Magners League: Round 7 Preview

Round 7 opens in Italy on Friday night when Aironi Rugby welcome the Cardiff Blues to Stadio Zaffanella. Having picked up two bonus points from their two home games so far, the hosts must be hoping it will third time lucky as they look to register their first ever Magners League victory.

Elsewhere on Friday night, table-topping Munster travel to Belfast to face provincial rivals Ulster. Having lost their unbeaten record in Edinburgh last weekend, the Ulstermen will be looking to maintain their good record at Ravenhill, where they have not lost since April.

The final Friday fixture is a Scottish-Welsh clash as Glasgow Warriors travel to Llanelli to face a resurgent Scarlets team who have been in the play-off zone for the past four rounds.

Of the three games on Saturday, the Welsh derby between the Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons stands out.

The fifth-placed Ospreys have not been defeated at the Liberty Stadium since last December. In addition, the Dragons have never won on Ospreys soil.

Connacht travel to Italy hoping to put a stop to their slide down the table having led after the first round. Benetton Treviso, however, are proving impressive on their home soil, having won three of their four home games to date including a notable success over last season’s beaten finalists, Leinster.

Leinster are involved in the remaining game on Saturday, welcoming Edinburgh to the RDS, a ground where the home side have a formidable record having not lost a regular season game there since September 2008.

MAGNERS LEAGUE – ROUND 7 FIXTURES:

Friday, October 29 –

Aironi Rugby v Cardiff Blues, Stadio Zaffanella, 7.05pm local time (live Dahlia TV)

ULSTER v MUNSTER, Ravenhill, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/TG4)

Scarlets v Glasgow Warriors, Parc y Scarlets, 8.05pm (live BBC 2 Wales/BBC ALBA)

Saturday, October 30 –

Benetton Treviso v CONNACHT, Stadio di Monigo, 7.05pm local time/6.05pm Irish time (live Dahlia TV)

LEINSTER v Edinburgh, the RDS, 6.05pm (live RTE Two/BBC ALBA)

Ospreys v Newport Gwent Dragons, Liberty Stadium, 6.30pm (live S4C)