MAGNERS LEAGUE – WEEK 14 PREVIEW
Friday March 26th
Cardiff Blues v Ulster 19.05
Munster v Glasgow Warriors 20.00
Saturday March 27th
Leinster v Connaught 16.30
After the disappointment of last week’s Six Nations defeat by Scotland, all eyes revert back to the Magners League this week as the race for the coveted top four spots really hots up.
We begin with a look at a crunch tie between two of the play-off hopefuls when third-placed Glasgow Warriors travel to Limerick to take on fourth-placed Munster on Friday night. It is the Warriors second consecutive game on these shores, and they will be keen to fare a little better than they did against Leinster last week, where a late Colin Gregor try added a bit of respectability to the scoreline, eventually losing by 20-14.
Munster have some slight injury concerns with Billy Holland and Duncan Williams both sitting out training earlier in the week, but they have made the squad, which also includes Ronan O’Gara, Donncha O’Callaghan and Tony Buckley. O’Gara and Buckley both took part in training with O’Callaghan looking on from the sidelines, but all three returning internationals are expected to feature for Munster who will be desperate to make up for the defeat suffered at the hands of the Warriors in Glasgow earlier in the season.
Friday’s clash with The Warriors signals the start of a crucial few weeks in Munster’s season where they will also meet Leinster in the Magners League and that is followed by the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Northampton on April 10.
Also on Friday night, Ulster travel to the Cardiff City Stadium to take on the Blues who currently trail Brian McLaughlin’s charges by two points in the table. It is the first leg of a double-header between the two sides as they will meet again next week in the return fixture, but Ulster will be hoping to maintain their play-off hopes with an away win here. Boosted by the return of key players including Stephen Ferris and Rory Best, they are well-equipped to do so, but after a miserable start to the campaign, David Young’s side have recovered well and are a tough proposition, particularly in front of a fervent home crowd.
The focus of our attention then switches to Saturday’s all-Irish clash between league leaders Leinster and bottom-of-the-pile Connacht at the RDS, and despite injuries to Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy that leaves both men in a race for fitness for the Heineken Cup clash with Clermont Auvergne next month, the home side will be confident of dispatching of the Connacht challenge.
Connacht haven’t defeated Leinster in Dublin since 2002, and although buoyed on by a convincing 16-3 St.Patrick’s Day victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons, coach Michael Bradley will be all to aware of the difficulty of the task ahead.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika has suggested that Jonathan Sexton and Rob Kearney will both play against Connacht, and with Leo Cullen, Eoin Reddan and Shane Jenings also back in the fold, Connacht could find themselves up against it on Saturday afternoon.
