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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
www.ticketmaster.iewhere prices start from €5 for Children and €30 for adults.
Martin Anayi
Chief Executive O¢cer