RaboDirect PRO12: Round 6 Preview
In what will be the final round of RaboDirect PRO12 matches before the start of the European competitions, Ulster sit one point clear at the top of the table with a game in hand over their rivals. They welcome Connacht to Ravenhill on Friday night, a place where the visitors have never won in the league.
Also on Friday there is an east v west derby in Wales as the Newport Gwent Dragons travel to Llanelli to play the Scarlets.
The second-placed Scarlets will be looking to get back to winning ways having suffered two successive defeats, and can surely take heart from the fact they have been victorious in the last eight meetings against the men of Gwent.
Both Italian teams are in action as well on Friday night, Benetton Treviso travelling to Edinburgh, while bottom side Zebre host current champions, the Ospreys, in Parma.
The Ospreys have already lost in Italy this season, at Treviso in the opening round, so they will be keen to return home with the points from this trip. Edinburgh on the other hand have never lost to an Italian side at Murrayfield, and will hope the trend continues this weekend.
There are two games on Saturday, at the Arms Park where the Cardiff Blues must be aiming to bounce back from the region’s biggest ever home defeat by Ulster when they face Glasgow Warriors, who themselves struggled to overcome Zebre in the last round.
However, the match of the round must be at the Aviva Stadium when Leinster take on Munster. Leinster are another team looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat, having gone down 34-6 at Connacht last time out.
Munster will have to overcome the omens if they are to claim the win having lost to Leinster in seven of their last nine meetings in all competitions, and losing on their last three visits to the Aviva Stadium.
RABODIRECT PRO12 – ROUND 6 FIXTURES:
Friday, October 5 –
Scarlets (2nd) v Newport Gwent Dragons (10th), Parc y Scarlets, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Wales)
ULSTER (1st) v CONNACHT (8th), Ravenhill, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/RTÉ Two)
Zebre (12th) v Ospreys (9th), Stadio XXV Aprile, 7.05pm (live Sport Italia)
Edinburgh (7th) v Benetton Treviso (11th), Murrayfield, 7.30pm
Saturday, October 6 –
LEINSTER (6th) v MUNSTER (3rd), Aviva Stadium, 6.30pm (live TG4)
Cardiff Blues (5th) v Glasgow Warriors (4th), Cardiff Arms Park, 6.30pm (live S4C/BBC ALBA)