Ospreys bashed their beaks against the Dragons’ hide in the final 20 minutes last week, and got a lone try out of it, but it wasn’t enough as the lowly Dragons held on 23-22. 

Surely the Ospreys will rue the whoops try they gave up early on.

Yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark, and the mark it leaves is that the Welsh team dropped to fourth in Conference A as Connacht won over Ulster. Ospreys also have to worry about some countrymen as the Cardiff Blues now sit one standings point behind.

Meanwhile, there’s life in Edinburgh after a 16-8 defeat of Glasgow, and in Conference B Ulster, Benetton (!), Scarlets and Edinburgh are all clustered together at second through fifth. 

Of course, Benetton has benefited from a two-game series against last-in-Conference-A Zebre, but still, the Italians have to be watched.

So now to this week’s matchups:

Glasgow at Benetton

OK Italians, time to put up or shut up. Glasgow holds a tenuous grip on first in Conference A and needs this game to keep Munster at bay.

But Benetton could signal a change in the pecking order with a win at home, and it’s very possible. Man of the match last week, lock/flanker Federico Ruzza is starting to control things at the gain line.

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Cardiff Blues at Ospreys

Look at that, Cardiff is creeping up on Ospreys, and here the Blues visit Swansea this weekend. Rey Lee-Lo has been superb, and Owen Lane joins Blaine Scully to form one of the more potent outside back combinations in the league. A win is crucial for both teams and will greatly improve the playoff prospects for whichever is victorious.

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Ulster at Leinster

The Irish teams have been rotating around during these early winter weeks crashing into each other. Suddenly vulnerable, Leinster could fall to Ulster, and should that happen, then… OK, never mind. Really, Leinster is so far ahead of everyone else that they could lose three in a row and still be in first place. 

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"We know each other very well."@Ross__Byrne looks ahead to #LEIvULS on Saturday...#JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/l3WZT01PDe

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) January 3, 2019

Dragons at Scarlets

This is an enormous game for Scarlets. Sitting fourth in Conference B after losing three in a row on the road, the Llanelli club has dropped from 6-3 to 6-6. Crisis time? Maybe. All of the Scarlets losses have been close… Until a cratering last week against Cardiff. 

Meanwhile, the Dragons held on nicely against Ospreys and could be looking for some momentum. This is a must-win for Scarlets to stop the bleeding and stay in playoff contention.

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Munster at Connacht

Another episode in the Irish Game of Thrones we’ve seen this winter. Both Munster and Connacht have designs on first place in Conference A. They would very much like a Glasgow loss to help them out, but then it’s all up in the air. Munster is a little better off (39 points to Connacht’s 36, with Glasgow at 41), but either way, this is a clash of swords, or maces, or something. It’s big.

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Southern Kings at Edinburgh

The South African teams took Christmas off, and it might be a good thing. Get reacquainted with the family, rest up and bounce back. If Juan Pablo Socino and Edinburgh are a playoff team, then this needs to be a win. At 1-9, the Kings are just trying to move out of the cellar, but they have tons of talent, led by Masixole Banda, to score quickly if anyone’s napping.

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Toyota Cheetahs at Zebre

So very much at stake here. Actually, we’re not kidding. No one wants to finish last. The Cheetahs are 2-7-1 and 17 points in Conference A. Zebre sits 3-9 and 16 points. This game goes a long way to decide who can climb higher. The Cheetahs have two games in hand (both against the Southern Kings, to be played during the Six Nations breaks), and so have an advantage.

The South Africans lost captain and Springbok loose forward Oupa Mohoje to injury in loss to Munster, and have had to look for a replacement. Enter Junior Pokomela, who has proved to be more than capable.

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