RaboDirect Pro12: Week 14 Preview
RaboDirect Pro12: Week 14 Preview
During a busy Six Nations, the Celtic and Italian sides are in action this weekend, with squads being stretched due to the unavailablity of international stars. At present, Leinster lead the table on 48 points, 9 points ahead of nearest rivals Ospreys on 39 with Munster in third position with 38 points. Sunday's fixture with Aironi at home to Munster has been called off due to a frozen pitch.
Thursday
Glasgow Warriors vs Scarlets, 7:05pm
It's 4th place vs 5th place as Glasgow host Scarlets at Firhill. Both sides are without plenty of established names for this one, Glasgow are without the likes of Richie Gray, Chris Cusiter, Duncan Weir and Rory Lamont while Scarlets will miss Rhys Priestland, George North et al. Ruaridh Jackson does start for Glasgow having been in Weir's shadow for the season while Graeme Morrison will be looking to put in a good performance having been discarded by Scotland. Glasgow are usually strong at home and should have enough to win. Glasgow by 7-10 points.
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Troy Nathan, 12 Graeme Morrison (c), 11 David Lemi, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Rob Verbakel, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 George Hunter, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 Calum Forrester, 21 Murray McConnell, 22 Alex Dunbar, 23 Scott Wight.
Scarlets: 15 Dan Newton, 14 Viliami Iongi, 13 Gareth Maule (capt), 12 Adam Warren, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Gareth Davies,8 Matt Gilbert, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Dominic Day 4 Sione Timani, 3 Peter Edwards,2 Emyr Phillips ,1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Craig Hawkins, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Kieran Murphy, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Nick Reynolds, 23 Daniel Evans.
Leinster vs Benetton Treviso, 7:05pm
While they are missing a host of Ireland players, Leinster can still boast a powerful squad for the visit of Treviso. With a very strong pack, Leinster can still call upon the likes of Carr and Nacewa in the backline. Colm O'Shea makes his first start for Leinster at inside centre. Treviso's side has a much more experienced look about it, with veterans Di Bernardo, Vernabo, Williams etc getting a run out. Treviso have been strong when they have travelled to the other Irish provinces this season but Leinster will have too much. Leinster by 10-15 points.
Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Darren Hudson, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Colm O'Shea, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Leo Auva'a, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin (c), 5 Devin Toner, 4 Damian Browne, 3 Nathan White, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Mark Flanagan, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Andrew Boyle.
Treviso: 15 Ludovico Nitoglia, 14 Benjamin De Jager, 13 Ezio Galon, 12 Andrea Pratichetti, 11 Brendan Williams, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Alberto Chillon, 8 Marco Filippucci, 7 Benjamin Vermaak, 6 Gonzalo Padrò, 5 Valerio Bernabò (c), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Matteo Muccignat
Replacements: 16 Diego Vidal, 17 Carlo Fazzari, 18 Pedro Di Santo, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Enrico Pavanello, 21 Simon Picone, 22 Gonzalo Garcia, 23 Tommaso Iannone.
Friday
A side buoyed by their recent performances in Europe, Ulster host Dragons at Ravenhill. While missing key names like Best, Ferris and Trimble, they still can boast an experienced side. The Cardiff Blues bound Jason Tovey starts for the Dragons, who have a poor record away from home. Ravenhill has become an Ulster fortress once again and there should only be one winner here. Ulster by 15-20 points.
Ulster: 15 Adam D'Arcy, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Stefan Terblanche, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Mike McComish, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa (capt), 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Tim Barker, 20 Ali Birch, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Nevin Spence, 23 Simon Danielli.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Jamie Smith, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Ashley Smith (capt), 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Gavin Thomas, 7 Darren Waters, 6 Jevon Groves, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Adam Jones, 3 Nathan Buck, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Nathan Williams.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Phil Price, 18 Dan Way, 19 Hugo Ellis, 20 Tom Brown, 21 Joe Bedford, 22 Andy Tuilagi, 23 Lewis Robling.
Cardiff Blues vs Connacht, 7:30pm
Casey Laulala, who this week announced a move to Munster in the summer, starts for Cardiff at outside centre. Ben Blair continues his return from a long injury layoff with a start at fullback with Martyn Williams also returning from injury. Connacht are the side least affected by the Six Nations, with no players called up for international duty, so they are able to call on a full strength side minus injuries. Again this is a case of one side having enough depth to cope with callups, Cardiff to win by at least 10 points.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Maama Molitika, 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Michael Paterson, 3, Sam Hobbs 2, T Rhys Thomas, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Tyrell, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Macauley Cook, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Tom Williams.
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy (c), 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Kyle Tonetti, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Tiernan O'Halloran, 10 Niall O'Connor, 9 Paul O'Donohoe, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Stewart Maguire, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Mick Kearney, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Henry Fa'afili.
Edinburgh vs Ospreys, 7:35pm
This game is the closest to call of the weekend. Ospreys have better squad depth but Edinburgh generally play well at the funereal atmosphere of Murrayfield. Ospreys can still call up multi cap internationals such as Duncan Jones and Jonathan Thomas while Edinburgh have Phil Godman and Chris Paterson at their disposal. Ospreys endured a disappointing European campaign, culminating in a capitulation at Biarritz, and they looking to bounce back here. Ospreys by 3 points.
Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Matt Scott, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Leck, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Roddy Grant (capt), 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Jack Gilding, 2 Alun Walker, 1 Kyle Traynor.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Ulises Gamboa, 19 Esteban Lozada, 20 Alan MacDonald, 21 Alex Black, 22 Gregor Hunter, 23 Jim Thompson.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Tom Smith (capt), 5 James King, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Joe Rees, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Will Taylor, 19 Alun-Wyn Jones, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Sonny Parker.
