Seconds out... Guinness Pro12 Round 10!! DING DING DING

[Amiga500]

Coming at you quicker than a Conor McGregor put down, faster than a politician's U-turn, speedier than Sean O'Briens Massey (with its 50k box).... IT'S ROUND 10 of the Pro12!!!!





[TABLE="width: 800"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Friday[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Glasgow[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Munster[/TD]
[TD][19:35][/TD]
[TD]BBC Alba & TG4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ospreys[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Edinburgh[/TD]
[TD][19:35][/TD]
[TD]BBC Wales[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Saturday[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Zebre[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Scarlets[/TD]
[TD][14:05][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Connacht[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Treviso[/TD]
[TD][15:00][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Blues[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Ulster[/TD]
[TD][17:15][/TD]
[TD]SkySports[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Leinster[/TD]
[TD]vs.[/TD]
[TD]Dragons[/TD]
[TD][19:35][/TD]
[TD]TG4 & S4C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sunday[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]None.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]



Previews
Now getting into the heavy weather, its a different ball game from the chilly nights. All these fancy fellas with their immaculate hairdos and tans that look erm.... great.... in the wide open spaces of the Stade Monigo.... but can they cut it on a wet Saturday night at the Sportsground?


I know Gorgeous George had a bit of a meltdown last Fri night... a crazy red IMO. But till that point Glasgow had done the square root of f**k all. Need a big game from returning players to beat a Munster side that are on a good run at the minute. Verdict: Munster

The O's should beat Edinburgh out the gate 'cos they are mince. Edinburgh should look into getting a few folks from Hollyrood out to talk the opposition to death - might be a better tactic than their current tackling. Unless they are playing us, in which case their current tackling is more than adequate.

Scarlets seem to be going very good-to-very average depending on a combination of what quarter of the game they are in, which way the wind is blowing, where the moon is, if the tide is out and whether Rhys Patchell is listening to Jiffy shout "numbers if they go wide" from the commentary box... But even if Mr "Wales have got to from here" isn't present in Italy to hand out tactical advice from the stand, they should have enough.

The Champions who utterly hammered Leinster* in last years final to continue to climb the table.

Blues to beat us silly. Our groundsmen probably saved us from another embarrassment last week. *I'm reduced to taking cheap shots at our dislikeable neighbours on the back of the success of our likeable neighbours. No, I'm not petty.

Leinster (who were utterly hammered by Connacht in last years final in case you have forgot**) to maybe grind out a home win against a much vaunted Dragons team coming off the back of (yet another) impressive win over European heavyweights Edinburgh at the Stadio del Rodney Parade.


**if you actually have forgot, it might be time to book an appointment with a doctor. Although given NHS waiting times your going to long since have forgotten about the appointment by the time it comes around. Write it down somewhere safe.... just don't forget where that somewhere safe is.

---

As usual, if anyone has further TV info, please post in the thread - might be useful to someone.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Tgere was no forward pass Nige... #Iwantjustice

Anyway, champions elect to get back to winning ways with a BP to boot. Hopefully Glasgow knock Munster off the top for us but I think its unlikely!

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

That's thoroughly whetted my appetite! My picks in bold below

Glasgow vs. Munster - Yes it is has been a weakened Glasgow that has been pumped these past few weeks, but they have looked so ropey it is concerning. Game of the weekend for me. If Glasgow lose this they are not looking good for a top 2 spot (which means Leinster have a great chance of home advantage through the playoffs). Munster's admirable efforts in the face of adversity won't stop here.

Ospreys vs. Edinburgh [19:35] - Edinburgh had decent players on the fringe of the national team available last week, and got comfortably defeated by an admittedly improving Dragons. Ospreys without Webb might be an issue, but they'll have a bit too much unless Edinburgh produce one of their freakish great performances under Hodge.


