Magners League: Round 8 Preview

The Magners League returns on Friday night with only one of the Irish provinces playing at home – Ulster will entertain Glasgow Warriors at Ravenhill, while Connacht, Leinster and Munster all face tricky trips to Wales.

Second-placed Edinburgh, who have retained a top four spot for six successive rounds, travel to Parc y Scarlets on Friday hoping to re-establish their winning ways at the expense of the Welsh region.

Elsewhere, Glasgow Warriors will be looking to get their Magners League campaign back on track when they visit Ravenhill, the Ulstermen are level with them in the table and both will be keen to maintain their position in the play-off zone.

There is just one game on Saturday, the Ospreys welcoming defending champions Munster to the Liberty Stadium.

Both teams are just outside the top four, so depending upon results on Friday night, a win could propel either side back up the table.

The final two games of the round take place on Sunday, Cardiff Blues hosting Connacht and European champions Leinster travelling to Rodney Parade.

Connacht will be looking for a first ever season’s double over their hosts, as they defeated the Blues in the reverse fixture at the Sportsground in September.

Table-topping Leinster may be the current league leaders, but the Magners League table is so close that a bonus point win for the Newport Gwent Dragons could see the sides draw level on league points.

Meanwhile, Connacht captain John Muldoon is set to play for the 100th time in the Magners League this weekend.

In chalking up a century of league appearances, the Portumna man will join a select band of players to achieve the feat – included in their number are two of Muldoon’s former Connacht team-mates, John Fogarty (103 league games) and Andrew Farley (113 league games).

MAGNERS LEAGUE – ROUND 8 FIXTURES:

Friday, December 4 –

Scarlets v Edinburgh, Parc y Scarlets, 7.05pm (live BBC Wales)

ULSTER v Glasgow Warriors, Ravenhill, 8pm (live Setanta Sports Ireland)

Saturday, December 5 –

Ospreys v MUNSTER, Liberty Stadium, 6.30pm (live Setanta Sports 1/S4C)

Sunday, December 6 –

Cardiff Blues v CONNACHT, Cardiff City Stadium, 3pm

Newport Gwent Dragons v LEINSTER, Rodney Parade, 5pm (live Setanta Sports Ireland/S4C)