GUINNESS PRO14: Round 18 Preview

So many storylines have emerged during an historic season such as the Toyota Cheetahs’ push for a final series place in their debut season, the return to form of Benetton Rugby as part of an Italian resurgence, and Richard Cockerill’s impact at Edinburgh.

In addition, former champions such as the Scarlets, Glasgow Warriors, Leinster and Munster are all plotting their courses to the GUINNESS PRO14 final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, May 26 (see www.ticketmaster.ie or www.pro14rugby.org/final), as the Championship promises to deliver its best ever campaign.

Connacht take on Edinburgh on Friday at the Sportsground where the visitors are looking to extend their winning run to six in-a-row. Connacht still have a chance of making the Champions Cup play-off, while Edinburgh are aiming to make their first appearance in the PRO14 final series.

The Dragons welcome the Cheetahs to Rodney Parade, and the South Africans are in need of adding to their recent win over Connacht in order to keep their final series challenge in good health. The Dragons, however, will be are eager to rebound from their recent loss to the Southern Kings.

Glasgow Warriors face Zebre at Scotstoun Stadium having already secured their place in the PRO14 final series and now set their sights on locking down a home semi-final. Zebre, however, will have some Italian internationals returning and will hope to improve on their travelling record.

Saturday’s first game sees the Kings play Benetton Rugby in Port Elizabeth, and Deon Davids’ team will be buoyed by their first victory over the Dragons last time out. But Benetton need to keep the pressure on Ulster for the Champions Cup play-off, and a win here would prove very valuable.

Cardiff Blues are on a good run of form chasing the Cheetahs for a final series place and need to keep up their winning run against Ulster at Cardiff Arms Park. The Ulstermen need to regain some momentum and this result could prove pivotal for both teams.

The Opreys have started to find some form after a difficult start to the season. They take on Conference B leaders Leinster in Swansea on Saturday night. The hosts still have the opportunity to chase down a Champions Cup play-off place, but Leo Cullen’s men have proven difficult to beat all season and this should prove no different.

Saturday also sees Munster and the Scarlets meet in a repeat of last season’s Championship final at Thomond Park, with so much on the line. The defending champions cannot afford to lose any ground on Leinster in Conference B and Munster will feel likewise in Conference A, knowing that the Cheetahs and Cardiff are in pursuit. Both teams have shown robust consistency in the Championship for the last 18 months and this promises to be an intriguing affair.

GUINNESS PRO14 – ROUND 18 FIXTURES:

Friday, March 23 –

CONNACHT (5th, Con A) v Edinburgh (3rd, Con B), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)

Dragons (6th, Con B) v Toyota Cheetahs (3rd, Con A), Rodney Parade, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Wales/SuperSport 1)

Glasgow Warriors (1st, Con A) v Zebre (7th, Con A), Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm

Saturday, March 24 –

Southern Kings (7th, Con B) v Bennetton Rugby (5th, Con B), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3pm local time (live SuperSport 1)

Cardiff Blues (4th, Con A) v ULSTER (4th, Con B), Cardiff Arms Park, 3.15pm (live Sky Sports Arena)

MUNSTER (2nd, Con A) v Scarlets (2nd, Con B), Thomond Park, 5.30pm (live Sky Sports Arena)

Ospreys (6th, Con A) v LEINSTER (1st, Con B), Liberty Stadium, 7.35pm (live S4C/highlights TG4)

TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO14 AFTER ROUND 17 (Powered by Opta Statistics):

TOP POINTS SCORERS –

John Cooney (Ulster) 112
Jack Carty (Connacht) 108
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 101
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 97
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 93

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
Monty Ioane (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) 964
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
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 156

CLEAN BREAKS –

Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 22
Matt Healy (Connacht) 20
Jeff Hassler (Ospreys) 19
Mattia Bellini (Zebre) 17
John Cooney (Ulster) 17
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) 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) 695

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 –

Jack Carty (Connacht) 103
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 102
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 98
Marty Banks (Benetton Rugby) 92
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh) 91

MOST TACKLES –

Bobby de Wee (Southern Kings) 221
Andisa Ntsila (Southern Kings) 193
James Benjamin (Ospreys) 187
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) 183
Olly Robinson (Cardiff Blues) 183

LINEOUTS WON –

Reniel Hugo (Toyota Cheetahs) 76
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) 51
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 50
James Cannon (Connacht) 50
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 47

TURNOVERS WON –

Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets) 36
Michael Willemse (Southern Kings) 21
Nick Williams (Cardiff Blues) 19
Robin Copeland (Munster) 13
Will Boyde (Scarlets) 12

For more statistics, please visit www.pro14rugby.org/powered-by-opta.