Further PRO12 Fixture Details Are Released

Following discussion with their broadcast partners and the participating teams, the RaboDirect PRO12 is now in a position to confirm rounds 14 to 19 inclusive of the 2012/13 fixtures list.

Of the 36 matches included in the six rounds, 27 have been selected for live transmission, including the Welsh double header at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, March 30.

S4C and BBC Wales will share this broadcast, BBC with Wales showing the first game between the Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets. The Cardiff Blues v Ospreys fixture will follow on Welsh language channel, S4C.

SportItalia will continue their extensive coverage of games in Italy featuring Benetton Treviso and Zebre, BBC ALBA are the host broadcaster for Scottish games selected for TV.

Meanwhile, the league games involving the Irish provinces are shared between RTE, TG4 and BBC Northern Ireland.

The popularity of the RaboDirect PRO12 continues to grow, reflected in the increasing attendances on matchdays.

The number of tickets sold for the 47 games played to date is up 11.5% on the same fixtures last year, with almost two thirds of those games exceeding last season's gates, sometimes by impressive margins.

The confirmation of dates for rounds 14-19 will leave just the final three rounds of the regular season to be agreed as teams battle it out for the play-off places.

Click here for the full RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures list.

RABODIRECT PRO12 FIXTURES:

ROUND 14 -

Friday, February 8 - 7.05pm - Cardiff Blues v LEINSTER, Cardiff Arms Park (BBCW)
Friday, February 8 - 7.30pm - Newport Gwent Dragons v Benetton Treviso, Rodney Parade
Friday, February 8 - 7.30pm - Scarlets v CONNACHT, Parc y Scarlets
Friday, February 8 - 7.05pm - ULSTER v Ospreys, Ravenhill (BBCNI)
Saturday, February 9 - 7.45pm - MUNSTER v Edinburgh, Musgrave Park (TG4)
Sunday, February 10 - 3.05pm - Zebre v Glasgow Warriors, Stadio XXV Aprile (SportItalia)

ROUND 15 -

Friday, February 15 - 7.45pm - CONNACHT v Ospreys, the Sportsground (TG4)
Friday, February 15 - 7.30pm - Edinburgh v Cardiff Blues, Murrayfield
Friday, February 15 - 7.05pm - Newport Gwent Dragons v Glasgow Warriors, Rodney Parade (BBCW)
Friday, February 15 - 7.05pm - ULSTER v Zebre, Ravenhill (BBCNI)
Saturday, February 16 - 5pm - LEINSTER v Benetton Treviso, the RDS
Saturday, February 16 - 6.30pm - Scarlets v MUNSTER, Parc y Scarlets (S4C)

ROUND 16 -

February 22/23/24 - Ospreys v Edinburgh, Liberty Stadium (BBCW)
Friday, February 22 - 7.30pm - Cardiff Blues v CONNACHT, Cardiff Arms Park
Friday, February 22 - 7.35pm - Glasgow Warriors v ULSTER, Scotstoun Stadium (BBC ALBA)
Saturday, February 23 - 7.45pm - LEINSTER v Scarlets, the RDS (TG4)
Sunday, February 24 - 3pm - Benetton Treviso v MUNSTER, Stadio di Monigo (SportItalia)
Sunday, February 24 - 3.05pm - Zebre v Newport Gwent Dragons, Stadio XXV Aprile

ROUND 17 -

Friday, March 1 - 7.45pm - CONNACHT v Zebre, the Sportsground (TG4)
Friday, March 1 - 7.35pm - Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues, Scotstoun Stadium
Friday, March 1 - 7pm - Newport Gwent Dragons v LEINSTER, Rodney Parade
Friday, March 1 - 7.05pm - Scarlets v Edinburgh, Parc y Scarlets (BBCW)
Friday, March 1 - 7.05pm - ULSTER v Benetton Treviso, Ravenhill (BBCNI)
Saturday, March 2 - 6.30pm - MUNSTER v Ospreys, Thomond Park (RTE)

ROUND 18 -

Friday, March 22 - 7.30pm - Edinburgh v ULSTER, Murrayfield
Friday, March 22 - 7.05pm - Ospreys v Newport Gwent Dragons, Liberty Stadium (BBCW)
Friday, March 22 - 7pm - Zebre v Scarlets, Stadio XXV Aprile (SportItalia)
Saturday, March 23 - 7.30pm - Benetton Treviso v Cardiff Blues, Stadio di Monigo (SportItalia)
Saturday, March 23 - 7.45pm - LEINSTER v Glasgow Warriors, the RDS (RTE)
Saturday, March 23 - 5.45pm - MUNSTER v CONNACHT, Musgrave Park (TG4)

ROUND 19 -

Friday, March 29 - 8.05pm - Glasgow Warriors v MUNSTER, Scotstoun Stadium (BBC ALBA)
Friday, March 29 - 7pm - Zebre v Edinburgh, Stadio XXV Aprile (SportItalia)
Saturday, March 30 - 8pm - Benetton Treviso v CONNACHT, Stadio di Monigo (SportItalia)
Saturday, March 30 - 5.15pm - Cardiff Blues v Ospreys, Millennium Stadium (S4C)
Saturday, March 30 - 6.15pm - LEINSTER v ULSTER, the RDS (RTE)
Saturday, March 30 - 2.30pm - Newport Gwent Dragons v Scarlets, Millennium Stadium (BBCW)

* All kick-off times are local time

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."