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RaboDirect PRO12 PREVIEW 2013/14

Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

ROUND 10 PREVIEWS

The focus returns once again to the RaboDirect PRO12 after two weeks of European competition, with Irish Provinces topping three of the six Heineken Cup Pools. Ulster are the stand-out performers so far, the only team with a 100 per cent winning record still left in the competition, garnering 18 pool points in the process. Munster and Leinster, both also past winners of the trophy, top their respective pools, whilst Blues, the top placed Welsh Region, are only two points shy of their pool leaders, reigning champions Toulon.

The Irish provinces are faring well in the RaboDirect PRO12 as well, with three of the four Play-Off places taken up by them, Munster pulling out a four point lead at the top of the table as the half-way point of the season approaches. They are in action at Musgrave Park on Saturday evening when they face , the Welsh region having won at this venue last time they visited.

The round starts off on Friday night with the remaining three teams currently in the Play-Off Zone – Leinster, Warriors and Ulster - all in action. Second placed Leinster travel to Murrayfield buoyed by the fact they have won their last five contests with , whilst in Glasgow, Benetton Treviso are the visitors. Having led in the early part of the season Warriors now reside in third place in the table, level on points with Ulster and need a win to keep their season on track. The remaining top-four team, Ulster, will be looking to maintain their near perfect record against Italian teams when run out at Ravenhill. ROUND 10 FIXTURES

Friday 20 December v At Arms Park, 7.05pm. Live on Referee: Jerome Garces (FFR, 5th competition game) Assistant Referees: Rhys Thomas, Sean Brickell (both WRU) Citing Commissioner: John Charles (WRU) TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue C O Cardiff Blues scorers Ospreys scorers Fri 31 Dec 10 Cardiff City Stadium 27 25 Tom James(T) Richard Mustoe(T) Dan (P) Andrew Bishop(T) Tommy Parks(C/2D/2P) (P) Bowe(T) (2C/P) (T) Sat 2 Apr 11 21 21 (2D/5P) Dan Biggar(D/5P) James Hook(D) Sun 1 Jan 12 Liberty Stadium 12 17 Dan Parks(D) (3P) Dan Biggar(2P) Matthew Morgan(2P) (T) Sat 14 Apr 12 Cardiff City Stadium 12 33 Leigh Halfpenny(4P) Dan Biggar(3C/4P) Alun-(T) Adam Jones(T) Tom Smith(T) Fri 30 Nov 12 Liberty Stadium 12 33 (2P) Ceri Sweeney(2P) James King(T) Morgan Allen(T) Matthew Morgan(3C/4P) Richard Fussell(T) Sat 30 Mar 13 16 23 Leigh Halfpenny(T/C/3P) James King(T) Dan Biggar(2C/3P) Jonathan Spratt(T)

Cardiff Blues only defeat in their last five games in all tournaments was 10-31 at home to Munster in the RaboDirect PRO12 on 23rd November. The Blues have not beaten a fellow Welsh Region, excepting The , since Ospreys visited the Cardiff City Stadium on New Year’s Eve 2010. Ospreys have won just two of their last five PRO12 encounters, at home to both Dragons and Zebre. Ospreys have been defeated in their last four away games in all competitions since they visited Connacht in the PRO12, on 28th September. Ospreys have won their last nine PRO12 fixtures against fellow Welsh Regions since losing 20-21 to the Dragons at on 6th January 2012. The Blues have already defeated Ospreys this season in the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Liberty Stadium, but in the PRO12 have not won against their rivals since 31st December 2010.

