RaboDirect PRO12: Round 2 Preview
Just two teams, Leinster and Munster, collected maximum points from their first round RaboDirect PRO12 games, between them running in ten of the 22 tries that were scored last weekend.
Munster will look to continue that form when they visit Italy on Friday night to take on Zebre, while Leinster will have home advantage on their side this round when they welcome the Ospreys to the RDS the following day.
With both sides winning their opening fixtures, one record is set to tumble in Dublin.
There are four games in all on Friday night: Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh and Ulster all at home along with Zebre, providing games in each of the four Unions.
Having picked up a losing bonus point in Glasgow last weekend, the Blues will want to go one better and claim the winning points against Connacht who do not have the best of records in Cardiff – however, they did win on their last trip to the Arms Park.
Edinburgh are one of three teams who did not collect a single point during the opening round, while their round 2 opponents, the Newport Gwent Dragons, claimed an impressive victory when overcoming last season’s beaten finalists, Ulster, 15-8.
The Dragons will be looking to add to that win, and have a good record against their opponents – losing only two of the last eight games between them..
Ulster will be looking to put last weekend’s loss in Newport behind them, and their impressive record at Ravenhill, where they lost just once in the competition last season must surely count in their favour when they face Glasgow Warriors in Belfast.
The round wraps up with the second game on Saturday, the Scarlets welcoming Benetton Treviso to Parc y Scarlets.
Having lost heavily to champions Leinster last weekend, the Scarlets find themselves in the unusual position of propping up the table, but will see this fixture as a chance to get their campaign back on track.
RABODIRECT PRO12 – ROUND 2 FIXTURES:
Friday, September 13 –
Cardiff Blues (9th) v CONNACHT (3rd), Cardiff Arms Park, 7.05pm (live TG4/BBC 2 Wales)
ULSTER (8th) v Glasgow Warriors (4th), Ravenhill, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/BBC ALBA)
Zebre (10th) v MUNSTER (2nd), Stadio XXV Aprile, 7.30pm local time/6.30pm Irish time (live Mediaset/extended highlights RTÉ Two)
Edinburgh (11th) v Newport Gwent Dragons (5th), Murrayfield, 7.45pm
Saturday, September 14 –
LEINSTER (1st) v Ospreys (6th), the RDS, 6.15pm (live RTÉ Two)
Scarlets (12th) v Benetton Treviso (7th), Parc y Scarlets, 6.30pm (live S4C)