GUINNESS PRO14: Round 17 Preview
With only a quarter of the GUINNESS PRO14 season remaining, every point is precious as round 17 prepares to kick off across Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Teams from each country are still seeking to cement their place in the PRO14 final series or chase a play-off place in order to claim the seventh Champions Cup berth.
The first ever GUINNESS PRO14 final takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, May 26. See www.ticketmaster.ie or www.pro14rugby.org/final for full ticket information. This weekend will provide more clues as to whether the Scarlets can defend their title or if another champion side will emerge.
Cardiff Blues take on Benetton Rugby at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday, with the hosts looking to make it four wins in-a-row as they set their sights on Champions Cup qualification and even a final series place. The Italians, however, are in a good run of form and are looking to set their own record for most victories in a season.
Edinburgh welcome Munster to BT Murrayfield with a firm hold on the third final series place in Conference B. However, Munster are determined to reel in Conference A leaders Glasgow Warriors so there is lots to play for between two teams who are currently on course to meet in the semi-final qualifiers.
The Southern Kings have returned to the warm surrounds of Port Elizabeth to host the Dragons. The Kings are still searching for their first PRO14 win and they have come very close in a number of their home games, so Bernard Jackman’s men will keen to avoid any slip-ups here.
The final game on Friday night sees Ulster meet Glasgow Warriors in Belfast. The Warriors lost only their second Championship match of the season last weekend against Munster and face an Ulster team desperate to regain some momentum and apply pressure on Edinburgh.
Zebre face the Ospreys on Saturday evening in Parma where a win for the Italians will set a new record for most victories in a season and puncture the Ospreys’ hopes of climbing up in the race for the Champions Cup play-off place in Conference A.
The Toyota Cheetahs return to home comforts in Bloemfontein as Connacht make the trip in a fixture where both teams are in serious need of points. The Cheetahs are looking to arrest a slide of three defeats in-a-row, while Connacht need to hold off the Ospreys in the Champions Cup race, but their hosts are in good try-scoring form and they have lost just once at Toyota Stadium this season.
On Saturday afternoon, the Scarlets and Leinster meet in a game that will have a big impact on who finishes top of Conference B. The Scarlets left Dublin with a losing bonus point two rounds ago and will be looking to ensure Leinster leave Llanelli empty-handed. However, the four-time champions produced 10 tries in round 16 and their attacking game will be a big threat in this weekend’s most eagerly-awaited contest.
GUINNESS PRO14 – ROUND 17 FIXTURES:
Friday, March 2 –
Cardiff Blues (4th, Con A) v Benetton Rugby (5th, Con B), Cardiff Arms Park, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Wales)
Edinburgh (3rd, Con B) v MUNSTER (2nd, Con A), BT Murrayfield, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)
Southern Kings (7th, Con B) v Dragons (6th, Con B), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 7.35pm local time (live SuperSport 1)
ULSTER (4th, Con B) v Glasgow Warriors (1st, Con A), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland)
Saturday, March 3 –
Scarlets (2nd, Con B) v LEINSTER (1st, Con B), Parc y Scarlets, 3.15pm (live Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Action/highlights TG4)
Toyota Cheetahs (3rd, Con A) v CONNACHT (5th, Con A), Toyota Stadium, 7.35pm local time/5.35pm Irish time (live Sky Sports Action/SuperSport 1/highlights TG4)
Zebre (7th, Con A) v Ospreys (6th, Con A), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 6.30pm local time (live Eurosport Italia/S4C)
TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO14 AFTER ROUND 16 (Powered by Opta Statistics):
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
John Cooney (Ulster) 112
Jack Carty (Connacht) 98
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 96
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 93
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 86
TOP TRY SCORERS –
Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 10
Barry Daly (Leinster) 9
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 9
Craig Gilroy (Ulster) 8
Angela Esposito (Benetton Rugby) 7
Jordan Larmour (Leinster) 7
Alex Wootton (Munster) 7
TOP TRY ASSISTS –
John Cooney (Ulster) 10
Shaun Venter (Toyota Cheetahs) 9
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 8
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 8
METRES GAINED –
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) 1088
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 929
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 874
Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets) 809
Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 801
MOST CARRIES –
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 197
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 188
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster) 169
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 161
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 154
CLEAN BREAKS –
Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 22
Jeff Hassler (Ospreys) 19
Mattia Bellini (Zebre) 17
Matt Healy (Connacht) 17
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) 17
John Cooney (Ulster) 17
DEFENDERS BEATEN –
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 53
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) 48
Jordan Larmour (Leinster) 46
Renato Giammarioli (Zebre) 45
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 45
MOST PASSES –
John Cooney (Ulster) 1097
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 964
Marcello Violi (Zebre) 877
Kieran Marmion (Connacht) 856
Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues) 655
MOST OFFLOADS –
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 38
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 21
Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors) 20
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 20
Alex Wootton (Munster) 19
KICKS FROM HAND –
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 102
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 98
Jack Carty (Connacht) 95
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh) 88
Ian Keatley (Munster) 85
MOST TACKLES –
Bobby de Wee (Southern Kings) 202
Olly Cracknell (Ospreys) 182
James Benjamin (Dragons) 179
Andisa Ntsila (Southern Kings) 177
Paul Schoeman (Toyota Cheetahs) 172
LINEOUTS WON –
Reniel Hugo (Toyota Cheetahs) 73
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 47
Alan O’Connor (Ulster) 46
James Cannon (Connacht) 46
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) 46
TURNOVERS WON –
Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets) 32
Nick Williams (Cardiff Blues) 18
Michael Willemse (Southern Kings) 18
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 11
Derick Minnie (Zebre) 11
Jean Deysel (Ulster) 11
Robin Copeland (Munster) 11
Will Boyde (Scarlets) 11
For more statistics, please visit www.pro14rugby.org/powered-by-opta