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

EDINBURGH RUGBY v LEINSTER At Murrayfield, 7.35pm. Live on Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU, 52nd Competition game) Assistant Referees: Andrew McMenemy, TBC (both SRU) Citing Commissioner: Iain Goodall (SRU) TMO: Iain Ramage (SRU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue E L scorers Leinster scorers Fri 24 Sep 10 Murrayfield 32 24 David Blair(T/C/P) (T) Mark (T) (T/P) Isa Robertson(T) (2C/P) Tim Nacewa(C/3P) Visser(T) Sat 30 Oct 10 Royal Society 18 19 Chris Paterson(T/C/2P) (T) (T) Isa Nacewa(C/4P) Fri 28 Oct 11 Murrayfield 28 36 (T) (2C/3P) Tim Leo Auva'a(T) (T) Fergus Visser(2T) McFadden(P) (C/D/6P) Fri 13 Apr 12 Royal Dublin Society 13 54 (T) Greig Laidlaw(C/2P) Leo Auva'a(T) Brendan Macken(T) Fionn Carr(T) Sean Cronin(T) (2C) (T) Fergus McFadden(T/P) (T) Isa Nacewa(T/2C/P) Sat 22 Sep 12 Royal Dublin Society 16 22 WP Nel(T) Greig Laidlaw(C/3P) Brendan Macken(2T) Jonathan Sexton(T/2C/P) Fri 4 Jan 13 Murrayfield 16 31 WP Nel(T) Piers Francis(C/D) Greig Gordon D'Arcy(T) Ian Madigan(T) Penalty Laidlaw(2P) Try(T) Jonathan Sexton(T/4C/P)

Edinburgh have won four of their last six games in all competitions, whilst at home in the RaboDirect PRO12 they have been defeated only once since April: 9-22 to the Scarlets in round 4. The Scotsmen’s’ only defeat to an Irish Province at Murrayfield in their last four such matches was 24-32 to Connacht on 12th April. Leinster’s 9-18 European Cup loss to Northampton on Saturday at ended a seven game winning run in all competitions. Away from home the Leinstermen have won their last four encounters since their 15-19 reversal to Munster at in the PRO12 on 5th October. Leinster have already been defeated in Scotland this season going down 6- 12 to Glasgow at Scotstoun on 20th September. Leinster have won their last five fixtures with Edinburgh, whilst the Scotsmen’s only win in their last eight contests with the Irish Province since 2009 was 32-24 at Murrayfield in September 2010.

GLASGOW WARRIORS v BENETTON TREVISO At , 7.35pm. Referee: Claudio Blessano (FIR, 5th competition game) Assistant Referees: David Changleng, Bob Nevins (both SRU) Citing Commissioner: John Kirk (SRU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue G B scorers Benetton Treviso scorers Fri 18 Mar 11 Firhill Stadium 25 17 (2C/2P) Alex Dunbar(T) Aly Willem de Waal(2C/P) Ludovico Nitoglia(T) Muldowney(T) (T) (T) Sat 16 Apr 11 Stadio Monigo 16 19 (C/3P) Graeme Robert Barbieri(T) Willem de Waal(C/D/3P) Morrison(T) Fri 23 Sep 11 Firhill Stadium 13 15 Duncan Weir(T/C/P) Scott Wight(P) Kris Burton(D/4P) Sun 22 Apr 12 Stadio Monigo 13 8 Duncan Weir(2P) DTH van der Merwe(T) Kris Burton(P) Brendan Williams(T) Ruaridh Jackson(C) Sat 27 Oct 12 Stadio Monigo 24 13 (2T) Ruaridh Tobias Botes(P) Kris Burton(C/P) Manoa Jackson(3P) Scott Wight(C/P) Vosawai(T) Fri 4 Jan 13 Scotstoun Stadium 41 7 Duncan Weir(2C) (2T) Nikola Kris Burton(C) (T) Matawalu(T) DTH van der Merwe(T) Tommy Seymour(T) Ruaridh Jackson(3C/2P)

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

Glasgow Warriors have slipped to two defeats in their last four RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures, dropping them from top of the table to third. The Warriors won ten successive home games at Scotstoun between December 2012 and October 2013, however since then they have lost their last three matches at the venue in all tournaments. The Scotsmen have been victorious in their last eight contests with Italian opponents since Treviso won 15-13 at Firhill on 23rd September 2011. Benetton Treviso are winless in their last four PRO12 encounters since beating Connacht 23-3 at Stadio Monigo in round 5, although they did draw 26-all at home to Cardiff Blues last time out. The Italians have won only one away game in any competition in 2013: 41-17 at the Scarlets in the PRO12 in round 22 last season. Treviso’s most recent victory in Scotland came against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in October 2012. Glasgow have won their last three matches against Treviso since the Italians victory at Firhill in September 2011.

