After just over a month out of the limelight, the focus returns once more to the Pro12 and the first of four successive rounds that could have a huge impact on the outcome of this season’s tournament.

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The round kicks off on Friday with Ulster, who have now qualified for the European Cup as the highest ranked team, at home to Ospreys.

The teams sit in fourth and third places respectively, with just two points separating them in the table, so each will be looking for a victory to consolidate their place in the play-off zone.

On Saturday there will be a continuance of the Ireland v Wales rivalry that will be on show earlier in the day at the Aviva Stadium, only this time at regional level, when Munster welcome Cardiff Blues to Thomond Park.

Munster have retained their top of the table slot since Round Six and are unbeaten at home this season, so Blues will have a hard task on their hands if they are to take the points from this game.

Also on Saturday Scarlets travel to Italy to face Benetton Treviso, a game the Welsh Region really must win if they are to push for a place in the end of season play-offs.

The remaining three games are all on Sunday, starting with Newport Gwent Dragons early kick-off at Rodney Parade. Their visitors, Edinburgh, have not won at the venue for over seven years, a record they will no doubt want to overturn.

Glasgow Warriors, who are placed just outside the play-off zone but have two games in hand, must hope that the weather does not have an adverse effect on their game against Connacht, as their two previous Pro12 home matches were both rained off.

The final game of the round, Leinster away at Zebre, does not kick off until 18.00 local time (17.00 Ireland & UK) to avoid a clash with the France v Italy international. The current champions, Leinster, have not dropped below fifth in the table all season, and good performances over the international period, could stand them in good stead when it comes to defending their title.

We look at all the Round 13 matches!

Friday 7 February

Ulster v Ospreys (Ravenhill – Kick-off: 19.35; 18.35 GMT)
Ulster’s only defeat in their last nine matches in all competitions came against Leinster at the RDS in the Pro12 on 28th December. The Ulstermen came through the European Cup with a perfect played 6, won 6 record to qualify as top seeds for the quarterfinals.

Ulster’s only defeat at Ravenhill in the last twelve months was 12-13 to Glasgow in Round Two of the Pro12.

Ospreys have won their last three encounters in the Pro12 since their 16-28 reversal at home to Glasgow on 29th November. The Welshmen have won their last two away games in the tournament but have not won three in a row on the road since May 2012.

Ulster have won three of their last four contests with the Ospreys, the exception being their 12-16 defeat at Ravenhill almost exactly 12 months ago.

Teams:
Ulster: 15 Ricky Andrew, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Michael Allen, 10 James McKinney, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Lewis Stevenson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Callum Black, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Nick Williams, 21 P Marshall, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Rory Scholes.

Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Jonathan Spratt (captain), 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Aisea Natoga, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Perry Parker, 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Dan Baker, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Richard Fussell, 23 Eli Walker.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips, John Carvill (both Ireland) TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

Final Score: Ulster 10/7 Ospreys

Saturday 8 February

Benetton Treviso v Scarlets (Stadio Monigo – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Benetton Treviso’s 12-14 defeat at Zebre in round 12 was their first reversal in the Pro12 since November.
The Italians have been defeated just once at Stadio Monigo in the tournament since round one: 20-21 to Leinster on 24th November.

Treviso have met Welsh Regions four times this season and have yet to register a victory.
Scarlets have lost their last four Pro12 matches but have not lost five in a row in the tournament since 2008.
The Welshmen’s two away victories in the Pro12 this season came at Edinburgh in Round Four and at Connacht in Round Eight.

The two sides have met on seven previous occasions in the Pro12 with Treviso having the slight edge by four wins to three, Scarlets only previous victory in Treviso came in the European Cup in December 2010.

Teams:
Treviso: 15 Mat Berquist, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Andrea Pratichetti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Brendan Williams, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Marco Filippucci, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Christian Loamanu, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Valerio Bernabò (captain), 3 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 2 Franco Sbaraglini, 1 Matteo Muccignat.

Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Giovanni Maistri, 18 Pedro Di Santo, 19 Meyer Swanepoel, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Jacopo Sarto, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

Scarlets: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Frazier Climo, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Rob McCusker (captain), 7 John Barclay, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Richard Kelly, 4 George Earle, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Johan Snyman, 20 Lewis Rawlins, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Gareth Owen.

Referee: Lloyd Linton (Wales) Assistant Referees: Claudio Blessano, Stefano Traversi (both Italy) TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)

Munster v Cardiff Blues (Thomond Park – Kick-off: 19.15; 19.15 GMT)
Munster held on to top spot in the Pro12 despite their 19-29 loss in Ulster in the last round. The Munstermen have won all nine home games they have played in all tournaments this season, and have also won all five games they have played against Welsh Regions in 2013/14.

Cardiff Blues ended a four game winless run in the Pro12 with their 21-13 home victory over the Dragons in Round 12. The Blues have not triumphed away from home in the Pro12 since a trip to Edinburgh on 15th February 2013.

