Pro14 2017-18 season thread

Neil3030

There's a great crowd at this Treviso match, have they been growing in popularity?

Tigerandahalf

Neil3030 wrote: »

There's a great crowd at this Treviso match, have they been growing in popularity?

What channel?

Former Former

Brilliant result for Treviso.

WTF is going on at Ospreys?

Hastentoadd

and munster get walloped. pro 14 wide open

Neil3030

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

What channel?

BBC2

thomond2006

Former Former wrote: »

Brilliant result for Treviso.

WTF is going on at Ospreys?

Tandy is done.

Great result for Benetton. They go to Glasgow next weekend though.

vienne86

Well done Treviso - 8 points for McKinley.

Tigerandahalf

Ospreys down to Cheetahs next weekend. That game and Cardiff Connacht are on bbc wales (Both Friday I think).

Open league so far.

Bit of a shame there are no games on Sundays.
A game on Sundays at 2pm or so would be handy.

The match centre on the Pro14 app seems to only show the one live game with no match scores for other games.

razorblunt

Hastentoadd wrote: »

What a difference a year makes. Edinburgh, rubbish last year, playing out of their skins this year. Treviso likely to beat Ospreys. Cheetahs beat Leinster. Connacht lose to Dragons. Its all good. Who really wants to see predictable results

The same Edinburgh that lost at home to Treviso last week?

Hastentoadd

razorblunt wrote: »

The same Edinburgh that lost at home to Treviso last week?

The same Treviso that beat Ospreys this weekend. Its all wide open and that adds a bit to the competition

CatFromHue

Are the Benetton family back with Treviso?

On the Pro14 site they're called Benetton Rugby and not Treviso.

They're on two wins already this season too and neither of them are against Zebre or Dragons!

thomond2006

CatFromHue wrote: »

Are the Benetton family back with Treviso?

On the Pro14 site they're called Benetton Rugby and not Treviso.

They're on two wins already this season too and neither of them are against Zebre or Dragons!

There's definitely been some kind of name change.

Neil3030

I know the Welsh are moving away from having geographically linked names, given the club allegiances they are trying to gloss over. Perhaps the Italians are doing something similar. Lord knows loyalties in the National Championship of Excellence are fierce.

thomond2006

Ospreys (H)
Glasgow (H)

---

2 week break

---

Zebre (A)
Connacht (A)

Those are the next four fixtures for Cheetahs before the break for the Autumn Internationals. 2 wins potentially? I'm sure the two break week before travelling to Zebre and Connacht will be welcome.

thomond2006

Ospreys:
15 Dan Evans, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ben John, 12 James Hook, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb,
8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith

Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 James King, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Kieron Fonotia

That was close to a first choice Ospreys lineup. What is going on there?!

thomond2006

thomond2006 wrote: »

Ospreys:
15 Dan Evans, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ben John, 12 James Hook, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb,
8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith

Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 James King, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Kieron Fonotia

That was close to a first choice Ospreys lineup. What is going on there?!

I thought they looked like they were completely falling apart at the end of last season and it seems that fall has continued. Did they change the coaching staff? Looks like they need to if they didn't.

Akrasia

That puts Munsters performance against them, and Glasgow in perspective.

A lot of work required to get up to speed before Europe starts

razorblunt

Hastentoadd wrote: »

The same Treviso that beat Ospreys this weekend. Its all wide open and that adds a bit to the competition

I think Edinburgh will be closer to the bottom again, poor signings, big test in Cardiff tonight for them.

bilston

I know we Ulster fans were very critical of Ulster after we failed to BP them out there a couple of weeks ago, and no doubt we let it slip through our own inadequacies, however I did feel on the night that in the second half Benetton played as well as I've seen them. It's good to see them doing well.

bennyl10

ClanofLams wrote: »

Good one benny....

They should really bring in a rule that you're only allowed post on here if you can form sentences properly.

Wtf?!!

It was a bit of banter, and a joke. There was obviously nothing serious about it at all!

If you’re going to be offended that easily you’re on the wrong website.. grammar nazi-ism also, well aren’t you just great..

But Seeing as offense is so easily caused, by some of our western friends, let me please say “LOL Cardiff LOL”

thomond2006

Kings 3-19 Zebre after 22 minutes.

This weekend has brought all the drama thundering back to the forum. The Pro14 has finally arrived ladies and gents.

ScrubsfanChris

Zebre beat the Kings 17 - 43 in what must be the teams biggest ever score and win, never mind away from home.

Erik Shin

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Zebre beat the Kings 17 - 43 in what must be the teams biggest ever score and win, never mind away from home.