ULSTER v ZEBRE At Ravenhill Stadium , 7.05pm. Live on Referee: Neil Hennessy (WRU, 17th competition game) Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Dermot Blake (both IRFU) Citing Commissioner: Wayne Sheridan (IRFU) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue U Z Ulster scorers Zebre scorers Sun 18 Nov 12 Stadio XXV Aprile 27 25 (T) Niall O'Connor(C/5P) Daniel Halangahu(T/C/P) Tito Tebaldi(T) Penalty Try(T) Dries van Schalkwyk(2T) Fri 15 Feb 13 Ravenhill Stadium 26 3 Rob Herring(T) Ricky Andrew(T) Ruan Daniel Halangahu(P) Pienaar(3C) Robbie Diack(2T) Sat 30 Nov 13 Stadio XXV Aprile 19 11 (C/4P) (T) (T) Gonzalo Garcia(2P)

Ulster’s only loss in their last eleven fixtures in all tournaments was 9-17 at the Scarlets in the RaboDirect PRO12 on 2nd November. The Ulstermen have lost just once at home since early February: 12-13 to Glasgow Warriors in round 2 of the PRO12. Ulster have met Italian opposition on 24 previous occasions in all competitions and lost only once: 12-23 at home to Treviso in the PRO12 in October 2011. Zebre are winless in their last ten contests in all tournaments since beating Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park in round 3 of the PRO12, although they did draw 16-all with Scarlets in Parma on 25th October. The two sides have met on three previous occasions with Ulster victorious in each instance, including a 19-11 win in Parma in round 9.

Saturday 21 December CONNACHT v NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS At Sportsground, 5pm. Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU, 61st competition game) Assistant Referees: Gary Conway, Kieran Barry (both IRFU) Citing Commissioner: Eddie Walsh (IRFU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue C N Connacht scorers Newport Gwent Dragons scorers Sat 4 Sep 10 Sportsground 40 17 Sean Cronin(T) (T/4C/4P) Ray Will Harries(T) Matt Jones(4P) Ofisa Treviranus(T) Penalty Try(T) Thu 6 Jan 11 Rodney Parade 16 17 Ian Keatley(C/3P) Troy Nathan(T) Jason Tovey(2C/P) (T) Tom Riley(T) Fri 23 Sep 11 Sportsground 17 13 Matt Jarvis(2C) (T) Niall Jason Tovey(C/2P) Nathan Williams(T) O'Connor(P) Eoin Griffin(T) Fri 30 Mar 12 Rodney Parade 27 19 Fetu'u Vainikolo(2T) Miah Nikora(C/5P) Toby Faletau(T) Lewis Robling(4P) Steffan Jones(C) Fri 23 Nov 12 Rodney Parade 3 14 Dan Parks(P) Pat Leach(T) (3P)

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

Sat 5 Jan 13 Sportsground 30 11 Danie Poolman(T) Dan Parks(3C/D/2P) Jonathan Evans(T) Tom Prydie(2P) George Naoupu(T) Penalty Try(T)

Connacht’s only two victories in their last dozen matches in all tournaments have both been away from home in the European Cup, at Zebre and at . Connacht’s only victory in the RaboDirect PRO12 since April was 25-16 at home to Zebre in round 1 this season. Connacht have lost all three games they have played against Welsh opponents this season. Newport Gwent Dragons only victory in their last four PRO12 fixtures was 23-8 away at Glasgow in round 8, this represents their only victory on the road since they beat Zebre in Parma in February. The Welshmen have lost their last three matches against Irish opponents and have won just once away from home at an Irish Province since 2004: 16-14 over Ulster at Ravenhill in September 2008. Each side won its respective home game when the two teams met last season, whilst Dragons only previous victory in ten previous visits to the Sportsground came on 1st May 2004.

MUNSTER v SCARLETS At Musgrave Park, 7.15pm. Live on Referee: (WRU, 101st competition game) Assistant Referees: David Wilkinson, Michael Black (IRFU) Citing Commissioner: John West (IRFU) TMO: Dermot Moloney (IRFU)

HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT RaboDirect PRO12 MEETINGS Date Venue M S Munster scorers Scarlets scorers Sun 21 Nov 10 Musgrave Park 27 26 Paul Warwick(T/3C/2P) Barry Murphy(T) Jon Edwards(2T) (2C/4P) Sam Tuitupou(T) Sat 16 Apr 11 13 6 Paul Warwick(C/2P) (T) Rhys Priestland(2P) Sat 17 Sep 11 Musgrave Park 35 12 Ian Keatley(3C/3P) Doug Howlett(T) Dale Ford(P) Dan Newton(3P) Tommy O'Donnell(T) Penalty Try(T) Duncan Williams(T) Sat 21 Apr 12 Parc y Scarlets 20 20 Ian Keatley(2C/2P) (T) (T) (T) Rhys Simon Zebo(T) Priestland(2C/2P) Sun 25 Nov 12 Musgrave Park 6 13 JJ Hanrahan(P) Ian Keatley(P) Andy Fenby(T) (C/2P) Sat 16 Feb 13 Parc y Scarlets 10 18 Denis Hurley(T) Ronan O'Gara(C/P) Owen Williams(D/5P)

Munster have won their last seven matches in all tournaments since their 23-29 defeat to Edinburgh at Murrayfield in the European Cup on the 12th October. The Munstermen top the RaboDirect PRO12 table courtesy of suffering only one reversal so far this season: 19-29 at Treviso in round 3. Munster have won all four matches they have played against Welsh Regions this season. Scarlets only win in their last five matches in all tournaments was 24-21 at Connacht in round 8 of the PRO12. That victory in represents the Welshmen’s only success on the road in any competition since November 2012. Munster won fourteen successive games against the Scarlets between April 2007 and December 2011, but since then are winless in their last three fixtures against the Welshmen. Scarlets won 13-6 when they visited Musgrave Park last season.

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

ROUND 9 MICROCOSM FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER (B) EDINBURGH RUGBY (16)43 CONNACHT (10)10 Greig Laidlaw(4C/5P) Dan Parks(C/D) Dougie Fife(40) (15) Cornell du Preez(73) Att: 3,515 Nick de Luca(77) WP Nel(79) (b) NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS (6)14 MUNSTER (3)18 Jason Tovey(D/2P) Ian Keatley(6P) Matthew Pewtner(43) Att: 7,118 OSPREYS (13)16 GLASGOW WARRIORS (6)28 (C/D/2P) Stuart Hogg(P) Jeff Hassler(17) Ruaridh Jackson(2C/2P) Att: 5,679 (58) DTH van der Merwe(68) Ryan Wilson(80) SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER (B) LEINSTER (22)36 SCARLETS (0)19 Ian Madigan(4C/P) Aled Thomas(2C) Brendan Macken(10) Gareth Davies(47) Penalty Try(20) Gareth Maule(58) Jack McGrath(27) Adam Warren(80) (61) Att: 15,740 Zane Kirchner(76) BENETTON TREVISO (9)26 CARDIFF BLUES (20)26 Mat Berquist(2C/4P) Gareth Davies(2C/4P) (49) Chris Czekaj(7) (57) Robin Copeland(31) Att: 3,351 ZEBRE (6)11 ULSTER (13)19 Gonzalo Garcia(2P) Paddy Jackson(C/4P) Guglielmo Palazzani(54) Darren Cave(27) Att: 1,250 Key: winning team shown in green, losing team in red, a draw marked in amber Note: (B) denotes a try bonus point and (b) a losing bonus point

RaboDirect PRO12 DEBUTS IN ROUND 9 (3) Owen Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Gerhard van den Heever (Munster), Josh Lewis (Scarlets)

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

HOW THEY STAND

RaboDirect PRO12 Record Points Attack Defence Pos Team P W D L TB LB Tot T C PG DG For T C PG DG Agst TB LB PD 1 Munster (1)  9 8 0 1 3 0 35 20 17 26 0 212 8 6 26 1 133 0 4 79 2 Leinster (3)  9 6 1 2 3 2 31 22 17 25 1 222 15 13 23 0 170 0 3 52 3 Glasgow Warriors (4)  9 7 0 2 0 1 29 14 11 19 0 149 6 6 25 3 126 0 6 23 4 Ulster (5)  9 6 0 3 3 2 29 19 10 27 0 196 10 5 21 1 126 0 1 70 5 Ospreys (2)  9 5 1 3 3 2 27 23 18 27 4 244 14 11 27 2 179 0 1 65 6 Scarlets (6)  9 4 1 4 0 2 20 15 12 24 0 171 18 15 21 0 183 2 1 -12 7 Newport Gwent Dragons (7)  9 4 0 5 0 3 19 12 11 23 4 163 13 11 23 1 159 1 2 4 8 Edinburgh Rugby (9)  9 4 0 5 1 0 17 16 13 23 0 175 26 21 18 1 229 3 3 -54 9 Cardiff Blues (8)  9 3 1 5 0 2 16 12 11 32 2 184 21 17 25 1 217 3 1 -33 10 Benetton Treviso (10)  9 2 1 6 0 4 14 13 13 25 0 166 20 14 18 2 188 1 0 -22 11 Zebre (11)  9 1 1 7 0 2 8 15 13 19 1 161 21 18 32 0 237 1 1 -76 12 Connacht (12)  9 1 0 8 0 3 7 11 9 17 1 127 20 18 28 1 223 2 0 -96 TOTALS 54 51 3 51 13 23 252 192 155 287 13 2170 192 155 287 13 2170 13 23

