Friday, 21 September 2012
Glasgow v Connacht, 01:35
Scarlets v Ospreys, 01:05
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Cardiff Blues v Treviso, 12:30
Leinster v Edinburgh, 12:15
Munster v Newport-Gwent D'gons, 14:00
Preview: Scarlets v Ospreys
Scarlets head coach Simon Easterby has announced a strong line-up for the PRO12 derby with the Ospreys.
All of the home side's internationals are involved in the
matchday squad, with experience and flair to call on from the
replacements bench.
With the Scarlets coaches admitting early in the week they had some tough selection decisions to make, there are three changes to the starting line-up that brought about victory over Leinster at the last outing at Parc y Scarlets on September 14.
Jonathan Davies continues his partnership with Scott Williams while Rhys Priestland controls at 10 and Phil John starts at prop with young loosehead Rhodri Jones out with a shoulder injury which was operated on last week.
"There's no doubt this is going to be a big night, and one to capture the imagination of supporters, coaches and players alike as these derbies have done for many years - and it's great that we'll have a packed house here on Friday evening and an atmosphere fitting of a big West Wales derby," said Easterby.
"Welsh regional rugby comes alive at these fixtures and there's no need for any introduction with all the history, heritage and passion between our respective rugby communities.
"The Ospreys may not have had the start they wanted, but a few months ago they were the league champions and know they have the quality within their ranks to turn things around.
"Last season we held them to a draw at the Liberty as well as decent win here at Parc y Scarlets but before that we lost a run of games against them, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves and form or favourite tags don't mean much in these fixtures."
Meanwhile, Tom Isaacs has replaced Jonathan Spratt in the outside centre position for the Ospreys as they look to bounce back from going down at home to Glasgow Warriors.
Rhys Webb makes way for Kahn Fotuali'i at nine while Alun Wyn Jones returns as captain.
"This derby is always a big game, something special, and no doubt that will be the case on Friday. It's great that local rivalries still mean so much, that despite the changes in the game we can still have these big derby matches," said Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy.
"I don't think there's any doubt that who will be going into the game as favourites given recent results. They have been playing good rugby, scoring tries, and their tails will be up, but we'll be doing everything we can to ensure that our fans there on Friday night can head back this side of the bridge proud of their team."
Form: Scarlets continue to set the pace in the RaboDirect PRO12, dropping just one possible point from their first three encounters when they failed to score four tries in overcoming Glasgow in round two. Scarlets are unbeaten in their last ten matches at Parc y Scarlets in the tournament, and have not lost to a fellow Welsh region in the competition since they visited Liberty Stadium on 27 December 2010. The only other time that Ospreys have begun a season with three successive defeats was in 2007/08. Ospreys have won their last three clashes with fellow Welsh sides in all competitions. Scarlets' 22-14 victory over Ospreys last Boxing Day ended a seven game winless sequence against their rivals
The teams:
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 (capt), 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Richard Kelly, 4 George Earle, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Peter Edwards, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Johnathan Edwards, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Gareth Maule.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Tom Grabham, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 George Stowers, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 Ryan Jones, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Jonathan Spratt.
Date: Friday, September 21
Kick-off: 19:05 BST
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Pete says.
I'm amazed how crap Ospreys have been this year.
Scarlets are electric.
Scarlets by 9
Not so electric this time. Missed the game so don't know why Os won but they did 23-16
Preview: Glasgow v Connacht
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend
has made four changes to his starting XV for Friday's clash with
Connacht at Scotstoun Stadium.
In the backs, Sean Lamont comes in for Tommy Seymour on the wing
and Henry Pyrgos replaces shoulder injury victim Chris Cusiter at
scrum-half.
Up front, meanwhile, Moray Low has recovered from a calf complaint to start at tight-head prop. Ryan Wilson, who missed the Ospreys game to be present at the birth of his daughter Ava, resumes his number eight duties, with flanker Chris Fusaro rested for this match.
Tim Swinson, a key summer signing from Newcastle Falcons, could make his competitive Warriors debut off the bench after recovering from a facial injury sustained in the pre-season friendly against Sale Sharks.
Stand-off Scott Wight and centre Troy Nathan are also set for their first action of the campaign, with both having been included among the replacements.
"This is another strong team we're sending out," said Townsend.
"We're clearly disappointed to lose a scrum-half of the calibre of Chris Cusiter for what looks likely to be a significant period of time, but Henry Pyrgos is a player who works very hard on his game, and we'll also be welcoming (Fiji international) Niko Matawalu to the fold in the next few days.
