Magners League / Cormac O'Keeffe / 18 September 2008 / Leave a comment

Cormac O'Keeffe takes a look ahead to where punters should be putting their hard-earned ahead of the latest round of fixtures...

Leinster and Munster showed why they are the first and third favourites respectively for the Magners League last week with stunning victories and they should both register wins again as the competition heads into its third week. Ulster should comfortably manage to register their first win, whilst Connacht have a realistic chance of victory. Let's take a look ahead to the games of interest for Irish rugby fans.

Leinster v Ospreys

The Donnybrook faithful were treated to some marvellous running rugby last Friday and a superb hat-trick by Luke Fitzgerald confirmed his status along side Rob Kearney and Keith Earls as the up-and-coming stars of Irish rugby. Leinster also have an impressive pack, even without the soon-to-arrive Australia star Rocky Elsom, and should edge this game by about 10 points. The Ospreys are joint top of the table after three games but have only really impressed in one of those wins (at home to Cardiff). The other two wins were narrow ones against Connacht and Glasgow and Leinster should have too much firepower for Wales' premier side.

Connacht v Glasgow

Unlike Ulster, Connacht haven't even secured a losing bonus point as of yet but should register at least that against a fairly weak Glasgow side, who only barely beat the Dragons in Week 1. Glasgow were better last week only narrowly losing to Ospreys but are very weak away from home. If ever one was to be tempted to back a nil all draw in rugby then this would be too tempting to resist. The two teams pose little attacking threat and the standout bet is for there to be under five tries in total.

Ulster v Newport-Gwent Dragons

Ulster are in dire need of a victory if they are to avoid having anything bar finishing below Connacht as their main Magners League goal. They couldn't ask for better opposition to register their first win. The Dragons were well and truly slayed by Munster last week and also lost in Week 1 to Glasgow. Ulster showed signs of improvement last week in Cardiff and were unlucky to lose. If they don't win this by at least 10 points then they really need to take a close look at themselves and you'd have to question why Matt Williams commands a salary at all.

Munster v Cardiff Blues

Munster were in sparkling form against the Dragons last week, running in seven tries on their way to a 50-6 win. They won't have it as easy against Cardiff on Saturday but they should still have enough maintain their 100% record in this year's league. This is Cardiff's third game against Irish opposition after a hard-fought draw against Leinster and a one-point win against Ulster. In their other match they were well beaten by tournament second favourites Ospreys. Along with Leinster, Munster have the best set of backs in the competition and this year have the strength in depth to be able to challenge for Magners League and Heineken Cup glory.

Recommended Bets:

I would recommend backing all four Irish provinces to win as an accumulator as well as backing each of them to win in the HT/FT markets. Ulster, Leinster and Munster should all comfortably win by at least 10 points and under five tries in the Connacht match looks to be a great bet.