2013/14 ABBREVIATED RULES The RaboDirect PRO12 shall consist of a league stage followed by a play-off stage. In the league stage, four league points shall be awarded for a win and two league points shall be awarded for a draw.

One bonus league point shall be awarded to a Team scoring four or more tries and one bonus league point shall be awarded to a Team losing by seven points or less.

The top four Teams in the league at the end of the season shall qualify for the play- offs which shall consist of the RaboDirect PRO12 Semi Finals and the RaboDirect PRO12 Final.

If two or more Teams finish with the same number of league points, their placings will be determined by the following criteria in descending order: number of matches won; the difference between points for and points against; the number of tries scored; the most points scored; the difference between tries for and tries against; the fewest number of red cards received; the fewest number of yellow cards received.

In the RaboDirect PRO12 Semi-Finals, the Team placed first in the league shall play the Team placed fourth and the Team placed second shall play the Team placed third. The RaboDirect PRO12 Semi-Finals shall be held at the home grounds of the first and second placed Teams respectively. The winners shall meet in the RaboDirect PRO12 Final.

The RaboDirect PRO12 Final is provisionally scheduled to take place the weekend of 31st May 2014. RaboDirect PRO12 will determine the venue for the RaboDirect PRO12 Final however the Team that finished highest in the league stage competing in the Final will be able to propose a venue within its own Union’s jurisdiction (which may include the team's own ground) to host the RaboDirect PRO12 Final, provided that the venue meets certain commercial criteria and has capacity for a minimum of 18,000 spectators.

The winner of the RaboDirect PRO12 for 2013/14 will therefore be the Team that wins the RaboDirect PRO12 Final.

Page 6 of 12 RaboDirect PRO12 PREVIEW 2013/14

Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

THE PLAYOFF ZONE

If the Play Offs were to happen after this round they would be: 1st v 4th – Munster v Ulster 2nd v 3rd – Leinster v Glasgow Warriors

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

SPECSAVERS FAIRPLAY LEAGUE The Specsavers Fairplay League rewards the best disciplinary record, with the club with the fewest disciplinary points (1 point for each yellow card, and 3 points for each red card or upheld citing) at the end of the 22 week regular season given £10,000 to spend on their youth development programme.

