GUINNESS PRO12: Round 8 Preview

While the southern Hemisphere sides continue their tour of Europe, the GUINNESS PRO12 is back in action this weekend and the pick of round 8 must be the fixture between the table-topping Ospreys and third-placed Ulster in Belfast on Friday night.

Victory for Ulster could see them swap places with their opponents, whereas an Ospreys win would stretch their lead even further at the top of the GUINNESS PRO12 table.
 
Second-placed Glasgow Warriors are also in action on Friday night with a trip to Llanelli to face the Scarlets, a team who they completed the double against last season, while the remaining team in the play-off zone, Munster, also face a journey to Wales to play the Newport Gwent Dragons the same evening.

Connacht could hand debuts to Mils Muliaina and newly-arrived hooker Tom McCartney when they host second-from-bottom Zebre at the Sportsground on Friday. Bundee Aki is also preparing for his first home game for the province.
 
The round wraps up on Sunday with Leinster perhaps being the team with the most to prove. With the season almost one third of the way through, Matt O’Connor’s men have not climbed higher than fifth in the table to date. Their mission to reach the top four restarts with a trip to bottom side Treviso.
 
Initially, 119 PRO12 players were selected in the original squads for autumn internationals – the best representation of any world league – but the next couple of weeks will give players a chance to stake their claim for forthcoming PRO12 and European matches.

GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 8 FIXTURES:

Friday, November 21 –

CONNACHT (6th) v Zebre (11th), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/Nuvolari TV)

ULSTER (3rd) v Ospreys (1st), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland)

Newport Gwent Dragons (10th) v MUNSTER (4th), Rodney Parade, 7.30pm

Scarlets (7th) v Glasgow Warriors (2nd), Parc y Scarlets, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Wales/BBC ALBA)

Sunday, November 23 –

Benetton Treviso (12th) v LEINSTER (5th), Stadio di Monigo, 3.30pm local time/2.30pm Irish time (live Sky Sports 2 HD/Nuvolari TV)

Edinburgh (8th) v Cardiff Blues (9th), BT Murrayfield, 4pm (live BBC ALBA/S4C)