GUINNESS PRO12: Round 17 Preview
It is all change at the top of the GUINNESS PRO12 table after round 16 with Leinster now in first place after Munster’s surprise defeat at home to the Scarlets at Thomond Park.
The Ospreys are now in second place as the gap at the between the top four teams has shrunk to eight points. The race to reach the GUINNESS PRO12 final in Dublin on Saturday, May 27 is certainly intensifying.
With the final half dozen rounds approaching, teams across the PRO12 are now sizing up their potential finishing positions where rewards such as home semi-finals, Champions Cup berths and European play-off spots provide plenty of motivation.
Current champions Connacht entertain Zebre in Galway on Friday and with Pat Lam’s men on a run of three wins from three, another victory would keep alive their outside chances of earning an automatic place in the Champions Cup.
Edinburgh will look to turn their form around when the Ospreys visit the Scottish capital where they have left with just one win in their last nine visits. Edinburgh will be desperate to deliver a home win for the black and red faithful at Myreside, but with the Ospreys currently in possession of second spot, there will be no let up from Steve Tandy’s side.
In Belfast on Friday, Ulster host Benetton Treviso where they will look to set a record by securing a fourth bonus point win in a row, meanwhile the Newport Gwent Dragons travel north to face Glasgow Warriors, seeking a win in Scotstoun which they have not managed since 2013.
Munster will be out to recover lost ground when they visit Cardiff to take on the Blues on Saturday evening, however, Danny Wilson’s charges have won their last two clashes with the province and will be keen to back up last week’s vital triumph over Edinburgh.
In the match of the round, Leinster’s RDS Arena home will play host to the a pivotal fixture where Leo Cullen’s side not only aim to cement their place at the top of the table, but they will look to extend their winning run at home to 22 games (excluding fixtures at the Aviva Stadium).
The Scarlets will be no easy opposition now that they have closed the gap on the leading teams after their win over Munster, while the men from west Wales will also be buoyed by their recent run of form against Irish opposition having won their last four games against the provinces.
Leinster’s threat comes from their scoring power and after notching eight tries against the Dragons, they are the Championship’s leading scorers with 69 tries and 506 points scored. Both teams will hope to be bolstered by the return of personnel from the Ireland and Wales camps with the Six Nations on a week’s break.
GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 17 FIXTURES:
Friday, March 3 –
CONNACHT (8th) v Zebre (12th), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4) Buy Match Tickets
Edinburgh (9th) v Ospreys (2nd), Myreside, 7.35pm (live BBC ALBA/BBC 2 Wales)
ULSTER (5th) v Benetton Treviso (11th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/Eurosport Italia) Buy Match Tickets
Saturday, March 4 –
Glasgow Warriors (6th) v Newport Gwent Dragons (10th), Scotstoun Stadium, 3pm (live Sky Sports 2 HD)
Cardiff Blues (7th) v MUNSTER (3rd), BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, 5.15pm (live Sky Sports 2 HD)
LEINSTER (1st) v Scarlets (4th), the RDS, 7.35pm (live TG4/S4C) Buy Match Tickets
TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO12 AFTER ROUND 16 (Powered by Opta Statistics):
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
Steve Shingler (Cardiff Blues) 114
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 102
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 91
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 86
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 84
TOP TRY SCORERS –
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 8
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) 7
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 7
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 6
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 6
Adam Byrne (Leinster) 6
Rory O’Loughlin (Leinster) 6
Joey Carbery (Leinster) 6
TOP TRY ASSISTS –
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 9
Duncan Williams (Munster) 8
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 8
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 8
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) 7
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 7
METRES GAINED –
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 1498
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 1209
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 1121
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 1040
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 823
MOST CARRIES –
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 197
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 162
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 161
Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues) 155
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 154
Dan Baker (Ospreys) 154
CLEAN BREAKS –
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 19
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 18
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 18
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 18
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 18
Darren Sweetnam (Munster) 18
DEFENDERS BEATEN –
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 49
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) 44
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 43
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 39
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 38
MOST PASSES –
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 952
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 846
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 812
Caolin Blade (Connacht) 702
Duncan Williams (Munster) 696
MOST OFFLOADS –
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 20
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 19
Jack Conan (Leinster) 18
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 17
Jake Heenan (Connacht) 17
Dan Baker (Ospreys) 17
KICKS FROM HAND –
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 138
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 112
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 99
Jack Carty (Connacht) 98
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 97
MOST TACKLES –
Sean Reidy (Ulster) 190
Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) 185
Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 184
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 180
Billy Holland (Munster) 176
LINEOUTS WON –
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 103
Macauley Cook (Cardiff Blues) 53
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) 48
Rory Thornton (Ospreys) 46
Dries van Schalkwyk (Zebre) 45
TURNOVERS WON –
James Davies (Scarlets) 20
Dan Leavy (Leinster) 19
Ollie Griffiths (Newport Gwent Dragons) 15
Marco Barbini (Benetton Treviso) 12
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) 11
John Barclay (Scarlets) 11
Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets) 11
Sam Parry (Ospreys) 11
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) 11
For more statistics, please visit www.pro12rugby.com/powered-by-opta