"Both individually and collectively, the pack performed well last week in Swansea, and we'll be looking to them to bring the same relentlessness to the set-piece and contact area on Friday.
"It's great for us that Tim Swinson has recovered from his injury. He's a quality second row with considerable experience and nous, and we're looking forward to seeing him at work.
"Scott Wight has been pushing hard for an opportunity, and we've made it clear from the start of pre-season that it's very much a three-way battle between him, Duncan Weir and Ruaridh Jackson for the number 10 jersey.
"As ever in this competition, we need 23 players at the top of their game come Friday night. We're firmly focussed on the challenge of beating Connacht and are relishing the prospect of getting back out there in front of our own supporters."
Townsend is expecting another tough encounter this time round.
"Connacht are a battle-hardened, very proud unit whose defeat to tournament leaders Scarlets last weekend didn't reflect how well they performed in the game.
"Our recent record against them underlines just how disciplined, aggressive and accurate a performance will be required to follow up our excellent win over Ospreys with another victory this weekend.
"As a group, we are really energised by the opportunity to give our supporters a first win at Scotstoun, but are fully aware of what it will take to bring about a positive result."
Meanwhile, Eric Elwood has made eight changes to the team that ran out against the Scarlets last weekend.
In the backs, Mark McCrea and James Loxton replace Fetu'u Vainikolo and Tiernan O'Halloran on the wings respectively, with Matthew Jarvis coming in at fly-half for Miah Nikora, who takes a well-deserved break.
The 19-year-old Robbie Henshaw gets his first start for the province after making an appearance and notable impact from the bench in all three RaboDirect PRO12 games so far. Henshaw takes over at inside centre from Eoin Griffin, who is resting an ankle injury.
David McSharry, who in superb fashion burst back onto the scene last Saturday against the Scarlets, will be Henshaw's partner in a young, new-look centre combination.
Up front, meanwhile, hooker Adrian Flavin, who made his 100th league appearance last time out, replaces Ethienne Reynecke. He is joined in the front-row by Brett Wilkinson and recent debutant Nathan White.
George Naoupu started at number eight against the Cardiff Blues and Zebre but on Friday he will link up in the second-row with David Gannon, who is set for his first start after three consecutive weeks of replacement appearances.
Willie Faloon, who made an impressive full debut for Connacht last weekend, continues in an all-new back-row trio which sees Johnny O'Connor move from openside to blindside flanker
On the bench, Michael Swift takes a well-earned rest for this match while Academy members Kevin O'Byrne and Jack Carty are in line for their first action of the campaign, with both players having been included among the replacements.
Form: The Warriors' only victory in their last six PRO12 encounters with Irish provinces was 24-3 against Connacht in this equivalent fixture last season. Connacht's solo win in their last four contests was over Italian new boys Zebre in round two. The Irishmen have recorded just one victory in Scotland since 2006: 19-17 against Glasgow at Firhill on 17 September 2010. The Warriors' 24-3 win over Connacht at Firhill in May snapped a four game winless run against the Irish province. Connacht have triumphed just twice on Glasgow home turf, in 2003 and 2010.
The teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Barclay, 6 James Eddie, 5 Al Kellock (c), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Moray Low, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Mike Cusack, 18 Gordon Reid, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Angus Macdonald, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Scott Wight, 23 Troy Nathan.
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy (capt), 14 James Loxton, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 David McSharry, 11 Mark McCrea, 10 Matthew Jarvis, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Johnny O'Connor, 5 David Gannon, 4 George Naoupu, 3 Nathan White, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Kevin O'Byrne, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Michael Swift, 20 Michael Kearney, 21 David Moore, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Mata Fifita.
Date: Friday, September 21
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.35 BST (18.35 GMT)
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)
Pete says;
Too easy. Glasgow walloped Ospreys away from home last week with some exciting expansive rugby.
Connacht on the other hand looked very one dimensional at home and lost to Scarlets.
Glasgow by 18
Connacht put up a fight and Glasgow only won 27-17
Preview: Leinster v Edinburgh
Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley has made
three changes to side that put five tries past Zebre at Murrayfield last
weekend for Saturday's PRO12 hit-out with Leinster in Dublin.
With Tom Brown now back to full fitness, Edinburgh try-machine Tim Visser is rested.
In the pack, the return of prop Geoff Cross and flanker Roddy Grant completes the changes to the front-line, while a quality quartet of youngsters are set for their first competitive outing of the season from the bench: Robin Hislop, Robert McAlpine, Harry Leonard and Dougie Fife.
"We're going into this game with a lot of confidence and a degree of excitement in terms of the possibility of what we can achieve," added Bradley.
