In a week where they suffered a chastening defeat at the hands of a 14-man Scarlets team and finally sealed the long awaited departure of their director of rugby, the Dragons kick off the first full weekend of the new year in the URC on Friday with a point to prove against the Bulls (7:35pm KO).
The last time they had their backs against the wall to this extent was ahead of their home game against Munster after the squad was publicly criticised by the same man, Dean Ryan, before they went on to produce a superb performance in a famous and long-awaited home victory.
The Bulls are heavily favoured to come away from Rodney Parade with victory, but Newport is never an easy place to play on a Friday night and with Ollie Griffiths back in their ranks for the first time this season the Dragons will hope they can defy expectations once again.
On the same evening Munster host the Lions (7:35pm KO) off the back of their impressive win at Ulster. After being 14-5 down with less than seven minutes remaining, Jack Healy’s overtime try might be the spark their season needs to finally get off the ground.
Munster have still lost more games than they have won in the league but they have an opportunity to create momentum from their win at Ravenhill, as they face the only South African team below them in the table.
Saturday kicks off with an intriguing clash as Ulster look to pick themselves up off the canvas after that defeat, as they head to Treviso (1pm KO) to play a Benetton side that have won five out of six of their home games this term.
Though Ulster are slight favourites this will be a tricky challenge – of those aforementioned victories just one of the losing sides has got within ten points of the Italians – but coach Dan McFarland is still upbeat about the motivation of his side despite their difficult recent form.
Edinburgh also have Italian opposition, but will be confident about their chances of bouncing back as Zebre visit the Scottish capital (3pm KO).
Zebre have lost every single game so far this season, and though Edinburgh’s disappointing back-to-back defeats which saw them lose the 1872 Cup 48-35 on aggregate to Glasgow would have been disappointing, Zebre’s 78-22 losing return over two games against Benetton was far more concerning.
That is followed by two games later on with a tantalising Welsh derby being one of them. Cardiff have had a solid season so far, and will be hoping that home comforts will pay dividends against Scarlets (5:15pm KO) after they were unable to get a win at the Arms Park last week.
Jarrod Evans’ agonising miss cost Cardiff a draw against the Ospreys, and the chance to keep alive an unbeaten run that had seen them thrash both Brive and Newcastle in Europe, and earn a Boxing Day win at the Dragons.
For the Scarlets, their win against the same opposition on New Year’s Day could well be invaluable to finally kickstarting a wretched campaign. Like Cardiff they have been flying high in the European Challenge Cup, but their win against the Dragons was only their second in 11 in the URC.
With only seven rounds remaining this season and all three other Welsh teams above them, the chances of getting their hands on the Welsh Shield and the Champions Cup place that come with it look slim, but a bonus point win could cut the gap to current Welsh leaders Cardiff to ten and breathe new life into their domestic season.
At the same time, Connacht take on the Sharks (5:15pm KO). The Galway-based side took until October to finally get their first win, but since then their season has been built on solid home performances.
They have yet to record a major scalp yet this season and a win against the fifth-placed Sharks would undoubtedly represent that, but with the visitors coming into January having won their last five in December it will be a tough ask.
The action on Saturday concludes with Ospreys hosting Leinster (7:35pm KO). Toby Booth had hoped for progress this season when he spoke on The Rugby Paper Podcast back in October, but the Swansea side have struggled to build any real momentum over the campaign so far and four wins from 12 in all competitions is evidence of that.
But things seem to be turning now, adding even more weight to a game against the unbeaten league leaders. After their stunning win away in Montpellier, Ospreys have seen off Scarlets and Cardiff and will be eyeing up the latter’s current spot at the top of the Welsh conference.
They may have already used up their “win of the season” supply in southern France last month, but they are playing Leinster at a much better time than they were for the win in Montpellier and will go into the game with the confidence and belief needed to mount a challenge against one of Europe’s greatest clubs.
To read reports from all the action of these games, and an in-depth preview of Glasgow vs Stormers on Sunday, buy this weekend’s edition of The Rugby Paper or subscribe here for as little as 14p a day.
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