They put 47 on the Dragon's before

OldRio

Well we have waited a while but we might, just might have an exciting competition. Twists and turns, upsets, controversy, week in week out.
Early days I know, but fair play to all concerned.

Tigerandahalf

Tadhg Beirne MOTM again against Edinburgh.
28 - 8 FT

He must have the highest turnovers in the league. Another 3/4 tonight.

Stef Evans looks a quality player too for the Scarlets. He will be in the Wales jersey shortly.

thelad95

If there's one worrying thing to come from this weekend, it's how cripplingly uncompetitive the Kings have been, I genuinely thought they would get off the mark yesterday but instead had their arses handed to them by the mighty Zebre.

Erik Shin

thelad95 wrote: »

If there's one worrying thing to come from this weekend, it's how cripplingly uncompetitive the Kings have been, I genuinely thought they would get off the mark yesterday but instead had their arses handed to them by the mighty Zebre.

People were saying that the cheetahs were worse.... quietened quite a few blowhards this weekend, give the King's time, they'll come good

thomond2006

Glasgow 18
Munster 14
Cheetahs 10
Connacht 7
Zebre 6
Ospreys 5
Cardiff 5

Ulster 18
Scarlets 16
Leinster 15
Edinburgh 10
Benetton 9
Dragons 4
Kings 0

Cheetahs vs Ospreys - BBCW
Glasgow vs Benetton
Leinster vs Edinburgh - TG4/BBCALBA
Scarlets vs Connacht - BBCW

---

Munster vs Cardiff - Sky Sports
Zebre vs Ulster - BBCNI
Dragons vs Kings - S4C

Erik Shin

Fancy us to hammer Cardiff next weekend, Keats and Hart to play

Erik Shin

Erik Shin wrote: »

People were saying that the cheetahs were worse.... quietened quite a few blowhards this weekend, give the King's time, they'll come good

What a weird post. The Kings won more Super Rugby games than the Cheetahs in the season gone.

thomond2006

Pity about the red card for Edinburgh. It was 14-8 to Scarlets at that point.

bilston

thomond2006 wrote: »

Glasgow 18
Munster 14
Cheetahs 10
Connacht 7
Zebre 6
Ospreys 5
Cardiff 5

Ulster 18
Scarlets 16
Leinster 15
Edinburgh 10
Benetton 9
Dragons 4
Kings 0

Cheetahs vs Ospreys - BBCW
Glasgow vs Benetton
Leinster vs Edinburgh - TG4/BBCALBA
Scarlets vs Connacht - BBCW

---

Munster vs Cardiff - Sky Sports
Zebre vs Ulster - BBCNI
Dragons vs Kings - S4C

Cheetahs v Ospreys looks a good game. If the Cheetahs were to win that then even at this early stage they'd have to be regarded as genuine play off contenders.

errlloyd

Zebre's win against Kings away was the most tries they've ever scored in a league game. Attendance looked a little better than it was for the Leinster game. Later kick off, no Rugby Championship and the potential of a win might have helped.

Side note, how good are the new highlights videos. We went through a few years of crap highlights videos, but this season the highlights are excellent.

errlloyd

errlloyd wrote: »

Zebre's win against Kings away was the most tries they've ever scored in a league game. Attendance looked a little better than it was for the Leinster game. Later kick off, no Rugby Championship and the potential of a win might have helped.

Side note, how good are the new highlights videos. We went through a few years of crap highlights videos, but this season the highlights are excellent.

They're good but Sunday is far far too late to have to wait for them. I want to be able to watch the highlights way before that. To be honest, I'd only really be fully happy if I could see the highlights of the matches before the matches themselves take place.

thelad95

Am I right in saying that tries used to be uploaded pretty much as they were scored?

Also, the league badly needs a dedicated highlights show and now that sky sports have been on board for a few years, I really wish they'd consider doing this.

Tigerandahalf

[Deleted User] wrote: »

They're good but Sunday is far far too late to have to wait for them. I want to be able to watch the highlights way before that. To be honest, I'd only really be fully happy if I could see the highlights of the matches before the matches themselves take place.

The MOTD soccer highlights don't go up on the iplayer until Tues 00.00. A pain when you don't have series link.

errlloyd

thelad95 wrote: »

Am I right in saying that tries used to be uploaded pretty much as they were scored?

Also, the league badly needs a dedicated highlights show and now that sky sports have been on board for a few years, I really wish they'd consider doing this.

Yeah there was one glorious year of that. We were totally spoiled. But these highlights are nice and long.

