Ulster Rugby v Dragons

As the Guinness PRO14 season begins to settle into its groove we

have another juicy round of Championship action to enjoy this

weekend across all five countries.

Already we can see some of the early title contenders hit their stride with four of

our former Championship winners – Glasgow Warriors, Munster, Leinster and

Ulster – still undefeated as they stake their claim to challenge Scarlets for the

crown.

Scarlets went down narrowly to Ulster last week in a super game at Kingspan

Stadium, which was a great advert for the Guinness PRO14. This weekend, their

rivals, Glasgow Warriors and Munster, meet on that quick pitch at Scotstoun in a

clash that will likely end one team’s unbeaten start.

In Italy, Benetton Rugby will host Ospreys and the Italians will be full of

confidence after their come-from-behind win against Edinburgh, while Steve

Tandy’s men will be on their guard after they came unstuck on their last trip to

Treviso in March.

The Toyota Cheetahs welcome Leinster to Bloemfontein in a game that

promises plenty of attacking play. Last weekend, the Cheetahs showed their

flair, scoring eight tries against Zebre in a 13-try thriller against Zebre, and given

Leinster’s ambitious style of play this should be a fantastic match-up.

The expansion into South Africa has brought with it the introduction of a

Conference system and an extended Guinness PRO14 Final Series. The Top

3 from each Conference will qualify which gives your team an even greater

chance of reaching the knock-outs and emulating Scarlets’ sensational title win.

It’s also great for us to have SuperSport on board to broadcast our games in

South Africa while Eurosport have also continued on as our broadcast partners

in Italy which is terrific news for fans right across the Championship. In fact,

their addition to our stable of broadcast partners means that the Guinness

PRO14 is available in over 155 countries and territories across the world.

We’ve also worked closely with our unions to schedule those Derbies away from

international windows, too. Like you, we want to see the best players in the best

games because we are hugely proud of the 295 Internationals who played in the

Championship last season, not to mention the 26 called up for the British & Irish

Lions tour.

You only have to look at our recent champions in Scarlets, Connacht, Glasgow

Warriors and Leinster to see the type of adventurous rugby it takes to win our

title. Looking back to the previous campaign we saw a record number of tries

scored (711) while crowds were up and nowhere was that more evident than at

the Final at Aviva Stadium.

A new record attendance saw Scarlets’ scintillating play prove too much for

Munster in a game that showcased the attacking calibre of our Championship.

That’s one of the reasons that makes it so exciting to bring the first ever

Guinness PRO14 Final to Dublin on May 26, 2018.

I’m also delighted to say we will again implement an Early Bird oer for

fans who decide to back their teams and buy their tickets well in advance on

where prices start from €5 for Children and €30 for adults.

Martin Anayi

Chief Executive O¢cer