Preview: Munster V Glasgow
16th February 2016 By Munster Rugby
Munster hit the road this Friday for Round 15 of the Guinness PRO12 – KO 7.35pm. Due to the high risk of an unplayable surface at Scotstoun, Warriors break new PRO12 ground in moving the game to Rugby Park, Kilmarnock which becomes the 39th venue to host a PRO12 fixture.
Warriors lie in 8th on the league table but have two games in hand compared to many of their opponents and will be looking to turn that advantage into points on their quest to finish in the top four.
Munster are another side chasing Champions Cup qualification and a place in the PRO12 play-offs. Foley’s men lie two places ahead of the defending champions and hold one game in hand over the rest of the top 6 sides.
Incidentally, Glasgow’s only victory in their last seven matches in all tournaments came on their previous visit to Kilmarnock, beating Racing 92 there in the Champions Cup on January 23rd. The Warriors have won their last nine home games against Irish provinces since Munster beat them at Scotstoun in October 2013.
Despite Munster winning just two of their last six Guinness PRO12 encounters, both wins came away from home, at Ulster in Round 11 and at Zebre in Round 13 – travelling form that they will hope to replicate this weekend. The Munstermen’s solitary defeat to a Scottish side since December 2014 came in last season’s final in Belfast.
Munster defeated Glasgow 23-21 in Limerick in Round 3 and have not achieved a season’s double over Warriors since 2011/12.
| Head To Head – Recent Guinness PRO12 Meetings | |||||
| Date | Venue | G | M | Glasgow Warriors scorers | Munster scorers |
| Sat 12 Apr 14 | Thomond Park | 22 | 5 | Josh Strauss(T) Duncan Weir(2C/P) Jonny Gray(T) Sean Maitland(T) | CJ Stander(T) |
| Fri 16 May 14 | Scotstoun Stadium (SF/PO) | 16 | 15 | Gordon Reid(T) Finn Russell(C/3P) | Sean Dougall(T) Ian Keatley(C/P) Damien Varley(T) |
| Sat 20 Dec 14 | Scotstoun Stadium | 21 | 18 | Finn Russell(C/3P) Jonny Gray(T) Leone Nakarawa(T) | Robin Copeland(T) JJ Hanrahan(T/C/2P) |
| Sat 28 Feb 15 | Irish Independent Park | 10 | 22 | Connor Braid(C/P) Rossouw de Klerk(T) | CJ Stander(T) Jack O'Donoghue(T) Keith Earls(T) Eusebio Guinazu(T) Ian Keatley(C) |
| Sat 30 May 15 | Kingspan Stadium (TF) | 31 | 13 | Henry Pyrgos(T) Duncan Weir(P) Finn Russell(T/4C) Rob Harley(T) DTH van der Merwe(T) | Andrew Smith(T) Ian Keatley(C/2P) |
| Fri 2 Oct 15 | Thomond Park | 21 | 23 | Rory Clegg(D/6P) | Dave O'Callaghan(T) BJ Botha(T) Ian Keatley(2C/3P) |
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 18th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White, Mike Adamson (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Douglas Hunter (SRU)
TMO: Jim Yuille (SRU)
