Ulster Rugby vs Ospreys

Managing Director, PRO12 Rugby Welcome

What a compelling first four rounds we’ve enjoyed so far with six teams already in the hunt to reach the third ‘Destination Final’ in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 27, and that makes for some mouth-watering clashes this weekend. Only Ulster Rugby and Cardi Blues remain unbeaten in the Guinness PRO12 and that is a great credit to their respective coaches and players, but with just five points separating first place from sixth, it could all change this weekend. The last two teams to lift the Guinness PRO12 trophy – Connacht Rugby and Glasgow Warriors – were first-time winners and already Cardi Blues are putting forward a good case to join our circle of champions. Ulster Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors are all former title winners who have set the standards for others to follow and with so much at stake in every fixture across the Championship, we are watching some great rugby right now.† Already we have seen more tries scored across the first four rounds when compared to last season, which is a great advertisement for the adventurous rugby the Guinness PRO12 is built on. The top four are all in action against each other this weekend, but I’m really looking forward to†watching how Connacht Rugby rebound as they host Edinburgh Rugby at the Sportsground in Galway. I’m also keen to see how Newport-Gwent Dragons’ young team perform against Glasgow Warriors, while Benetton Treviso and Scarlets should put together a tasty encounter after both clubs picked up their first wins of the season last weekend. Despite†Zebre†Rugby’s narrow loss to Cardi Blues, it was encouraging to see Carlo Canna receive the Guinness Man of the Match award to make it an Italian double as†Tommaso†Allan also received the player of the game medal for his display against Newport-Gwent Dragons. Of course, we are just one week away from our first ‘Big Weekend’ where our Irish and Welsh clubs will all be involved in derby games as the Italians and the Scottish teams also take each other on. Enjoy the game, Martin Anayi