Christmas may have been and gone but the Guinness PRO14 is providing a New Year’s treat to rugby fans everywhere – another Derby Weekend.
Round 9 saw three festive derbies light up the league and Round 10 brings six enticing rivalry encounters across New Year’s Day and January 2nd.
With last week’s Scottish and Italian derbies postponed, all four of Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors, Benetton and Zebre will be desperate to get back out on the pitch and finally lock horns with their fiercest rivals.
Those clashes at Stadio Monigo and BT Murrayfield take place on Saturday, the same day that all-conquering Leinster – who also saw their Round 9 contest postponed – welcome Connacht to the RDS, while Conference A leaders Ulster are gunning for a perfect ten wins from ten when they host fellow unbeaten outfit, Munster.
Twenty-four hours prior, the Welsh regions take centre stage as they bring in the New Year with the first Guinness PRO14 matches of 2021 – Dragons travelling to Llanelli to square off against Scarlets and Cardiff Blues having decamped to Cardiff City Stadium for their game against Ospreys.
Friday – Scarlets v Dragons
Sitting third in Conference B, Scarlets have lost just once in their last four Guinness PRO14 matches – a narrow 26-24 reverse at Ulster in Round 7.
They now face a Dragons side whose two-match winning run was brought to an end on Boxing Day as Cardiff Blues beat them by just a single point, triumphing 13-12 at Rodney Parade.
Scarlets clearly enjoy a Welsh derby, having won the last five matches against their fellow regions, but Dean Ryan’s Dragons have won their last two away matches in the PRO14 and are looking for three consecutive road victories in the Championship for the first time since 2004.
However, they will have to overcome the weight of history in order to accomplish that feat as Dragons have visited Parc y Scarlets on 13 previous occasions in all tournaments but have never won.
Friday – Cardiff Blues v Ospreys
With Cardiff Arms Park still out of commission and their temporary Rodney Parade home hosting football this weekend, the Blues will play a game at Cardiff City Stadium for the first time since April 2012.
They beat Edinburgh 38-13 on that occasion but their recent Guinness PRO14 form is more patchy, with just two wins in the last seven rounds – both at Rodney Parade against Benetton in November and Dragons on Boxing Day.
But Friday’s opponents' Ospreys are also struggling for form, a 24-22 triumph over Benetton in Round 7 their only victory in the last five league matches.
Ospreys’ record at Cardiff City Stadium will buoy them – having won their most recent two matches at the venue – and while the Blues have triumphed in the last two encounters between the sides, the capital club have never won three in succession against their westerly rivals since the regions were formed in 2003.
Saturday - Benetton v Zebre
Benetton will continue to search for their first Guinness PRO14 victory of the season this weekend and will be looking to claim success at the eighth time of asking against Italian rivals Zebre.
The Treviso-based side has not been victorious in a domestic match since triumphing against Saturday’s opponents in Parma back in August, although they did beat Stade Français in Paris in Round 1 of the European Challenge Cup.
It has now been over a year since Benetton won a match on their own turf, with a 36-25 victory over Zebre back in December 2019 their last success at Stadio Monigo.
Kieran Crowley’s side has the advantage over their compatriots in the head-to-head, however, with 15 wins to Zebre’s five in the 20 meetings between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Zebre makes the journey across Italy with just one victory in their last nine Guinness PRO14 matches, a 23-17 home triumph over Ospreys back in Round 4, and having won 18-16 at Brive in Europe last time out they are seeking successive away victories for the first time since January 2016.
Saturday - Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
Scottish bragging rights are on the line this weekend at BT Murrayfield, as Edinburgh host Glasgow Warriors in the latest instalment of the 1872 Cup.
You can barely split these two in recent history, with the hosts claiming the points 18 times in the last 38 meetings, and the Warriors emerging victorious in 19 matches, with a solitary drawback in 2011.
With two wins apiece in the four contests last season, this one could go either way in the Scottish capital, and with both sides languishing on just two wins this season, the stakes are higher than ever.
There has been no such thing as home advantage for Richard Cockerill’s Edinburgh side in 2020, with just one win on their own turf since February – an 18-0 success over Cardiff Blues in Round 5.
Similarly, Danny Wilson’s Warriors have just one win on the road since August, with the Blues once again succumbing to a 19-10 defeat to the Scottish side in Round 8.
Saturday - Ulster v Munster
The irresistible force of Ulster meets the immovable object of Munster in the game of the Guinness PRO14 season so far.
Two perfect records will be on the line with Conference A leaders Ulster winning nine in a row and Conference B table-toppers Munster stitching together seven successive victories.
The Kingspan is a true fortress with Ulster’s last defeat on home soil coming to Connacht in October 2018. The last time Munster returned south with a result was a 24-24 draw in April 2018.
The form book goes out of the window in inter-pro rugby and that may favour Munster, who have won only one of their last five encounters against fellow Irish provinces.
Saturday - Leinster v Connacht
If a cross-conference battle of the second-placed sides wasn’t enough, a sprinkling of festive Irish inter-pro rugby mean this fixture has it all.
Leinster’s colours have not been lowered by a fellow Irish province since Munster visited Aviva Stadium in October 2014, boasting a 26-game Guinness PRO14 winning run.
Andy Friend’s visitors are still searching for consistency having won four and lost four of their last eight games - and away form will be a concern, having won just twice on the road since March.
But the men from Galway have caused Leinster problems over the years, beating the PRO14 champions 47-10 in April 2018 and narrowly missing out in a 33-29 RDS thriller in December 2018.