JACKSON COLUMN: PRO12 rivalries make for festive fun

As a warm-up for the festive season and the local derbies against the Scarlets, the message will have rung out loud and clear to the far side of the Loughor, the river which has historically been the boundary dividing the rugby tribes of Llanelli and Swansea.

Welsh rugby's introduction of regionalisation meant their re-creation as the Scarlets and as the Ospreys, the ornithological name for the amalgamation of Swansea and Neath but the ferocity of competition between teams a mere 12 miles apart goes back a long, long way.

For those who cherish their history it will always be the Jacks against the Turks. The deriviation of Llanelli's is thought to be a reference to the armada of Turkish boats docking in the town during its halcyon days as Britain's latest producer of tin plate.

The Jacks' nickname is in memory of the black retriever reputed to have rescued more than 25 people from drowning during the 1930's. A monument to the most-decorated dog of his time, perhaps of all time, can be found on the seafront near the St Helens' ground where Swansea RFC still play in the Welsh Premier Division.

The ancient rivals meet in the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, a fixture made all the more appetising by the Ospreys' return to pole position on the strength of their five-pointer against Ulster.

For Phil Bennett, it is a derby which 'means everything to club and community.' Now president of the Scarlets, an honour he richly deserves after playing for them with distinction throughout his career, this is one fixture which, as far as he's concerned, stands out above the rest.

"As a youngster growing up in a village just outside Llanelli, my first memories were of my grandfather taking me to games at Stradey and of my first trip, way back in the Fifties when I was eight or nine going to watch the Scarlets at Swansea and understanding immediately why we wanted to beat them more than any other side in Wales."

Ieuan Evans, another Scarlet who, like Bennett, captained his country and played a starring role for the Lions, considers Friday's local argument as the latest re-enactment of a 'special fixture.'

He tells a story of a match from the early Nineties which put him in direct conflict with one of his best friends, the then Swansea full back and fellow-Lion, Tony Clement. "I remember taking a phone call from Tony before one game at Swansea," says Evans. "And Tony asking: 'Just want to check which advertising hoarding you want me to put you through during Saturday's game.'"

This one will guarantee the biggest Ospreys' home crowd of the season with the leaders hoping to improve on last year's figure of 13,201. The return one week later will guarantee the Scarlets their best of the season for a match which last year generated a record crowd at the Parc y Scarlets of almost 15,000.

Come Saturday the GUINNESS PRO12 leaders will be flat out for what would be a fifth straight win over their local rivals. While the Scarlets failed to score a try against the Blues in Cardiff last weekend, the Ospreys ran in four during the course of an exhilarating performance against Ulster.

Biggar wasn't exaggerating in describing the first 60 minutes as Ospreys' best of the season hitherto. A Swansea Jack and proud of it, justifiably so, the fly half is in the form of his life and heading towards another century of goals this season for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

After a weekend when the leadership of the table changed hands three times, from Munster to the Warriors and then from the Warriors to the Ospreys, a mere five points cover the top five positions. It provides an intriguing backdrop to a series of derby occasions other than the one in Swansea on Friday.

By midweek Munster had barely a thousand tickets left for their St Stephen's Day duel against Leinster at Thomond Park. After successive defeats against Clermont in the Champions' Cup and another in Glasgow last week, Munster will be busting a collective gut more than ever to avoid losing four in a row for the first time in five seasons.

Ulster, beaten in three of their last four matches, welcome Connacht to Belfast on Boxing Day with every seat sold. Up in Glasgow, the Warriors had long put up the sold-out signs at Scotstoun, scene of the first Scottish PRO12 Derby and the first leg of the 1872 Cup Final against Edinburgh on Saturday.

The last of this weekend's round of derbies is the Italian version - Zebre against Treviso in Parma on Sunday. A home win would strengthen Zebre's chances of qualifying for the Champions' Cup next season against opponents with nothing more than a solitary draw to show for their Guinness PRO12 efforts so far this season.

Whatever the outcome, they will all do it all over again next week - the derbies in Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. it's one of the most wonderful times of the rugby year….

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