GUINNESS PRO12: Round 11 Preview
Derby games will make the headlines in the coming days as the next GUINNESS PRO12 ‘Big Weekend’ takes place across Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The traditional rivalries always add to the intensity and many of the teams are going into this round off the back of some strong form in Europe.
High-scoring continues to be the dominant theme of the season with 316 tries scored already as we reach the halfway point of the campaign. All PRO12 teams are aspiring to play positively and that is clearly evident in the figures which show that only 18% of 2,504 points scored have come from penalties.
Competition to reach the GUINNESS PRO12 final at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 27 is fierce and just one point currently separates the top three teams in the table.
Round 11 takes place across the festive period and the first Italian derby of the season is just one of the many highlights. Zebre completed the double over Benetton Treviso last year and Kieran Crowley’s side will be eager to stop that trend in front of a big crowd at Stadio di Monigo. The game will be shown live on Eurosport Italia.
Connacht will travel to Belfast to take on Ulster at Kingspan Stadium where they are still seeking their first victory since 1960. Both provinces will be battle-hardened after strong performances in the Champions Cup.
Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons will be eager to shake some unwanted runs of form with neither having won against another Welsh region this season, while Glasgow Warriors arrive at BT Murrayfield for the 1872 Cup clash with Edinburgh eager to claim their first win in the Scottish capital since 2013.
The Scarlets will face a daunting task when they make the short trip east to take on the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium where the hosts have won every game this season with a try-scoring bonus point. However, the Scarlets are in serious form at the moment having won their previous last seven games in the Championship.
GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 11 FIXTURES:
Friday, December 23 –
ULSTER (5th) v CONNACHT (8th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/Sky Sports 2 HD)
Benetton Treviso (12th) v Zebre (11th), Stadio di Monigo, 7.35pm local time (live Eurosport Italia)
Monday, December 26 –
Cardiff Blues (7th) v Newport Gwent Dragons (9th), BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, 2.05pm (live BBC 2 Wales)
Edinburgh (10th) v Glasgow Warriors (6th), BT Murrayfield, 4.05pm (live BBC ALBA)
MUNSTER (1st) v LEINSTER (2nd), Thomond Park, 5.30pm (live TG4/Sky Sports 2 HD)
Tuesday, December 27 –
Ospreys (3rd) v Scarlets (4th), Liberty Stadium, 3pm (live Sky Sports 2 HD/S4C)
The top two will meet at a sold-out Thomond Park where hosts Munster have installed extra seating in order to set a new attendance record for the venue in the PRO12. Leinster and Munster are both level on 37 points and with each province having won eight games, they can only be separated by taking scoring difference into account.
Munster have not lost a game in the PRO12 since their visit to the Aviva Stadium to take on Leinster in round 6, while Leo Cullen’s men are also the last team to beat Munster in Limerick after their victory at Thomond Park this time last year.
Tyler Bleyendaal (57 points) and Isa Nacewa (64) also enter round 11 among the top scorers in the Championship while they boast near identical kicking percentages – Bleyendaal has an 83% success rate and Nacewa’s is 84.
TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO12 AFTER ROUND 10 (Powered by Opta Statistics):
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 77
Isa Nacewa (Leinster) 64
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 62
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 57
Steve Shingler (Cardiff Blues) 57
TOP TRY SCORERS –
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 7
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 6
Adam Byrne (Leinster) 5
Jonathan Evans (Scarlets) 5
Ben John (Ospreys) 5
TOP TRY ASSISTS –
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 7
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 5
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 5
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) 4
Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) 4
Rhys Webb (Ospreys) 4
Duncan Williams (Munster) 4
Joey Carbery (Leinster) 4
METRES GAINED –
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 790
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 680
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 678
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 602
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 600
MOST CARRIES –
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 122
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 98
Ed Jackson (Newport Gwent Dragons) 97
Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 94
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 93
CLEAN BREAKS –
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 18
Cian Kelleher (Connacht) 14
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 12
Darren Sweetnam (Munster) 12
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 12
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 12
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 12
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 12
DEFENDERS BEATEN –
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 32
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 32
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 27
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 27
Ben John (Ospreys) 27
MOST PASSES –
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 711
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 492
Caolin Blade (Connacht) 459
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 444
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 436
MOST OFFLOADS –
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 15
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 14
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 14
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 14
Jake Heenan (Connacht) 11
Noel Reid (Leinster) 11
KICKS FROM HAND –
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 119
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 102
Duncan Weir (Edinburgh) 93
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 86
Jack Carty (Connacht) 77
MOST TACKLES –
Sean Reidy (Ulster) 126
Billy Holland (Munster) 123
Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 119
Nic Cudd (Newport Gwent Dragons) 115
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 107
LINEOUTS WON –
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 59
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) 38
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) 33
Rory Thornton (Ospreys) 32
Dries van Schalkwyk (Zebre) 31
TURNOVERS WON –
James Davies (Scarlets) 12
Dan Leavy (Leinster) 10
Tommaso Castello (Zebre) 9
Jack O’Donoghue (Munster) 9
Sam Parry (Ospreys) 9
For more statistics, please visit www.pro12rugby.com/powered-by-opta