Munster’s only defeat in the last seven fixtures with the Blues was 6-17 at Musgrave Park on 5th January 2013, whilst the Blues have never won in six previous visits to Thomond Park in all tournaments.

Teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Johne Murphy, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 James Coughlan (captain), 7 Barry O’Mahony, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Dave Foley, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Duncan Casey, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Ger Slattery, 17 James Cronin, 18 John Ryan, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Sean Dougall, 21 Cathal Sheridan, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Andrew Conway.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Chris Dicomidis, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Sam Hobbs (captain).
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Patrick Palmer, 19 James Down, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Simon Humberstone, 23 Isaia Tuifua.

Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy) Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Brian MacNeice (both Ireland) TMO: Seamus Flannery (Ireland)

Sunday 9 February

Newport Gwent Dragons v Edinburgh (Rodney Parade – Kick-off: 13.05; 13.05 GMT)
Newport Gwent Dragons only victory in their last four Pro12 fixtures was 22-16 at home to Cardiff Blues on Boxing Day.

Both of the Dragons home defeats in the Pro12 this season have been to Irish provinces, whilst their 23-8 victory in Glasgow on 22 November ended a four game losing run to Scottish opponents.

Edinburgh play away from home in the Pro12 for the first time since 22 November, when they lost to Ulster 17-41.

The Scotsmen’s only away win in the Pro12 in their last ten contests since early December 2012 was 9-7 against Zebre in Parma on 29 March.

Edinburgh have not been victorious in Wales since they visited the Arms Park and beat the Blues on 7 September 2012.

The last three encounters between the two sides have been won by the home side on the day, whilst Edinburgh’s most recent victory at Rodney Parade was 37-11 on 13 May 2006.

Teams:

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Matthew Pewtner, 13 Pat Leach, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Will Harries, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Rob Sidoli (captain), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Dan Way, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Owen Evans.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Aaron Coundley, 18 Nathan Buck, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Wayne Evans, 22 Steffan Jones, 23 Ross Wardle.

Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 James Hilterbrand, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Ewan McQuillin, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Sam Beard, 23 Harry Leonard.

Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) Assistant Referees: Wayne Davies, Simon Rees (both Wales) TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Glasgow Warriors v Connacht (Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Glasgow Warriors last two fixtures at Scotstoun in the Pro12 have both fallen foul of the weather, whilst the Warriors gave now won at the venue since a 20-16 victory over Exeter in the European Cup on 20th October.

Glasgow have won three of their last four home games against Irish provinces.
Connacht’ solitary win the Pro12 since Round One was 14-11 at home to the Dragons in round 10.
Connacht’s most recent away victory in the tournament was 32-24 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on 12 April.

The Warriors have won their last four contests against Connacht, whilst the Irishmen’s only two victories on Glasgow soil came at Hughenden in September 2003 and Firhill in September 2010.

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Niko Matawalu, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Mark Bennett, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Ed Kalman, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 James Eddie, 20 Fraser Brown, 21 Murray McConnell, 22 Finn Russell, 23 Scott Wight.

Connacht: 15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Fionn Carr, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Jason Harris-Wright, 1 Dennis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 JP Cooney, 19 Michael Swift, 20 Aly Muldowney, 21 Paul O’Donohoe, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Darragh Leader.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales) Assistant Referees: Neil Paterson, Graeme Marshall (both SRU)

Zebre v Leinster (Stadio XXV Aprile – Kick-off: 18.00; 17.00 GMT)
Zebre doubled their tally of victories in their history with their 14-12 win at home to Treviso in round 12. They are now attempting to win back-to-back matches for the first time.

Leinster’s only defeat in their last seven matches in the Pro12 was 6-11 at Edinburgh on 20th December.
The Leinstermen have actually won six of their last seven away fixtures in all tournaments, and have not lost to an Italian opponent since they visited Treviso in September 2010.

Leinster have easily won their only two previous fixtures against Zebre with a combined score of 78-29, outscoring the Italians by ten tries to four.

Teams: Zebre: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Giulio Toniolatti 13 Roberto Quartaroli, 12 Kameli Ratuvou, 11 David Odiete, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Andries van Schalkwyk, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 George Biagi, 4 Emiliano Caffini, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Tommaso D’Apice, 1 Matias Aguero (captain).
Replacements: 16 Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 David Ryan, 19 Michael van Vuren, 20 Giacomo Bernini, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Giulio Bisegni, 23 Filippo Cristiano.

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Sam Coghlan-Murray, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 John Cooney, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Aaron Dundon, 1 Michael Bent. Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack O’Connell, 18 Edward Byrne, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Darren Hudson.

Referee: Neil Hennessy (Wales) Assistant Referees: Filippo Bertelli, Frencesco Russo (both Italy) TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)