FAIRPLAY LEAGUE YC RC PC Pts 1 Ospreys 4 0 0 4 1 Ulster 4 0 0 4 3 Connacht 5 0 0 5 4 Glasgow Warriors 6 0 0 6 5 Edinburgh Rugby 4 0 1 7 5 Zebre 7 0 0 7 6 Leinster 8 0 0 8 6 Cardiff Blues 5 0 1 8 6 Benetton Treviso 5 0 1 8 10 Newport Gwent Dragons 9 0 0 9 10 Scarlets 9 0 0 9 10 Munster 9 0 0 9 TOTALS 75 0 3 84 The above sets out a summary of certain provisions of the RaboDirect PRO12 Rules for information purposes only. As such these provisions may not be relied upon and for a full and proper understanding of the provisions and rules of the RaboDirect PRO12, reference must be made to the RaboDirect PRO12 Rules in their existing and entire form. PROVEN CITINGS (3) (Cardiff Blues v Connacht, 13 Sept). Cited for an infringement of Law 10.4(a) (Punching or striking a player), suspended for two weeks. (Benetton Treviso @ Scarlets, 14 Sept). Cited for an infringement of Law 10.4(a) (Punching or striking a player), suspended for three weeks. Aleki Lutui (Edinburgh @Ospreys 21 Sept) been cited for an infringement of Law 10.4(e) (dangerous tackling), suspended for two weeks. (note, the above is only a brief summary for purposes of the Specsavers Fairplay chart) RED CARDS (0) None YELLOW CARDS (75) Blues (5) Filo Paulo(2), Macauley Cook, Robin Copeland, Owen Williams Connacht (5) Rodney Ah You, Mata Fifita, Ronan Loughney, Paul O’Donohoe, Kiernan Marmion Dragons (9) Andrew Coombs, Lewis Evans, Jevon Groves, , Adam Jones, Ieuan Jones, Pat Leach, Matthew Pewtner, Netani Talei Edinburgh (4) Cornell du Preez, Lee Jones, WP Nel, Izak van der Westhuizen Leinster (8) Sean Cronin, , Darren Hudson, , Jack McGrath, Brendan Macken, Ian Madigan, Jack O’Connell Munster (9) , James Cronin, , , Niall Ronan, Cathal Sheridan, Mike Sherry, CJ Stander, Duncan Williams Ospreys (4) Scott Baldwin, Andrew Bishop, Aaron Jarvis, Scarlets (9) Gareth Owen(2), Jacobie Adriaanse, , John Barclay, Gareth Davies, , Aaron Shingler, Sione Timani Treviso (5) Robert Barbieri, Dean Budd, Alberto di Bernardo, , Michele Rizzo Ulster (4) David McIlwaine, Stuart Olding, Lewis Stevenson, Roger Wilson

Page 8 of 12 RaboDirect PRO12 PREVIEW 2013/14

Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

Warriors (6) , Sean Lamont, , Nikola Matawalu, , Jon Welsh Zebre (7) , Dion Berryman, Salvatore Perugini, Matteo Pratichetti, Kameli Ratuvou, Luca Redolfini,

TOP RaboDirect PRO12 ACCUMULATORS TOP RaboDirect PRO12 POINTS SCORERS Rank Name Team Apps Mins Try Conv PG DG Points 1 Dan Biggar Ospreys 6 464 1 15 17 2 92 2 Jason Tovey Newport Gwent 7+1 540 1 9 16 3 80 Dragons 3 Paddy Jackson Ulster 7 545 1 4 21 0 76 4 JJ Hanrahan Munster 4+3 335 2 11 12 0 68 5 Luciano Orquera Zebre 6+2 513 1 10 13 1 67 6 Leinster 5+4 440 1 8 14 1 66 7 Ian Keatley Munster 5+2 393 1 6 14 0 59 8 Leigh Halfpenny Cardiff Blues 4 320 0 5 16 0 58 9 Mat Berquist Benetton Treviso 5+1 356 0 7 14 0 56 10 Ian Madigan Leinster 5+1 458 1 9 10 0 53 11 Dan Parks Connacht 7+2 515 1 8 8 1 48 12 Greig Laidlaw Edinburgh Rugby 3 240 0 6 11 0 45 13 Harry Leonard Edinburgh Rugby 8+1 662 0 6 10 0 42 14 Rhys Patchell Cardiff Blues 6 396 0 1 10 2 38 15 Steve Shingler Scarlets 4 245 0 4 10 0 38 16 Matthew Morgan Ospreys 3+3 263 1 2 8 1 36 17 Rhys Priestland Scarlets 5+1 428 0 3 9 0 33 Best in a PRO12 Season: 287pts by Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) in 2005/06 TOP RaboDirect PRO12 TRY SCORERS TOP RaboDirect PRO12 TRY SCORERS Rank Name Team Apps Mins Tries Home Away 1st H 2nd H 1 Gareth Davies Scarlets 7 450 5 2 3 3 2 2 Ludovico Nitoglia Benetton Treviso 9 694 4 3 1 1 3 3 Mike Allen Ulster 6+1 405 3 2 1 2 1 4 James Cronin Munster 4+5 301 3 2 1 3 0 5 Cardiff Blues 4 320 3 2 1 1 2 6 Cornell du Preez Edinburgh Rugby 4+1 345 3 2 1 1 2 7 Jeff Hassler Ospreys 6+1 454 3 2 1 2 1 8 Matt Healy Connacht 8 587 3 2 1 2 1 9 WP Nel Edinburgh Rugby 8+1 651 3 3 0 1 2 10 Zebre 6+1 462 3 1 2 1 2 11 Ospreys 6 471 3 2 1 2 1 Best in a PRO12 Season: 14 by Tim Visser (Edinburgh) 2010/11

