Pro12 preview - round 7 2nd and 3rd of March 2012.

12 teams, 6 games, 2 days, 0 games at 2.30 on Saturday! Welcome to Round 7 of the RaboDirect Pro12


Newport Gwent Dragons narrowly avoided being the fourth side to lose to Aironi this season in round 6. Aironi have gained points from their last three matches at home.

Leinster are without their International stars but scraped a draw against Glasgow and a last gasp win against the Scarlets. Anything but a loss will see Leinster match the record run of 14 unbeaten games set by Munster in the last campaign. 

Stat:
Leinster tries in this campaign to date: 36
Aironi: 15

At Stadio Zaffanella, 7pm local time (6pm UK & Ireland).
Referee: Andrew Macpherson (SRU, 41st competition game)
Assistant Referees: Stefano Penne, Filippo Bertelli (FIR)
Citing Commissioner: Alberto Recaldini (FIR)
TMO: Alan Falzone (FIR)

Live on Rai Sport

Result? - A tough test for Leinster that they should pass. 


Ian Gough is set to make his 200th regional appearance. Only two other Welsh players have turned in as many regional appearances, the Dragons' Adam Jones (200) and Blues' Deiniol Jones (204).

The Ospreys have not lost at home to a Scottish side since Edinburgh beat them in April 2009. Only Munster have won at the Liberty since October 2010. 

Glasgow Warriors have drawn five of their last 11 matches in all competitions. It would be their first away win since beating Aironi in November. They beat the Ospreys 28-17 at Firhill, but a win would secure their first ever season's double over the Ospreys. They have never won in the Liberty. 

At Liberty Stadium, 7.05pm

Referee: Neil Paterson (SRU, 37th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris, David Jones (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner : John Charles (WRU)
TMO: Paul Adams (WRU)

Live on BBC Wales and BBC Alba

Result? - The Ospreys to edge a close encounter. 


Edinburgh have qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter finals for the second time in their history but have since lost five on the bounce in the league. 

Ulster have also progressed in the Heineken Cup, for the second year running. They have lost just one of their last 18 matches in all competitions. 

At Ravenhill, 7.05pm.
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 81st competition game)
Assistant Referees: Paul Haycock, Brian MacNeice (both IRFU)
Citing Commissioner : Tom McCormack (IRFU)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)

Live on BBC Northern Ireland

Result? - Ulster will need to provide a decent performance to win this game, but they should manage it.


The Scarlets are enjoying a good run at Parc y Scarlets. They have won their last six league games there, their best series since 2006.

Connacht's have lost only one of their last four games in all competitions. Treviso has been their only scalp on the road in the league since September. They have won their last two matches against the Scarlets. If they make it three in a row, it will be their first league double over the Scarlets and their first away win against them since 2004. 

At Parc y Scarlets, 7.30pm
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 6th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Tim Hayes, Greg Morgan (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner : Richard Gwynn (WRU)

Not televised. 

Result? - The Scarlets should win and will be disappointed with less than 5 points. Connacht are experts in providing that sort of disappointment!


Treviso have beaten the last three Welsh teams to visit the Stadio Di Monigo. However they have lost their last three encounters with the Blues. 

The Cardiff Blues' have not won on the road since beating Connacht in October. However they have never lost to an Italian opponent; in any competition.

At Stadio Monigo, 4.30pm local time (3.30pm UK & Ireland)
Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU, 13th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini, Stefano Roscini (both FIR)
Citing Commissioner : Maurizio Vancini (FIR)
TMO: Mauro Dordolo (FIR)

Live on Rai

Result? - Treviso to shock the Blues in an attritional battle.


The Dragons won three in a row in the league this time last year. They will do so again if they can pip Munster. Only the Scarlets that have won at Rodney Parade in this campaign, but the Dragons only have 1 win from the last 9 attempts against the Irish Provinces. 

Munster on the other hand have won their last five games in all competitions and have only lost to the Ospreys in their last six visits to Wales. This fixture has gone with home advantage on the last five occasions. 

At Rodney Parade, 6.30pm
Referee: Carlo Damasco (FIR, 18th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Rhys Thomas (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner: Gwyn Bowden (WRU)
TMO: Tony Rowlands (WRU)

Live on S4C and TG4

Result? - Munster to have too much for the Dragons. 


RaboDirect PRO12 Table:
Pos. (prev.) Team. Played. Won. Lost. Draw. Bonus. Points.
1 (1) Leinster Rugby 16 13 1 2 59
2 (2) Ospreys 16 11 1 4 48
3 (3) Munster Rugby 15 10 0 5 47
4 (4) Glasgow Warriors 16 8 4 4 43
5 (6) Ulster Rugby 16 9 0 7 41
6 (5) Cardiff Blues 15 8 0 7 40
7 (7) Scarlets 16 8 1 7 40
8 (8) Benetton Treviso 16 6 0 10 28
9 (10) Newport Gwent Dragons 15 5 1 9 25
10 (11) Connacht Rugby 16 4 1 11 24
11 (9) Edinburgh Rugby 16 4 1 11 23
12 (12) Aironi Rugby 15 3 0 12 15

Glas a du wrote:Newport Gwent Dragons narrowly avoided being the fourth side to lose to Aironi this season last Sunday.

Top-notch preview, Glas, but there's something about this sentence that doesn't work for me. Maybe if you changed it to, 'Last Sunday, Newport Gwent Dragons narrowly avoided being the fourth side to lose to Aironi this season,' or, 'Newport Gwent Dragons narrowly avoided being the fourth side this season to lose to Aironi last Sunday.'