RaboDirect PRO12

They may be only one place apart in the table, but Benetton Treviso are seven points behind Scarlets. The home side will need to continue their good vein of form if they want to make it to the play-offs.

The three league matches on Friday night all fall within the auspices of the IRFU, with games at Connacht, Munster and Ulster.

Victory for Connacht could see them leapfrog over their opponents Edinburgh in the table, the other two games bring the battle for the top four places into sharp focus.

Munster and Glasgow Warriors have traded third and fourth places for four weeks running, just two points now separate them in the table, but Tony McGahan's men have a game in hand.

Munster's opponents this week, Cardiff Blues, are just outside the play-off zone, but a win for them in Limerick, should other result go their way, could move the Welsh region into the top four.

The top two teams have remained in situ since round 10, and while Leinster are now 10 points clear of the chasing pack, the prospect of a home semi-final on offer means that the second-placed Ospreys will be looking to consolidate their position.

However, a trip to Ravenhill on a Friday night, with Ulster themselves aiming for a top four finish, is not the place to go in search of points.

There is just one game on Saturday, in what could be a taster of the play-offs when Leinster face Glasgow Warriors, albeit this time in Scotland.

Both teams are building up impressive undefeated records, one of which will have to give if either side are to take a win from this encounter.

Round 16 wraps up in Italy on Sunday when the Newport Gwent Dragons are the visitors to Stadio Zaffanella to face another team at the wrong end of the table, Aironi.

The Italian outfit are on a roll having won their last two home games, and will be keen to add a Welsh region to that tally.

Should he be selected to play against Edinburgh, Connacht's long-serving lock Michael Swift will equal Deiniol Jones' record for the most number of games played in the league - 139.

RABODIRECT PRO12 - ROUND 16 FIXTURES:

Thursday, February 23 -

Scarlets v Benetton Treviso, Parc y Scarlets, 7.35pm (live S4C)

Friday, February 24 -

MUNSTER v Cardiff Blues, Thomond Park, 7.05pm (live RTÉ Two/BBC 2 Wales)

CONNACHT v Edinburgh, the Sportsground, 7.30pm

ULSTER v Ospreys, Ravenhill, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland)

Saturday, February 25 -

Glasgow Warriors v LEINSTER, Firhill Stadium, 6pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)

Sunday, February 26 -

Aironi Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons, Stadio Zaffanella, 4.30pm local time (live RAI Sport 2)

Previewing Saturday's RaboDirect PRO12 final against Leinster with Cóilín Duffy, Ulster winger Andrew Trimble said: "We really motivated for this game. People are talking about us being the best Ulster side in a few years, we had that record of 13 wins in a row at the start of the year. We want to win trophies, and there's no point having those records unless we back them up."

Connacht elite player development officer Jimmy Duffy chats about the province's latest programme, 'Grassroots to Green Shirts', which they hope will increase the number of indigenous players coming through the provincial player pathway. In the westerners' current senior squad, there are 19 players who have come through the Connacht system.

Speaking about Connacht's 'Grassroots to Green Shirts' initiative, the province's CEO Tom Sears said: "We like to think we're innovative in our approach, that we're looking at things slightly differently. We've shown that the production line is working with the young players coming through. The system is working, we just need a bit more investment to make sure we can get more players through."

Connacht's head of commercial and marketing Alex Saul talks about some exciting developments off the pitch for the province, including their 'Grassroots to Green Shirts' crowd-funding initiative which gives fans the chance to play their part in growing and developing the future stars of Connacht and Irish rugby.

Speaking after the 30-11 home win over the Dragons, Connacht head coach Eric Elwood said: "We're a little bit disappointed we didn't get the bonus point, but the good thing is we got a good victory at home and we had a great crowd. We're back on the horse and it sets us up for Harlequins (next week)."

Speaking about recovering from the disappointing defeat to the Scarlets, young Leinster centre Noel Reid said: "We went over looking for a result and we didn't perform the way we wanted to. So we need a big week now of training and focusing on the things that didn't go our way - the breakdown in particular."

RaboDirect PRO12

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	Pts
1	Ulster	22	17	1	4	81
2	Leinster	22	17	0	5	78
3	Glasgow	22	16	0	6	76
4	Scarlets	22	15	0	7	66
5	Ospreys	22	14	1	7	62
6	Munster	22	11	1	10	54
7	Treviso	22	10	2	10	50
8	Connacht	22	8	1	13	38
9	Blues	22	8	0	14	38
10	Edinburgh	22	7	0	15	36
11	Dragons	22	6	0	16	28
12	Zebre	22	0	0	22	10