"There's a lot to build on from our first three games, having played well in a number of key areas.
"The difference will come in the number of chances we can create as Leinster's defence has been the key component in their success in recent years.
"I think they will focus on that element against us because of the type of side we are but, if we create enough chances and continue to increase our conversion rate from the last three games, then we'll be confident of winning this game."
The sides go into the match with a two from three record, each losing their tournament opener before adjusting their fortunes by putting over 40 points past their opponents at home and needing a last minute drop goal to earn success on the road.
A formidable adversary in Dublin, Leinster lost just two games at the Showground last season, with Edinburgh's last win in the Irish capital dating back to 2005.
However, despite a well-documented pedigree in performance and formidable home record, Bradley believes Edinburgh can take confidence from their start to their season and the buoyancy of the players ahead of the game.
"Leinster have consistently been the in-form side in northern hemisphere rugby, winning three Heineken Cups and finishing in the top three of the RaboDirect PRO12 for the past eight years, narrowly missing out on the league title at the RDS last season," he said.
"They're a quality side through and through and, because of that, our players will find this game an exciting challenge.
"I've been impressed by the willingness to be meticulous in our preparations and go the extra mile this season. We will be well-prepared to face Leinster in Dublin."
Meanwhile, Leo Cullen skippers a side which shows several changes to the team which scraped past Treviso away last weekend.
Up front Sean Cronin comes into the front row in place of Richardt Strauss alongside international colleagues Cian Healy (making his 98th Leinster appearance) and Mike Ross.
Cullen partners Tom Denton, who will make his home debut for the province.
Gordon D'Arcy makes his first start of the season in midfield alongside Brian O'Driscoll who scored his 55th career try for the province on what was his 160th appearance last week. O'Driscoll now lies one ahead of D'Arcy in third place and four behind Denis Hickie's tally of 59 tries. Shane Horgan leads the all-time list on 71 tries.
Isa Nacewa returns to the starting line-up at full-back.
Form: Leinster have secured back to back victories in the RaboDirect PRO12, although they had Jonathan Sexton to thank for their 19-18 success in Treviso on Saturday, the Irish fly-half kicking the winning penalty goal in the 79th minute. The Leinstermen are undefeated in their last six clashes with Scottish sides in all competitions. Edinburgh have also been victorious in their last two fixtures, against the Blues and Zebre. The Scotsmen have not won three in a row in the tournament since October 2010. Edinburgh have lost their last eight encounters with Irish provinces. Leinster have won five of their last six matches against Edinburgh, whilst the only Scottish side to beat Leinster on their own soil since Edinburgh did so at Donnybrook in 2005, was Glasgow in September 2011.
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Tom Denton, 4 Leo Cullen (c), 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Brendan Macken.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Greig Laidlaw (c), 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Willem Nel1, 9 Robert McAlpine, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Dougie Fife.
Date: Saturday, September 22
Kick-off: 18:15 BST
Venue: RDS, Dublin
Referee: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
pete says.
I was disappointed by Leinster sneak win vs Treviso last week. Edinburgh experimenting a bit, and not their strongest side.
Leinster to win by 10
Preview: Cardiff Blues v Treviso
Cardiff Blues have named Lou Reed, Robin
Copeland, Benoit Bourrust and Andi Kyriacou in their pack for their home
clash with Treviso on Saturday.
In the backline, Dan Fish comes in at full-back, Jamie Roberts
starts for the first time at inside centre and Tom James starts on the
wing.
The Blues have started the RaboDirect PRO12 with all three of their fixtures, so far this season, being won by the away side on the day.
The Blues won 16-5 at the Dragons on Friday but have not managed back-to-back victories in the tournament since last February. However, they have a perfect played 13, won 13 record in previous encounters with Italian opponents.
"It's great to be back at the Arms Park for our second home RaboDirect PRO12 fixture," said boss Phil Davies.
"Last weekend we had a good, gusty win against the Dragons at Rodney Parade. It is never an easy place to go to and their home crowd really got behind the Men of Gwent and made some noise.
"It was a bit of a scrappy game as Welsh derbies can be but I thought many of our players acquitted themselves well.
"We know Treviso will be a difficult team to beat. They are very physical, especially up front, and have a good set piece as they showed against the Ospreys."
The Blues, along with every other RaboDirect PRO12 side will be holding a minute's silence in memory of Nevin Spence who died tragically last week.
"The death of Nevin Spence, along with his brother and father, really put things in perspective," added Davies.
