It’s safe to assume that amongst those who didn’t have a
Merry Christmas, Cardiff Blues director of Rugby Phil Davies as near the top of
the list. His side’s only victory in their last seven RaboDirect PRO12 matches
was 14-7 against Zebre in Parma, a run of form which sees them lying ninth in
the league while having also lost all four of their Heineken Cup Pool 6
encounters.
The good news for him is that today’s opponents are even worse;
The Dragons may have won three of their last 4 games in all competitions but
two of those were walkovers against Italian side Mogliano in the Challenge Cup,
and they haven’t played since the latter of those two wins. They lie 11th
in the League and were soundly beaten in the reverse fixture 15-6, so are hard
to support in any fashion and with the two sides being in a woeful run of form,
the home side to win by 1-12 makes most appeal.
The real clash to look forward to is the Ospreys v Scarlets
Derby later on, with the two best backlines in Wales taking eachother on.
Scarlets seem to have been much maligned (as with all Welsh provinces) in
Europe, but they come here a clear second in the Pro 12 and have only lost
three games all season, that being to runaway leaders Ulster. They’ve not lost
since and lying 11 points clear of their hosts, are quite tempting in receipt
of a 7 point handicap, for all that the home advantage which saw the hosts beat
Toulouse is nearly impossible to oppose, especially with the Swansea side - incidentally quite convincing winners in the
reverse fixture) finding their best form of late. A half back pairing of Dan Biggar
and Kahn Fotuali'i is also near second to none in the Pro 12, and if they can
make the opportunities, then they can win this, although a big winning margin isn't expected with such conditions against what on all evidence is a well-managed side.
Take the 1-12 home win.
Advice
1 pt Cardiff Blues to win by 1-12 points (11/8 Stan James)
1 pt Ospreys to win by 1-12 (7/5 Stan James)
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