The Rabodirect PRO12 makes a welcome return after a five week break, that has seen Edinburgh Rugby join a record number of PRO12 teams through to the knockout stages of European Cup competitions.
Munster, Ulster, Leinster and Cardiff Blues join the club in the last eight of the Heineken Cup, while Scarlets have made the knockout stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup on an Easter weekend of European rugby >> Buy now and get 50% off Edinburgh Rugby v Toulouse in the quarter-final on Saturday 7 April!
Until then there are there are six rounds of RaboDirect PRO12 rugby to concentrate on, starting this Friday, as Edinburgh Rugby take on Ospreys at Murrayfield Stadium (kick-off 7.35pm) >> Click here to buy tickets for Edinburgh Rugby v Ospreys!
The second-placed Ospreys are aiming to continue their push for a home play-off spot and, with Munster taking on Aironi the Welsh region will wish to avoid a slip-up.
Edinburgh Rugby have won their last two games – both in the Heineken Cup, against Racing-Metro and London Irish - but have not won in RaboDirect PRO12 play since their 50-point triumph over Aironi at Murrayfield in December, having lost to and drawn with Glasgow Warriors over the festive break.
However Ospreys have not won on the road since their 17-6 victory in Connacht on 26 November, have lost on each of their last four visits to Scotland and have not been victorious at Murrayfield since 2 March 2007.
Elsewhere in the table, Leinster are nine points clear of second placed Ospreys and fourteen points clear of the fifth placed team, Scarlets, so have a good cushion to keep their campaign for the finals on track. However, just one point separates Glasgow Warriors from Scarlets, and a place in the play offs, so a win is crucial for either side.
Ulster and Blues are tied in the table on 31 points, but Blues still have a game in hand over their opponents, and both are facing teams from the lower reaches of the table, Dragons and Connacht respectively. However any idea of an easy victory for the home teams must be tempered by the realisation that any team can win on their day, as Connacht proved last time out in their final Heineken Cup pool game, overcoming English Premiership leaders, Harlequins.
