Pro 12 Round 2 Preview

Munster v Cardiff

Munster host the Cardiff blues on Friday night looking to continue the positive momentum they have started with under new head coach Rassie Erasmus. They looked a different team from what we saw last season. They looked physical, organised and had a nasty streak to them, something which has being missing for the past few seasons. With a large financial debt and low morale after the last few years there is an air of optimism around the southern province this year. Munster have 20 home grown players in the squad for this weekend’s game and is something the province can be proud of.

Last week I watched Bordeaux against Montpellier and the amount of foreigners in both sides must make it very difficult for supporters to believe that the players on show have any more motivation than money. Sport is a business and I would much rather see players earn the money as opposed to “FAT CAT” business men. But the players and supporters of a club must have a relationship and a bond. What is the point in clubs having academies when those young guys coming through can’t get a game because of imported players, look at the effect it has had on the French national side? Anyway I’m gone off the point but you get what I mean.

The Cardiff Blues were dominant over a poor Edinburgh outfit, the addition of Nick Williams to Cardiff added some extra bulk and power to their forwards who really dominated the Edinburgh pack which was one of their strengths last year. Although not starting tomorrow Steve Shingler was a very astute signing and in my opinion a better out half than Rhys Patchell who went the other way to Scarlets. With Willis Halaholo due to arrive this Cardiff team will cause teams a lot of problems but they will really need to improve on their travels.

We can look forward to a titanic battle of the back rows in this game with Sam Warburton and CJ Stander on the bench and both players will have their say on deciding this game. But it is the Munster bench that will decide this game with plenty of experience and bulk and Cardiff need to be able to back up last week’s performance and show that they can get points away from home so for me it’s Munster to win by 7.

Dragons v Zebre

The Dragons put in a decent performance last week away to Ulster which is always a difficult place to go. While they don’t really have any star players in their side the return of Hallam Amos is a big boost at full back from an attack point of view. They defended resolutely against an Ulster side filled with international talent. The Dragons have set higher goals for themselves this season and you could see the disgust in captain T Rhys Thomas after the game in the way they let the game get away from them. Beating teams like the Italians and making Rodney Parade a fortress is vital if the Dragons don’t want to be also lower end of the table this term.

For Zebre though it looks like another tough campaign, despite many additions and changes to the squad they look like they will be propping up the table at the end of the year. Italy should be doing their best to try and get their international players back playing rugby at home and develop their national team from club up. Zebre average loss last year in the Pro12 was 30 point loss. Dragons will win this one but they lack the fluidity in attack that the Ospreys have so I’m going with Zebre 18+.

Edinburgh v Scarlets

Both teams suffered bad opening day losses but the manner of display from the Edinburgh side must be a bit worrying for their fans. This fixture has been traditionally very tight with less than 3 points deciding it in four out of the last five years.

Edinburgh’s front five always secure a decent platform and a dominant scrum to play from; Duncan Weir needs some time to settle in and to get this back line going. But as I watched the game I thought they looked very disjointed as a team, heads seemed to go down quickly and they never looked like getting anything from the game.

The question for Scarlet’s fans is can their pack provide a platform for their star backline, they struggled to get clean ball last week and were beaten at the breakdown by Munster. Last year they had some good away wins to Ulster, Ospreys and Glasgow but they need to get up and running quickly here or a bad start to the season can be tough to recover from.

There will be very little in this game and pretty much a toss of a coin, both teams have their issues and need to work on certain aspects of the game, but in a game this tight I’m going to lean for the home side as although Edinburgh’s defence was poor last week, they conceded only 13 points a game last year and with Scarlets history away from home being very erratic it’s a home win for me. Edinburgh by 1-12.

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