonzalo Garcia (captain), 11 Samuele Pace, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Alberto Chillon , 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Filippo Cristiano, 5 Josh Sole, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 David Ryan, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea De Marchie, 18 Luca Redolfini, 19 Emiliano Caffini, 20 Nicola Belardo, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Alberto Chiesa, 23 Ruggero Trevisan.
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 Nathan White, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Frank Murphy, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Robbie Henshaw.
Referee: Ian Davies
Assistant Referees: Stefano Roscini, Elia Rizzo
TMO: Carlo Damasco
Saturday, September 8
Leinster v Newport Gwent Dragons
(Royal Dublin Society, Kick-off: 18.15 GMT)
Leinster have now slipped to back to back defeats in the Pro12 - they have not lost three in a row in the competition since october 2008.
The only visiting team to have beaten the leinstermen at the RDS in any competition in the last three years , other than Ospreys, was Glasgow in September.
Newport Gwent Dragons top the table after Round One, courtesy of their bonus point win over newcomers, Zebre.
The Welshmen have three times before led the league after one week (2005, 2007 and 2008) and on all three occasions have lost in Round Two and surrendered top spot.
The men from Gwent have won just one of their last dozen encounters with Irish provinces: 22-9 at home to Ulster in September 2011.
The Dragons' solo victory in Ireland since 2004 came at Ulster in September 2008.
Leinster have taken the last four clashes with Newport Gwent Dragons, whilst the Dragons have never overturned the Leinstermen on their own soil.
The teams:
Leinster: TBC
Newport Gwent Dragons: TBC
Referee: Marius Mitrea
Assistant Referees: Mark Patton, Jonathon Peak
TMO: Alan Rogan
Ospreys v Ulster
(Liberty Stadium, Kick-off: 18.30 GMT)
Ospreys' seven game winning streak in the PRO12 ended in Italy last Friday, with their 6-12 reversal to Benetton Treviso.
Ospreys have won their last three matches at Liberty stadium and lost only once to an Irish province last season: 14-15 to Ulster at Ravenhill on 24 February.
Ulster began the new season with an 18-10 victory over Glasgow at Ravenhill, but have tripped up in their last two away games in the PRO12, at Connacht and Munster.
The Ulstermen have won three of their last four encounters against Welsh regions, but have lost on their last four visits to the principality.
The last four fixtures between the two sides have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Ulster's only victory at Liberty Stadium since 2006 was 20-16 on 12 September 2009.
The teams:
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Isaacs, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Ian Gough, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Joe Rees, 19 George Stowers, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Tom Grabham.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Michael Allen , 10 Niall O'Connor, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Lewis Stevenson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Tom Court, 18 John Afoa, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Stephen Ferris, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Andrew Trimble.
Referee: Neil Paterson
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Phil Fear
TMO: Tony Rowlands