Saturday
Zebre vs. Scarlets - Scarlets are the form team at the moment. Zebre are Zebre. Seriously, we are only at round 10 but my fledgling optimism around Zebre has burst already. They've a weaker squad than Treviso with no credible option in some positions, but Guidi seems borderline acceptable as a coach. Deflated Italian internationals won't be particularly fired up after slumping miserably at home to an experimental Tonga.

Connacht vs. Treviso - Zebre are struggling but my vitriol is reserved for Treviso. Some real talent being completely squandered. And where the hell is Marty Banks already? The biggest issue is the surprisingly good performances of Canada this autumn. This reveals that their current coach is better than their old one (i.e. Mr Crowley of Treviso, a man who clearly would never have been appointed if he had a different passport). Connacht may be failing to fire on all cylinders but they will tear Treviso a new one with one of those painfully familiar 53-6 type scorelines.

Blues vs. Ulster - battle of the slumping teams that should be contesting the playoffs. Frankly, I don't have a clue here. Second best fixture of the weekend. Will go with the home team for no identifiable reason. Loser will start to look decidedly iffy for the playoffs.

Leinster vs. Dragons - As much as the Dragon's improvement means the Italian sides are destined to finish in the bottom two spots, I'm delighted to see it and it stops all the stupid talk on Scrum V of making the Dragon's some kind of feeder team for the other welsh sides - they've definitely upgraded their Jones' and found a real Kingsley. I'm guessing Amos is still injured which kills any hint of a chance they might have had (which wasn't much). Amos was the only player to emerge with full marks in the autumn for Wales in my opinion (albeit, it was a short cameo before injury). Leinster proved their depth in recent weeks so even if some of the internationals are banged up or need a rest, this won't present too much trouble.

Note: I think the Eurosport deal may mean the end of free Italian streaming. A pain for me, but clearly not a bad thing.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Its the dodgy TG4 stream isn't it? Keatley can't be running this game.

 

[Groundhog]

Take a bow Keats. He takes a lot of crap for his poor performances but he was clutch tonight and I hope he keeps it up because he clearly puts his body and heart into trying to get better.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

A very sore one for Glasgow showing again their lack of depth. Can't see them winning back to back away from home in the playoffs to lift the ***le. Catching Munster will be problematic now. They are completely exceeding my expectations.

Zebre again making it surprisingly competitive and I think they'll finish above Treviso despite arguably having less resources.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Hearing confirmed reports that Leinster's second team have brought sexy back!

 

[Groundhog]

Hearing confirmed reports that Leinster's second team have brought sexy back!

#BigGingerGate

 

[munstermuffin]

Hearing confirmed reports that Leinster's second team have brought sexy back!

Playing well but Dragons are as bad as Italian teams

 

[Amiga500]

Now the wrap-up...

[TABLE="width: 800"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Friday[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Glasgow[/TD]
[TD]15
[/TD]
[TD]Munster
[/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ospreys[/TD]
[TD]31
[/TD]
[TD]Edinburgh
[/TD]
[TD]22
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Saturday[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Zebre[/TD]
[TD]24
[/TD]
[TD]Scarlets
[/TD]
[TD]31
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Connacht[/TD]
[TD]47
[/TD]
[TD]Treviso
[/TD]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Blues[/TD]
[TD]22
[/TD]
[TD]Ulster
[/TD]
[TD]35
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Leinster
[/TD]
[TD]28
[/TD]
[TD]Dragons
[/TD]
[TD]15
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sunday
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]None.
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]


Probably the key fixtures were the big win for Munster on the Friday against Glasgow, and an important win for Ulster against the Blues to arrest a worrying slide in form. The Blues are in approximately the same boat, and now face 2 weeks in Europe off the back of dismal form.

All other results more or less as expected. Edinburgh finished a bit closer to the Ospreys than I thought they would and the Dragons scored 15 points more than I expected.


Now the Pro12 takes a wee cup of tea and kitkat to allow the inferior sequel to the Heineken cup to take centre stage. Mark McCafferty.... your still a c*nt.