"I was fortunate to have met Nevin on a few occasions and he was a lovely guy along with being an extremely talented rugby player.
"I have no doubt he would have gone on to play international rugby for Ireland and he will be a great loss."
Meanwhile, Treviso will no doubt be smarting from last weekend's 19-18 loss to Leinster.
Team news sees Giulio Toniolatti come in for Ludovico Nitoglia on the left wing while Kristopher Burton replaces Alberto Di Bernardo at number 10. Up front there is a start for Marco Filippucci on the blindside while captain Corniel Van Zyl is replaced by Dean Budd.
Form: Strangely, all three of Cardiff Blues' RaboDirect PRO12 matches so far this season have been won by the away side on the day. Blues won 16-5 at the Dragons on Friday but have not managed back to back victories in the tournament since last February. The Welsh region has a perfect played 13, won 13 record in previous encounters with Italian opponents in all competitions. Benetton Treviso have slipped to successive PRO12 defeats to Irish powerhouses Munster and Leinster, although the latter reversal was by the narrowest of margins, the Italians having been in the lead with seconds left. Treviso have won their last two games against Welsh regions. Blues have won all four previous encounters between the two teams.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies (capt), 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Nathan Trevett.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Rory Watts-Jones, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Dafydd Hewitt.
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Edoardo Gori, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Giulio Toniolatti, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Marco Filippucci, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Jacobus Roux, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Valerio Bernabò, 21 Paul Derbyshire, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Luca Morisi.
Date: Saturday, September 22
Kick-off: 18:30 BST
Venue: Arms Park
pete says.
I started to get excited about Blues when they beat Dragons away last weekend, when, quite frankly they should have lost. Dragons were fielding more internationals and were at home.
Treviso are no walk overs anymore.
Blues by 10
Preview: Munster v Dragons
Munster will certainly not lack for
experience at half-back on Saturday with Peter Stringer and Ronan O'Gara
paired together for the first time in 19 months.
It will be Stringer's first start for the Munster in nearly a year. Between them, O'Gara and Stringer have amassed almost 450 competitive Munster caps with Stringer set to win a phenomenal 226th cap on Saturday.
Injuries sustained in last week's game against Ulster have ruled James Coughlan and Luke O'Dea out while Denis Hurley and Ivan Dineen succumbed to illness this week forcing Rob Penney to ring the changes.
Ian Keatley comes in for Hurley at full-back - a position he occupied for the latter end of the game last weekend - while the loss of O'Dea, who was in a rich vein of form, is softened by the availability of international Simon Zebo.
Paddy Butler finds himself anchoring the scrum, while after six games on the bounce Casey Laulala and Sean Dougall are given a break. Keith Earls comes in for Laulala at 13 with Niall Ronan back from injury to replace Dougall.
Meanwhile, Dragons coach Darren Edwards has hands number eight Tom Brown his first start of the campaign, in the back row, in place of Toby Faletau who drops down to the bench.
It's also centre Ashley Smith's first appearance in the starting line-up for this season and his 99th start of his Dragons career. He comes in for Andy Tuilagi who joins Faletau amongst the replacements.
Form: Munster lost their 100 per cent winning start to the RaboDirect PRO12 with their narrow 19-20 defeat at Ulster on Friday. The Munstermen have won their last three home games, whilst the only Welsh side to win on Munster turf since April 2010 was Ospreys in October 2011. Dragons have slipped to successive defeats at the hands of Leinster and Cardiff Blues. Dragons' solitary victory in their last 13 fixtures against Irish opponents was 22-9 at home to Ulster in September 2011. The Men from Gwent have won just once in Ireland since 2004: 16-14 against Ulster at Ravenhill on 19 September 2008. Munster have won their last three encounters with the Dragons, whilst the Newport Gwent side have won just once in Munster - on their very first visit to Thomond Park on 12 March 2004.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Ian Keatley, 14 Doug Howlett (c), 13 Keith Earls, 12 James Downey, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Danny Barnes, 23 JJ Hanrahan.
Dragons: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Will Harries, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Lewis Robling, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Tom Brown. 7 Jevon Groves, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Jones, 4 Ian Nimmo, 3 Dan Way, 2 Steve Jones (c), 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Aaron Coundley, 18 Tim Ryan, 19 Toby Faletau, 20 Lewis Evans, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Andy Tuilagi, 23 Pat Leach.
Date: Saturday, September 22
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Venue: Thomond Park, Limerick
Pete says.
Yes Munster lost to Ulster away last week, but only just and they looked like winning for most of the game.
With Earls and Zebo starting, I think Dragons will suffer.
Munster by 21
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