GUINNESS PRO12: Round 15 Preview

These games will play a pivotal role in the race to reach the GUINNESS PRO12 final at the Aviva Stadium on May 27 where a record attendance is expected to cap a thrilling Championship season.

The meeting between Ulster and Glasgow Warriors at Kingspan Stadium (live on Sky Sports 1) will see these heavyweights go toe-to-toe in a bid to gain some momentum and force their way back into the semi-final places.

Glasgow are coming off a costly loss at home to the Scarlets, while Ulster are back to winning ways after their victory over Edinburgh in round 14. The teams’ overall Championship history against each other is evenly matched with Ulster claiming 15 wins to Glasgow’s 14 which adds to a solitary draw between the sides.
 
Leinster and the Scarlets are ahead of Ulster and Glasgow in the PRO12 table and they will be out to ensure that they gain ground on whoever drops points between front runners – the Ospreys and Munster.

Leinster will host Edinburgh at the RDS on Friday night as Leo Cullen’s men aims to extend their winning home record to 19 games in all competitions. The Scarlets welcome Zebre to west Wales and they will be banking on their stout form at Parc Y Scarlets where they have not lost at home in the Championship since Munster’s win in round 1.
 
Connacht will look to build on their win in Cardiff last weekend when they host the Newport Gwent Dragons in a game that will have a bearing on qualification for the top six and the Champions Cup play-offs. Meanwhile, Cardiff Blues entertain Benetton Treviso at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park where the visitors have never won.

GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 15 FIXTURES:
 
Friday, February 17 –

LEINSTER (3rd) v Edinburgh (9th), the RDS, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)

Scarlets (4th) v Zebre (12th), Parc y Scarlets, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Wales/Eurosport Italia)

Saturday, February 18 –

Cardiff Blues (7th) v Benetton Treviso (11th), BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, 2.30pm

CONNACHT (8th) v Newport Gwent Dragons (10th), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/S4C)

ULSTER (6th) v Glasgow Warriors (5th), Kingspan Stadium, 3pm (live Sky Sports 1 HD)

Ospreys (2nd) v MUNSTER (1st), Liberty Stadium, 5.15pm (live Sky Sports 1 HD)

Swansea’s Liberty Stadium will be the focal point for the PRO12 on Saturday evening when first-placed Munster arrive to defend their one-point lead over the Ospreys. Both of these teams are multiple title winners and are looking to add to their haul yet again this season as they mix top class international talent with some of the best up-and-coming players in the Championship.

Although Munster come into the game as table toppers, they will find it a tough task to take points away from the Ospreys who have won all but one of their home matches with a try-scoring bonus point.

The overall Championship record between the teams provides few clues as to who will win with the record split 15 wins to 14 in favour of the Ospreys with one draw.

TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO12 AFTER ROUND 14 (Powered by Opta Statistics):

TOP POINTS SCORERS –

Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 91
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 86
Steve Shingler (Cardiff Blues) 84
Isa Nacewa (Leinster) 78
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 77

TOP TRY SCORERS –

Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 8
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 7
Adam Byrne (Leinster) 6
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 6
Rory O’Loughlin (Leinster) 6

TOP TRY ASSISTS –

Sam Davies (Ospreys) 8
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 8
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 7
Duncan Williams (Munster) 7
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) 6

METRES GAINED –

Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 1163
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 1040
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 998
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 909
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 729

MOST CARRIES –

Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 164
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 151
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 138
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 135
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 133

CLEAN BREAKS –

Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 19
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 18
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 17
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 17
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 16

DEFENDERS BEATEN –

Charles Piutau (Ulster) 46
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) 41
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 37
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 35
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 33
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 33
Ben John (Ospreys) 33

MOST PASSES –

Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 814
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 717
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 698
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 601
Duncan Williams (Munster) 567
Sarel Pretorius (Newport Gwent Dragons) 567

MOST OFFLOADS –

Charles Piutau (Ulster) 18
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 18
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 17
Jake Heenan (Connacht) 15
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 14
Noel Reid (Leinster) 14

KICKS FROM HAND –

Carlo Canna (Zebre) 138
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 98
Duncan Weir (Edinburgh) 88
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 88
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 87

MOST TACKLES –

Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 165
Sean Reidy (Ulster) 159
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 159
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 156
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) 154

LINEOUTS WON –

Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 90
Dries van Schalkwyk (Zebre) 45
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) 42
Rory Thornton (Ospreys) 41
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) 38

TURNOVERS WON –

James Davies (Scarlets) 16
Dan Leavy (Leinster) 14
Ollie Griffiths (Newport Gwent Dragons) 13
Marco Barbini (Benetton Treviso) 12
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) 11
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) 11
John Barclay (Scarlets) 11
Sam Parry (Ospreys) 11

For more statistics, please visit www.pro12rugby.com/powered-by-opta