GUINNESS PRO12: Round 20 Preview

The fifth ‘Big Weekend’ will be packed with action and tribal rivalries as the GUINNESS PRO12 enters the final laps of the season. Derby games will grab the headlines in Ireland and Wales, with interprovincial bragging rights on the line at Thomond Park and the Sportsground.

Teams are running out of time to reach the GUINNESS PRO12 final series, earn home semi-finals, qualify for the Champions Cup or secure their seeding, which makes the final three rounds of Championship action incredibly tense.

All six round 20 matches will be screened live, and with so much at stake, it makes for another unmissable round of action on the road to the PRO12 final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, May 27.

Zebre arrive in Scotland coming off two consecutive wins (against Connacht and the Newport Gwent Dragons) to face a Glasgow Warriors team whose ambitions of reaching the PRO12 play-offs remain mathematically possible. Glasgow’s defeat to Munster in round 19 makes maximum points a must, however, the visitors will be buoyed by their recent run of form which has coincided with the return of their Italian international players.
 
Judgement Day V will grab all the headlines in Wales for the now traditional East versus West battles between Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys, and the Dragons and Scarlets. The Principality Stadium is looking to host another record crowd but beyond the big event, the teams from the west – the Ospreys and Scarlets – need victories in order to remain on pace to reach the last-four.
 
In Galway, Connacht will not be retaining the title they won in such thrilling fashion last season but their derby clash with Leinster will provide them with the opportunity to have an impact on who succeeds them as champions. Depending on results, Leinster could lock up either a guaranteed semi-final place or even a home semi-final.

Edinburgh, who are ninth in the table, travel to face Benetton Treviso in Italy where the hosts shocked the Ospreys only a couple of weeks ago.

GUINNESS PRO12 – ROUND 20 FIXTURES:

Friday, April 14 –

Glasgow Warriors (6th) v Zebre (11th), Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC ALBA)

Saturday, April 15 –

Cardiff Blues (8th) v Ospreys (3rd), Principality Stadium, 2.45pm (live BBC 2 Wales)

MUNSTER (2nd) v ULSTER (5th), Thomond Park, 3pm (live Sky Sports 3 HD)

Newport Gwent Dragons (10th) v Scarlets (4th), Rodney Parade, 5.15pm (live Sky Sports 3 HD/S4C)

CONNACHT (7th) v LEINSTER (1st), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4)

Benetton Treviso (12th) v Edinburgh (9th), Stadio di Monigo, 8.05pm local time (live Eurosport Italia)

In the pick of the round, Ulster will travel to Limerick looking to upset their provincial rivals and reassert their position as contenders to reach the PRO12 final series. Munster are in second place after their hard-fought win over Glasgow in Cork and they know that a victory against Les Kiss’ men would put them within touching distance of a home semi-final.
 
Ulster slipped up at home to Cardiff in round 19, drawing 24-24, but they are vying with the Scarlets and Ospreys to finish in the top four and compete in the knock-out stages of the Championship for the fifth consecutive time. Ulster also face a trip to the Ospreys before then hosting Leinster in round 22 and although their fate is still within their own hands, this promises to be a monumental battle between the provinces on Saturday.

TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO12 AFTER ROUND 19 (Powered by Opta Statistics):

TOP POINTS SCORERS –

Steve Shingler (Cardiff Blues) 128
Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 115
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) 107
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 102
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 100

TOP TRY SCORERS –

Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 9
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 8
Joey Carbery (Leinster) 8
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 8
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) 8

TOP TRY ASSISTS –

Tyler Bleyendaal (Munster) 11
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 9
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) 9
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 8
Stuart Olding (Ulster) 8
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 8
Duncan Williams (Munster) 8

METRES GAINED –

Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 1755
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 1358
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 1338
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 1296
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 1003

MOST CARRIES –

Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 250
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 212
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 210
Dan Baker (Ospreys) 188
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 186

CLEAN BREAKS –

Charles Piutau (Ulster) 24
Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) 23
Tom James (Cardiff Blues) 22
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 22
Darren Sweetnam (Munster) 21
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) 21

DEFENDERS BEATEN –

Charles Piutau (Ulster) 62
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) 54
Steffan Evans (Scarlets) 49
Bundee Aki (Connacht) 47
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 46
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 46
Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) 46

MOST PASSES –

Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 1255
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 1037
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 952
Duncan Williams (Munster) 874
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 830

MOST OFFLOADS –

Bundee Aki (Connacht) 24
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 24
Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) 23
Jake Heenan (Connacht) 22
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 21

KICKS FROM HAND –

Sam Davies (Ospreys) 164
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 152
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) 131
Angus O’Brien (Newport Gwent Dragons) 117
Duncan Williams (Munster) 116

MOST TACKLES –

Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 222
Sean Reidy (Ulster) 220
Lewis Evans (Newport Gwent Dragons) 210
Billy Holland (Munster) 208
James Davies (Scarlets) 204

LINEOUTS WON –

Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 130
Macauley Cook (Cardiff Blues) 63
Rory Thornton (Ospreys) 61
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) 54
Dean Budd (Benetton Treviso) 50

TURNOVERS WON –

James Davies (Scarlets) 26
Dan Leavy (Leinster) 25
Ollie Griffiths (Newport Gwent Dragons) 17
Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets) 15
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) 14

For more statistics, please visit www.pro12rugby.com/powered-by-opta