GUINNESS PRO12: Round 14 Preview
Nine rounds remain in the GUINNESS PRO12 Championship and this period during the Six Nations will test the mettle of all the title contenders in addition to the teams jockeying to qualify for the Champions Cup.
In round 14, games will take place on Friday (February 10) and Sunday (February 12) with four of the six fixtures broadcast live. Munster lead the Ospreys by a point at the top of the table, while only six points separate third-placed Leinster from the Scarlets in fifth.
PRO12 leaders Munster play host to the Newport Gwent Dragons at Irish Independent Park where they have lost two of their last four fixtures to Welsh opposition. However, the Dragons arrive in Ireland searching for their first PRO12 away in 18 games.
Ulster are also aiming to reverse a poor trend of results which has seen them pick up just one win across all competitions in their last six games, while visitors Edinburgh are looking to complete their first double over the province since the 2007/08 season.
The Ospreys and Leinster both travel to Italy to take on Zebre and Benetton Treviso respectively, where they will arrive boasting two of the best attacking records in the Championship. The Ospreys’ tally of 51 tries is the highest in the PRO12, while Leinster are second with 49.
Meanwhile, Cardiff Blues will host Connacht at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park where the visitors really need a victory to push themselves into contention to qualify for the Champions Cup. Connacht have beaten Cardiff already this season but have never completed a PRO12 double over the side from the Welsh capital.
GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 14 FIXTURES:
Friday, February 10 –
MUNSTER (1st) v Newport Gwent Dragons (10th), Irish Independent Park, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC 2 Wales)
Glasgow Warriors (4th) v Scarlets (5th), Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm (live Sky Sports 3 HD)
ULSTER (6th) v Edinburgh (9th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland)
Zebre (12th) v Ospreys (2nd), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 8pm local time
Sunday, February 12 –
Cardiff Blues (7th) v CONNACHT (8th), BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, 1.05pm (live S4C/highlights TG4)
Benetton Treviso (11th) v LEINSTER (3rd), 1.30pm local time/12.30pm Irish time
TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO12 AFTER ROUND 13 (Powered by Opta Statistics):
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 91
Steve Shingler (Cardiff Blues) 84
Isa Nacewa (Leinster) 78
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 77
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 71
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 71
TOP TRY SCORERS –
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 8
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 6
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 6
Adam Byrne (Leinster) 5
Jonathan Evans (Scarlets) 5
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 5
Ben John (Ospreys) 5
Rory O’Loughlin (Leinster) 5
TOP TRY ASSISTS –
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 8
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 7
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) 6
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 6
METRES GAINED –
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 1058
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 932
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 882
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 812
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 729
MOST CARRIES –
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 146
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 137
Ed Jackson (Newport Gwent Dragons) 132
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 128
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 127
CLEAN BREAKS –
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 18
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 18
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 14
Cian Kelleher (Connacht) 14
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 14
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 14
DEFENDERS BEATEN –
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 40
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 36
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 35
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 32
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) 31
MOST PASSES –
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 814
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 607
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 606
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 581
Sarel Pretorius (Newport Gwent Dragons) 548
MOST OFFLOADS –
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 18
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 17
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 15
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 14
Marco Barbini (Benetton Treviso) 13
Jake Heenan (Connacht) 13
Noel Reid (Leinster) 13
KICKS FROM HAND –
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 138
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 98
Duncan Weir (Edinburgh) 88
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 87
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 86
MOST TACKLES –
Sean Reidy (Ulster) 155
Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 146
Billy Holland (Munster) 145
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 140
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 138
LINEOUTS WON –
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 81
Dries van Schalkwyk (Zebre) 45
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) 42
Rory Thornton (Ospreys) 39
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) 36
TURNOVERS WON –
Dan Leavy (Leinster) 14
Ollie Griffiths (Newport Gwent Dragons) 13
Marco Barbini (Benetton Treviso) 12
James Davies (Scarlets) 12
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) 11
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) 11
John Barclay (Scarlets) 10
For more statistics, please visit www.pro12rugby.com/powered-by-opta