This RaboDirect PRO12 Starting To Get Very Interesting
16th March 2012 By jess
Newport Gwent Dragons will not feature in the knock out stages of this season’s RaboDirect PRO12, but as their victory last night over the Blues indicated, they’ll have a say in the make-up of the semi finals.
Their 18-14 win over Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade wasn't exactly a mortal blow to the Blues hopes of the play-offs but it certainly makes their task all the more difficult.
The Blues wind up with home and away games against the Scarlets plus another Welsh derby against Ospreys never mind a trip to Glasgow.
Last year 63 points was good enough to see Ospreys through in 4th place. And on that basis, as Leinster are already on that mark, with five games to play they’ll be one of the four. But three of their last five games are away. First to Limerick, then to Belfast and finally to Rodney Parade.
Munster have a very tricky run-in starting tomorrow week in Galway and after the visit of Leinster they’re home to 4th placed Warriors in Cork, ending their campaign away to Scarlets and then home to Ulster. They cannot afford any more nonsense displays like was seen in Aironi.
But it is a case of six teams chasing three play off places and we could yet have a similar scenario to last year when Leinster Munster Ulster and Ospreys contested the penultimate stage although Glasgow Warriors are the most side most likely to upset that particular cartel.
RaboDirect PRO12 Remaining Games
Leinster (63 pts): Ospreys (h); Munster (a); Edinburgh (h); Ulster (a); Dragons (a).
Munster (52): Connacht (a); Leinster (h); (Warriors (h); Scarlets (a); Ulster (h).
Ospreys (49): Leinster (a); Treviso (h); Blues (a); Dragons (h); Aironi (a).
Warriors (47): Aironi (h); Blues (h); Munster (a); Treviso (a); Connacht (h).
Ulster (46): Treviso (a); Aironi (h); Connacht (a); Leinster (h); Munster (a)
Scarlets (45): Blues (a); Edinburgh (a); Aironi (a); Munster (h); Blues (h).
Blues (45): Scarlets (h); Warriors (a); Ospreys (h); Edinburgh (h); Scarlets (a).
