Connacht handed toughest opening match as PRO12 fixtures announced

To look at it another way, Glasgow Warriors have been handed the toughest opener of all the Guinness PRO12 sides.

Fixtures for the first 13 rounds of the PRO12 have been released and Connacht, the reigning champions, have been given the stand-out tie. Pat Lam's men will welcome Warriors to The Sportsground on Saturday, September 3 [5:15pm kick-off] in the opening game of their title-defending season. Connacht beat the Scottish side twice, in Galway, in the space of a fortnight at the tail-end of last season. Leinster and Ulster are both in action on the opening night of the season, Friday, September 2. The Blues welcome Treviso to the RDS while Ulster entertain Newport Gwent Dragons at Kingspan Stadium. Munster are the only province slated to play away from home on the opening weekend. They have a Saturday afternoon clash against Scarlets, the side they beat to Champions Cup rugby on the final day of last season. The first inter-pro games of the season are not until October. On Friday, October 7, Connacht welcome bogey-side Ulster to Galway. The following day, Munster will travel to Dublin to take on Leinster [2:15pm kick-off]. The game is down for TV coverage on Sky Sports and with the RDS as host but this tie could yet move to the Aviva Stadium. You can check out the full fixtures, rounds 1 to 13, here.