Focus now switches to the bottom end of the table and the fight to avoid the Heineken cup play-off spot against an Italian team. With Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets all within one point of each other, with Connacht 10 points adrift, it will be a testing time for Welsh Regions as they head into the last few games of the season.
Two of the regions, Blues and Dragons, clash in a midweek fixture which could be decisive in the matter of league points, before the penultimate round which opens on Friday night with Ulster's visit to Connacht. Connacht have already beaten the other two Irish Provinces at the Sportsground this season, victory on Friday night would make it a clean sweep over their fellow countrymen.
Also on Friday night Heineken Cup finalists Leinster welcome Scarlets to the RDS, the Welsh region looking for points to avoid the play-off place. There is a return to Saturday rugby at Murrayfield when Edinburgh host Newport Gwent Dragons, with Andy Robinson's men aiming for the highest Scottish finish in the Magners League, whilst Dragons are another team in the mix for the Heineken Cup play-off spot.
The round wraps up on Sunday with a televised 'double header', Ospreys welcoming Glasgow Warriors to the Liberty Stadium, a venue where the visitors have never won, whilst the two defeated Heineken Cup semi-finalists, Cardiff Blues and Munster, meet at the Arms Park. Blues must be hoping that Munster, having already secured the title, will let slip the form that has seen them win their last nine games against Welsh regions.
