Six more matches take place in the Guinness PRO14 this weekend as the race to compete in the March 27 final and next season’s European competition continues.
Leinster extended their lead over nearest rivals Ulster to five points in Conference A with a 35-29 victory at Dragons last Friday. Leo Cullen’s side is back in Dublin on Sunday when they take on fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors, whose hopes of catching the Ospreys suffered a major setback with a home defeat by Ulster. Ulster now hosts third-placed Ospreys, who are eyeing a fifth successive victory, while the Dragons travel to Parma to face Zebre.
Conference B is much tighter with just 11 points separating second-placed Connacht from Cardiff Blues in fourth. Blues suffered a 32-17 defeat at Connacht last Saturday and it does not get any easier this weekend as they entertain Munster. Connacht take on Benetton in Treviso on Friday night, while third-placed Scarlets will be hoping to avenge their 6-3 home defeat by Edinburgh on the following day.
Friday - Benetton v Connacht
Back-to-back victories over Welsh sides Dragons and Cardiff Blues this month have maintained Connacht’s stranglehold on second place in Conference B. The Irishmen are seven points clear of third-placed Scarlets and travel to Italy hoping to win a third successive match in the championship for the first time since November 2019.
Connacht’s record against Italian teams is encouraging having won their last seven, with their last defeat coming against Zebre three years ago. Benetton has lost all 11 PRO14 games and their only win in any competition this season came at Stade Francais in Round 1 of the European Challenge Cup.
Friday - Cardiff v Munster
The Blues are back at the Arms Park for the first time in 12 months and although they have lost just once in five appearances at their iconic venue, they will be up against it on Friday. Munster have won their last three encounters against Cardiff and have a handy 12-point lead over Connacht at the top of Conference B on the back of 10 wins from 12 games.
The Welshmen have beaten an Irish province just once in the last two years and their last encounter ended in a 32-17 defeat at Connacht where Rhys Carre scored his first try for Cardiff.
Munster have not tasted defeat in Wales in almost two years and their only loss away from home in any tournament since September came against Ulster at the start of the year, so they head to the Welsh capital full of confidence.
Friday - Ulster v Ospreys
Ulster’s hopes of finishing top of Conference A surely depend on them repeating their victory over Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium back in October. Tries from Jason Stockdale, John Cooney and Marcell Coetzee secured a 24-12 win in Swansea as they avenged their 26-24 defeat against the same opposition 12 months ago.
Ulster has won their last five Championship matches at Kingspan Stadium, but they face an Ospreys team unbeaten this year following wins against Cardiff, Dragons, Connacht and Zebre.
They have also won their last four away games, so Ulster will need to be on their game if they are to keep pace with Munster.
SAT - Edinburgh v Scarlets
Edinburgh has won just twice at Murrayfield since the sport resumed in August but their record against Scarlets is outstanding, with six successive victories. The Scots grabbed their first PRO14 win of the season in November when two penalties from Jaco van der Walt secured a 6-3 victory at Scarlets, who had lock Josh Helps sent off on the hour mark.
Despite Edinburgh’s dominance in the last three years, Glenn Delaney’s Scarlets are 11 points clear of their Scottish rivals who have two games in hand so there is all to play for at Murrayfield. The Welshmen ended a three-match losing run with a comfortable 41-17 victory over Benetton last weekend to keep their European Champions Cup bid alive, but they cannot afford any slip-ups with Cardiff lurking just four points behind.
Saturday - Zebre v Dragons
Zebre followed back-to-back victories over fellow Italian side Benetton at the start of the year with defeats against Edinburgh and Ospreys which has left them rooted to the bottom of Conference A, albeit just two and three points adrift of Dragons and Warriors respectively. Victory for Michael Bradley’s side means they would leapfrog Dragons, and with the Warriors travelling to Leinster on Sunday they would move up to fourth for at least 24 hours.
Although the Welshmen have won on their last two visits to Italy, they share three wins apiece in the last six encounters with Zebre. Dragons have lost their last seven matches in all competitions although they pushed champions Leinster close last time out, so they will have hope of landing their first win since the start of December.
Sunday - Leinster v Glasgow Warriors
Leinster remain the hot favourites to win the title for a fourth successive season having won 11 of their 12 games, their only defeat coming against Connacht in Round 10. The Dubliners have also won their last four PRO14 clashes with Glasgow, who have triumphed just once in the competition since November, a thrilling 23-22 derby victory against Edinburgh.
That match saw Edinburgh scrum-half Nic Groom mistake a horn from a passing train chugging behind Scotstoun’s North Stand for the half-time buzzer, an error which allowed Ross Thompson to kick a penalty and turn the tide in Glasgow’s favour. Whether Leinster will hit the buffers on Sunday is open to debate having won 32-19 at Scotstoun in November.