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

RHINO GOLDEN BOOT AWARD BEST RaboDirect PRO12 KICKERS Rank Name Team Good Att Kick% Last 10 kicks Conv PG Streak 1 JJ Hanrahan Munster 23 24 95.83% 3/323/3/22232 11/11 12/13 Last 12 2 Mat Berquist Benetton Treviso 21 23 91.30% 232/333p223 7/7 14/16 Last 3 3 Duncan Weir Glasgow Warriors 10 11 90.91% 23/3p3/23333 3/3 7/8 Last 6 4 Aled Thomas Scarlets 9 10 90.00% 333/3222/c22 5/6 4/4 Last 2 5 Greig Laidlaw Edinburgh Rugby 17 19 89.47% 2/333233222 6/6 11/13 Last 12 6 Steve Shingler Scarlets 14 16 87.50% 23333/32p/3c 4/5 10/11 Missed last 1 7 Dan Biggar Ospreys 32 37 86.49% 333/3233222 15/19 17/18 Last 15 8 Ian Madigan Leinster 19 22 86.36% 33p2/3c2222 9/10 10/12 Last 4 9 Leigh Halfpenny Cardiff Blues 21 25 84.00% 23332/3c323 5/6 16/19 Last 3 10 Alberto di Bernardo Benetton Treviso 10 12 83.33% 3332/p/32/333 2/2 8/10 Last 5 11 Matthew Morgan Ospreys 10 12 83.33% p3/33333c23 2/3 8/9 Last 2 12 Luciano Orquera Zebre 23 28 82.14% 2/p2/3/32233/c 10/12 13/16 Missed last 1 13 Gareth Davies Cardiff Blues 9 11 81.82% 22pp/233233 4/4 5/7 Last 6 14 Jason Tovey Newport Gwent 25 31 80.65% 3/3322/3p3cp 9/10 16/21 Missed last 2 Dragons 15 Rhys Priestland Scarlets 12 15 80.00% 32cp2/333/33 3/4 9/11 Last 6 16 Craig Ronaldson Connacht 10 13 76.92% 33/3p3/333p2 1/1 9/12 Last 1 17 Harry Leonard Edinburgh Rugby 16 21 76.19% 3/pc2323/cc2 6/9 10/12 Last 1 18 Jimmy Gopperth Leinster 22 31 70.97% 22p/pc23p33 8/12 14/19 Last 2 19 Rhys Patchell Cardiff Blues 11 16 68.75% pp333p333/2 1/1 10/15 Last 4 20 Ian Keatley Munster 20 30 66.67% 3p3/333p333 6/9 14/21 Last 3 21 Paddy Jackson Ulster 25 40 62.50% 3c3p/33233p 4/12 21/28 Missed last 1 22 Dan Parks Connacht 16 29 55.17% 2p/3pp3/c/2pp 8/10 8/19 Missed last 2 23 Stuart Hogg Glasgow Warriors 5 10 50.00% 33p2/pp2p/p/3 2/2 3/8 Last 1 Qual: 10 place kicks at goal Under Streak, "Last 4" means has kicked last four place kicks in a row successfully. Under "Last 10 kicks" 3 denotes a penalty goal, 2 a conversion, p is a missed penalty and c a missed conversion, whilst separate matches are divided with forward slashes.

