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Bulls in Pole Position to Secure Historic First

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Guinness PRO14 champions Leinster, Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors will look to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Rainbow Cup final this weekend.

Leinster are nine points behind but head to third-placed Glasgow Warriors, who have a six-point cushion over their opponents, on Friday before the Dragons visit the RDS Arena next weekend.

The Ospreys trail Benetton, who they meet at home in Round 6, by eight points but have two games in hand, starting at Connacht on Friday night. Elsewhere, Edinburgh and Ulster meet at BT Murrayfield before the final match of the round sees Zebre visit Cardiff Blues.

The Vodacom Bulls remain in pole position to advance to the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup North v South final as the South African competition reaches an exciting conclusion.

The action resumes in the southern hemisphere after a free week, with the DHL Stormers and the Emirates Lions having turned the Rainbow Cup SA upside down as the bottom two beat the top two.

John Dobson’s Stormers made it back-to-back away victories as they saw off the Sharks to go second while the Lions served up a first defeat of the campaign for the Vodacom Bulls. But the Bulls have a four-point advantage of the Stormers and the Sharks with two rounds remaining while the Lions are seven points adrift.

FRI – Bulls v Stormers (1900)

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | KO 1800 (1900 local) | Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv

The Bulls saw their 100 per cent start to the competition come to an end with a thrilling 34-33 defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg.

But they have a formidable record at this venue having won 13 on the trot since losing to the Jaguares in February 2020.

After starting with back-to-back defeats, including a 20-16 loss to the Bulls, the Stormers are now attempting to register three successive wins for the first time since February 2020.

But their last triumph in Pretoria came in July 2017 and they have lost their last three encounters against the Bulls since prevailing at Newlands more than a year ago.

FRI – Connacht v Ospreys (1800)

The Sportsground, Galway| KO 1800 | Live on TG4, Premier Sports 2, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv.

Connacht were unable to build on their magnificent Munster victory as they went down 20-12 at Benetton last Saturday.

All three of the Westerners’ last wins have all arrived on the road, with their previous victory in Galway coming against Cardiff in Round 12 of the Guinness PRO14 in February.

Ospreys have already tasted victory at this venue – a 26-20 success in Round 8 of the Guinness PRO14 – and need to leave triumphant again to stay alive in the battle to reach the final

The Welsh side have won on two of their three previous visits to an Irish province and have as 23-11 overall win record against Connacht.

FRI – Glasgow v Leinster (2015)

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow | KO 2015 | Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv.

Defeat for either side will end their prospects of advancing to the final

Glasgow made it three consecutive wins in the championship for the first time since February 2020 when they beat the Dragons in Cardiff and have not won four on the spin since May 2019.

Leinster bounced back from their Round 1 reverse to Munster by posting a combined 71 points in wins over Connacht and Ulster and have been beaten just once away from home since April 2019.

The Dubliners have won their last five matches against the Warriors, who have lost their previous nine to an Irish province

SAT – Lions v Sharks (1600)

Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg | KO 1500 (1600 local) | Live on eir Sport 2, Premier Sports 1, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv.

The Lions snapped a four-game losing run when edging the Bulls in Round 4.

They also have a decent record at this stadium having lost just once since November while the Sharks have won there just once since 2014.

The Sharks are looking to avoid three consecutive defeats in the same season for the first time in four years.

But they have won just one of their last four away games, although they have only been beaten once in six meetings with the Lions.

SAT – Edinburgh v Ulster (1715)

BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh| KO 1715 | Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv.

Ulster head to the Scottish capital seeking a first win in the Rainbow Cup and looking to end a wretched run of form.

The Irish province have gone five matches without a win after Scarlets were awarded the points following the cancellation of last weekend’s clash due to coronavirus cases in the camp.

Edinburgh’s record is marginally better with their sole win in their last six matches in all competitions coming against Zebre in Round 1.

But Richard Cockerill’s side have won just once at home since early January while Ulster have triumphed on their previous four visits to this stadium.

SAT – Cardiff v Zebre (1935)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff | KO 1935 | Live on S4C, eir Sport 2, Premier Sports 1, DAZN, Super Sport (SA), ESPN+ (USA), pro14.tv.

Cardiff were denied a third successive win and saw their final prospects ended after a late 31-27 defeat to Munster at Thomond Park.

But they will now attempt to finish with a flourish and have won their last eight fixtures against Italian opposition in all competitions.

Zebre and Ulster are the only two sides yet to record a victory in the Rainbow Cup, with Michael Bradley’s side having lost their last seven matches.

The Blues have lost just once in seven against Zebre, who are the only Italian side to have beaten Cardiff in their own backyard having prevailed at the Arms Park back in September 2013.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.