It's an all-European affair in the URC this weekend with Connacht's trip to Edinburgh probably the pick of the bunch. Shaun Goosen previews.
Friday 4 March
Edinburgh 73/100 | Draw 23/1 | Connacht 23/20 (21:35)
Edinburgh will look to arrest their poor recent form when they host Connacht at the DAM Health Stadium on Friday. The Scottish outfit were leading the charge at the summit of the standings just a few rounds ago, but three-consecutive losses has seen them drop to fifth, just six points ahead of their opponents this week. Connacht recently put a bad run of results behind them with wins over Scarlets and the Stormers on consecutive weekends. That should give them the vulnerable confidence to upset the hosts here.
Connacht have all of the momentum here and should be able to secure a win away in Scotland
Ulster 1/6 | Draw 25/1 | Cardiff 46/10 (21:35)
Second-placed Ulster tackle Cardiff at the Kingspan on Friday. The men from Belfast have been a real force this season, winning eight of their 11 games thus far and trailing leaders Leinster by just three points. They host a Cardiff outfit that have played just seven games this campaign, of which they’ve won four to occupy 12th. Unfortunately for the visitors, Ulster have won 11 of their 12 home games in 2021-22 while they’ve lost all three of their away fixtures.
The Northern Irish outfit should keep that great record intact here.
Saturday 5 March
Benetton 11/1 | Draw 40/1 | Leinster 1/33 (14:55)
Benetton face the mighty task of upstaging Leinster when they clash at the Stadio Comunale Monigo on Saturday. The Italians come off the back of a 29-7 loss to the Sharks, which followed up a further defeat and a draw. In fact, 11th-placed Benetton haven’t won a game since December and could find the going tough against Leo Cullen’s table toppers.
Leinster should win here at a canter. Wait for closer to kick off and look out for some of the minus handicaps available.
Munster 1/12 | Draw 33/1 | Dragons 7/1 (19:15)
Munster host the 15th-placed Dragons at Thomond Park on Saturday looking to keep the pace at the top. The men from Limerick are fourth after collecting seven wins from 10 so far and trail first-placed Leinster by nine points. While it may be a stretch to expect them to catch their bitter rivals at the top, they remain in pole position to host a quarterfinal.
Musnter should have the ammo to see off the lowly Dragons here.
Scarlets 78/100 | Draw 22/1 | Glasgow 11/10 (19:15)
Scarlets welcome Glasgow to the Parc y Scarlets on Saturday with a tough task ahead of them. The Welsh outfit are 13th after collecting just three wins from their eight matches so far and haven’t exactly lit the tournament alight. On the other end of the spectrum, the Warriors are third with eight wins from 11 and they should extend their three game-winning run here against a Scarlets side that’s copped four losses on the bounce.
There looks to be some real value on the Scottish outfit here at 11/10.
Sunday 6 March
Ospreys 1/20 | Draw 40/1 | Zebre 17/2 (16:00)
Ospreys host winless Zebre at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. The men from Swansea are seventh, level on points with the eighth-placed Sharks but still within the playoff bracket.
The Welsh outfit should bounce back from their recent loss at Leinster to record a conformable win over the bottom-placed Italians here.
