Rabodirect PRO12 Round 2 Previews: Ulster Rugby Mens I XV, Connacht, Munster, Leinster, Zebre, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Newport, Llanelli, Treviso

Now On this ragged patch of earth a team will fight and no matter where you are from we have cleared our minds from distraction. We let go of the past because it is dead. And we will FIGHT as free men because lying down is not an option, FEAR is not our master, FIGHTING IS.
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It feels so good to unite, within yourself and within the FIGHT!

There are four games in all on Friday night; Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh Rugby and Ulster all at home along with Zebre, providing game in each of the four Unions.

Just two teams, Leinster and Munster, collected maximum points from their first round RaboDirect PRO12 games, between them running in ten of the 22 tries that were scored last weekend. Munster will look to continue that form when they visit Italy on Friday night to take on Zebre, whilst Leinster will have home advantage on their side this round when they welcome Ospreys to the RDS the following day. With both sides winning their opening fixtures, one record is set to tumble in Dublin.

Having picked up a losing bonus point in Glasgow last weekend, Blues will want to go one better and claim the winning points against Connacht, who do not have the best of records in Cardiff but did win on their last trip to the Arms Park.

Edinburgh Rugby are one of three teams who did not collect a single point in the opening round, whilst their opposition, Newport Gwent Dragons, claimed an impressive victory overcoming last season’s finalists, Ulster, 15-8. Dragons will be looking to add to that win, and have a good record against their opponents losing only 2 of the last 8 games between them..

Ulster will be looking to put last weekend’s loss in Llanelli behind them, and their impressive record at Ravenhill, where they lost just once in the competition last season, must surely count in their favour when they face Glasgow Warriors to Belfast.

The round wraps up with the second game on Saturday, Scarlets welcoming Benetton Treviso to Parc y Scarlets. Having lost heavily to champions Leinster last weekend, Scarlets find themselves in the unusual position of propping up the table, but will see this fixture as a chance to get their campaign back on track.