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

RaboDirect PRO12 RECORD CENTRE INDIVIDUAL GAME RECORDS All-Time Best in 2013/14 Most points 32 - Stephen Jones ( RFC @ 23 – Greig Laidlaw , 4 Oct 02) (Edinburgh v Connacht, 29 Nov) Most tries 4 - Mike Mullins (Munster @ Caerphilly, 11 2 by ten players Sep 01) 4 - Lee Abdul (Blues v Ospreys, 25 Oct 03) 4 – Jamie Robinson (Blues v Borders, 27 Feb 04) Most conversions 9 - Brendan Laney (Edinburgh @ 5 – Dan Biggar Caerphilly, 21 Sep 02) (Ospreys @ Connacht, 28 Sep) 5 – James McKinney (Ulster v Edinburgh, 22 Nov) Most penalty goals 9 – Luciano Orquera 6 by five players ( v Treviso, 23 Dec 11) Most drop goals 4 – Dan Parks 2 – Dan Biggar (Glasgow v Ulster, 16 Apr 10) (Ospreys @ Treviso,6 Sep) Fastest try 18 secs – Nathan Brew 2 mins – Dafydd Hewitt (Dragons @ Blues, 27 Dec 05) (Blues v Zebre, 20 Sep) Quickest 17 mins 43 secs – Tommy Bowe 43 mins – Andrew Conway bonus point try (Ulster v Reivers, 12 May 06) (Munster @ Blues, 23 Nov)

TEAM RECORDS All-Time Best in 2013/14 Most points in a home 63-17 Ulster v Reivers 44-10 Ospreys v Edinburgh game (Ravenhill, 12 May 06) (Liberty Stadium, 21 Sep) Most points in an away 67-15 Ulster @ Caerphilly 43-21 Munster @ Zebre game (Virginia Park, 5 Oct 02) (Stadio XXV Aprile, 13 Sep) 43-26 Ospreys @ Connacht (Sportsgound, 28 Sep) Highest aggregate of 98pts - Caerphilly 32, Edinburgh 66 69pts – Connacht 26, Ospreys 43 points in game (Virginia Park, 21 Sep 02) (Sportsground, 28 Sep) Biggest home win 62pts - Connacht 62, Caerphilly 0 34pts – Ospreys 44, Edinburgh 10 (Galway, 16 Sep 01) (Liberty Stadium, 21 Sep) Biggest away win 57pts – Dragons 3, Glasgow 60 23pts – Scarlets 19, Leinster 42 (Rodney Parade, 15 Feb 13) (Parc y Scarlets, 6 Sep) Best attendance 50,645 – Leinster v Munster 20,646 – Munster v Leinster (regular season) (Aviva Stadium, 2 Oct 10) (Thomond Park, 5 Oct) Note: 2013/14 Season bests set or equalled this past round shown in italics.

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Round 10: 20 & 21 December 2013

APPROACHING CAREER MILESTONES POINTS SCORING 1,500 points: - 1,000 points: Ian Keatley (874) 500 points: Duncan Weir (417), Greig Laidlaw (405), Ruan Pienaar (395) Record: 1,529 points – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warrior, Cardiff Blues & Connacht) TRY SCORING 50 tries: - 25 tries: Gordon D’Arcy (24), Sean Lamont (22), Brian O’Driscoll (22), Jamie Heaslip (21) Record: 52 tries – Tommy Bowe (Ulster & Ospreys) MATCHES PLAYED 150 games: Duncan Jones (145), Isaac Boss (139), (138) 100 games: Joe Bearman (99), (98), Gavin Evans (97), Lou Reed (97), Dan Biggar (96), Fionn Carr (96), Chris Czekaj (96) Record: 172 games – Michael Swift (Connacht)

CAREER TOP TENS MOST POINTS MOST GAMES MOST MINS PLAYED MOST TRIES Dan Parks 1529 Michael Swift 172 Dan Parks 10776 Tommy Bowe 52 Dan Biggar 1032 Adam Jones 159 John Muldoon 10752 Tim Visser 50 Ronan O’Gara 940 Dan Parks 158 10610 Shane Horgan 39 Felipe Contepomi 877 John Muldoon 156 Michael Swift 10187 36 Ian Keatley 874 Phil John 153 9760 35 Chris Paterson 810 Alastair Kellock 153 Tommy Bowe 9659 34 David Humphreys 786 152 Gavin Duffy 9646 Fionn Carr 31 Stephen Jones 741 Ceri Sweeney 151 Allan Jacobsen 9546 Aled Brew 30 Ceri Sweeney 698 Allan Jacobsen 148 Ceri Sweeney 9167 30 Paul Warwick 664 Duncan Jones 145 Richard Fussell 9106 Matthew Watkins 30 Active players in RaboDirect PRO12 marked in orange

Compiled for RaboDirect PRO12 by SFMS Ltd Tel: 0044 1455 442849 Fax: 0044 1455 442559 e-mail: [email protected]

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