**The Guinness PRO14 is shorn of two fixtures this weekend with the Coronavirus outbreaks in Italy affecting the games concerning our Italian sides - which means Round 13 will not see Zebre vs Ospreys and Ulster against Benetton.** No doubt [Fantasy players](https://fantasy.pro14rugby.org/pro14/en/4/clienthome.do) would have had an eye on some of the players of the latter after an entertaining nine-try feast in Round 12 as the Cardiff Blues eventually overturned Benetton by five tries to four. Some of the top metre-makers of the round came from the men in green and white with top runner of the week Luca Sperandio only on the field for 54 minutes but still gaining 105 metres, more than any other player in Round 12. He was assisted by winger Monty Ioane with 92 metres and four defenders beaten, with No.8 Toa Halafihi grabbing two tries. It wasn’t enough though to beat the Welsh, who had five different try scorers in their ranks, including one from winger Jason Harries who also made four clean breaks. Full-back Hallam Amos showed why he’d been called back into the Wales squad that week, contributing 92 metres with the ball, but it was experienced out half Jason Tovey who pulled the strings with three conversions, a penalty and crucially two try assists. The Blues get back to winning ways, but they now travel to Conference B leaders Edinburgh in Round 13 and Richard Cockerill’s in-form men, despite missing many to International duty, seem to have an eye for the finish line at the moment. In the end they dispatched a stubborn Connacht side last week by 41-14. Wing sensation Duhan van der Merwe scored yet another try for the Gunners as well as beating five defenders. He now tops the competition for the season for metres gained and defenders beaten and has seven tries to his name. But it needed some grunt up front from the Edinburgh forwards to get through this one, two penalty tries and one apiece for props Pierre Schoeman and Simon Berghan to add to 12 points from Simon Hickey’s boot seeing the leaders home.
