SATURDAY PRO 12 PREVIEW // Rabo Direct Pro 12 2013/2014

Lay down your money and you play your part. Everybody's got a hungry heart - Hungry Heart (1980) 

Connacht finished towards the lower end of the table last season with their year coming to an end in 8th position meaning that they were the worst positioned Irish team in the league. Thus a first fixture against last season's 12th place finishers, Zebre, is welcomed although Connacht will not have an 'easy' game on Saturday because in the Pro 12 there are no 'easy' games. Despite having some decent players coming through the ranks, the Irish club have continuously found it hard to win both home and away with them only winning just under half of their home games and winning even less away (19%). Pat Lam, the side's new coach, is feeling positive that his team can improve on last season's rather disappointing performance by embracing their title as 'underdogs'. However, Lam's positivity must have been shaken when the news of his side's star full-back, Gavin Duffy, injury that occurred during a pre-season training session. Last season's captain fractured his cheekbone right before his team faced the Wasps in a pre-season friendly which saw the men from Ireland lose 31-7 which will not do anything to calm those pre-season nerves the players and staff must be feeling.

Despite finishing in last position in the Pro 12 last season, Italian side Zebre put in some decent performances and even challenged some of the top teams in the league. The rugby world is not expecting this relatively new member of the Pro 12 to produce any outstanding play this season that will see them leapfrog up the table but there will be an expectation that the team will have improved. There are signs that the team, under coach Andrea Cavinato, are looking towards developing the side in to a more competitive one with the club's top summer signing, ex-All Black scrum half Brendon Leonard joining the squad.  This might not be the most exciting fixture of the weekend but it might be the most interesting. Interesting because we will be able to see how far both teams have developed and improved over pre-season.

Munster are a team I always enjoy watching. Their creativity and precision on and off the ball has led them to win numerous titles both in the Pro 12 and the Heineken Cup over the last few seasons. With a squad made up of names such as O'Connell, Conor Murray, Donncha O'Callaghan and Zebo, you wouldn't expect anything less than excellence. However, although the team have performed great in the past the Irish province did not impress (as much) last season with only managing 6th position behind the Ospreys. Although, Edinburgh will not take any comfort in this blip in the Munster quality as the Scottish side will know that only a few seasons ago the Irish team were almost unbeatable. Only once have the men in red suffered a defeat on the opening weekend of the Pro 12 since 2006 and that was four years ago and with Peter O'Mahony leading the team on to the field on Saturday it seems as though they are looking to start the new season like they usually do - with a win. 

Having finished in tenth position last season with 15 losses to their name, Edinburgh will be looking to improve on their 2012/13 performance and with the signing of front row jack-of-all-trades, James Hilterbrand, from Australia's Wester Force it looks as though the Scottish side are focused on developing the side with their eyes set on the future. Edinburgh's opening match last season was against Munster but it was the Irish province who got off to the better start after beating the Scottish side 18-23 at Murrayfield. But, Edinburgh got off lightly in their first meeting because when they travelled to Thomond Park to play the away leg of their fixture they were utterly demolished 30-3 by a team that has an impressive 81% home win record. Greig Laidlaw and his team will have quite a mountain to climb come Saturday evening but nothing is impossible and no team are unbeatable. 

Being a relatively new member of the Pro 12, many people (supporters more than players) seem to think that Treviso is an easy fixture that their respective teams will overcome with such an ease that barely a bead of sweat will break on the player's forehead but this is very untrue. The side finished a respectable 7th last season and managed wins against the Ospreys, Scarlets, Edinburgh and they even managed a draw against last season's runners up - Ulster. But one thing that was lacking in their game was consistency and this is exactly what the chief executive of the club, Amerino Zatta, is calling for when the new season starts on Saturday evening in the Stadio Monigo - consistency. 

Since joining the Pro 12 back in 2010 the Italian side have had a very respectable home win record - over 50% which is more than some of the best teams in the league, thus the Ospreys will be very well aware and prepared for a tough opener to their season. The Ospreys have had great success in the Pro 12 having won 3 titles since 2006. With a line-up that reads more like an international team sheet rather than a club squad (even having lost players to France). The Swansea based team is the home of world class players such as Adam Jones, Dan Biggar, Richard Hibbard and the team is led by Alun Wyn Jones. On paper at least this Ospreys team has the quality to win yet another Pro 12 trophy but reality doesn't always pan out as one expects and that was evident as the Welshmen finished outside of the play offs last season even with a strong team. This fixture will be one not to miss as both teams are looking to improve on last season and introduce more consistency in to their game plan.