Dravokivich

errlloyd wrote: »

Yeah there was one glorious year of that. We were totally spoiled. But these highlights are nice and long.

It was the last year with Rabo Direct sponsoring it.

I wonder why it changed. Did Rabo Direct have any direction on the media content?

thomond2006

bilston wrote: »

Cheetahs v Ospreys looks a good game. If the Cheetahs were to win that then even at this early stage they'd have to be regarded as genuine play off contenders.

Leinster vs Edinburgh could be interesting also. Depending on the Leinster lineup that's a potential banana skin.

Deano7788

Not sure how much will be shown but there's a new show starting on Sky Sports Action Wednesday at 7.30pm called The Offload that's apparently a review of the previous week and preview of the upcoming. Time will probably be split across leagues though so I'd doubt there'll be much highlights, especially as it's only 30 minutes.

Homesick Alien

Much better highlights package available this week on YouTube. Shows some good chances and other incidents in each of the games

irishbucsfan

Danny Wilson is leaving Cardiff.

Completely understandable decision for him. He's a highly rated coach with very little to work with. If he's been told they're not intending to invest in the squad (as is rumoured) then it'd only hurt his reputation to remain there and go down with them. Welsh regional difficulties continue, the horror.

stephen_n

thomond2006 wrote: »

Leinster vs Edinburgh could be interesting also. Depending on the Leinster lineup that's a potential banana skin.

Could expect a lot of the Lions to start, but that doesn't always work out well in terms of cohesion.

Neil3030

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Danny Wilson is leaving Cardiff.

Completely understandable decision for him. He's a highly rated coach with very little to work with. If he's been told they're not intending to invest in the squad (as is rumoured) then it'd only hurt his reputation to remain there and go down with them. Welsh regional difficulties continue, the horror.

The capital city of a country claiming rugby as its national sport, with an enviable rugby stadium smack bang in the middle of same, and they can't seem to get it working. I wonder if they could learn any lessons from the GAA and what they did recently with Dublin football. Not that a similar approach would go down swimmingly with other regions!

Synode

Neil3030 wrote: »

The capital city of a country claiming rugby as its national sport, with an enviable rugby stadium smack bang in the middle of same, and they can't seem to get it working. I wonder if they could learn any lessons from the GAA and what they did recently with Dublin football. Not that a similar approach would go down swimmingly with other regions!

What did the GAA do with Dublin?

Neil3030

Synode wrote: »

What did the GAA do with Dublin?

I'm no expert but my taking is that the GAA ringfenced govt funds specifically for Dublin clubs, starting back in 2007. The thinking was that the sport faced significant challenges in the capital, both in terms of participants and spectators, from the likes of soccer and rugby. I'm sure the optics were also a factor, i.e., the capital city, the national game etc. (Or maybe they just did it because Bertie said so.) Either way Dublin are now a powerhouse.

Burkie1203

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Danny Wilson is leaving Cardiff.

Completely understandable decision for him. He's a highly rated coach with very little to work with. If he's been told they're not intending to invest in the squad (as is rumoured) then it'd only hurt his reputation to remain there and go down with them. Welsh regional difficulties continue, the horror.

They are rumoured to be cutting another £1m from the budget next season. 22 players out of contract in May 2018.

They bumped up ticket prices this season too.

Their crowds for the first few home games were down by ~1300 on the first few games last season.

irishbucsfan

Burkie1203 wrote: »

They are rumoured to be cutting another £1m from the budget next season. 22 players out of contract in May 2018.

They bumped up ticket prices this season too.

Their crowds for the first few home games were down by ~1300 on the first few games last season.

Something needs to be done, there's a huge amount of potential there. And the fans of course are allergic to the slightest notion of help from the NGB, which is hilarious, microcosmic of the national attitude these past few years...

cantwbr1

Neil3030 wrote: »

I'm no expert but my taking is that the GAA ringfenced govt funds specifically for Dublin clubs, starting back in 2007. The thinking was that the sport faced significant challenges in the capital, both in terms of participants and spectators, from the likes of soccer and rugby. I'm sure the optics were also a factor, i.e., the capital city, the national game etc. (Or maybe they just did it because Bertie said so.) Either way Dublin are now a powerhouse.

It actually started a bit earlier (2003/4 I think). The Dublin board prepared a development plan and costed the required number of Development Officers/coaches. The DCB committed to raising half the cost and the GAA provided the rest. It was sold as a long term project to develop Dublin GAA. And the results are being reaped now.

Given what we've seen from Welsh rugby I don't think there is the patience for such a process