GUINNESS PRO14: Semi-Final Qualifiers Preview
Following 147 games in the regular season, only six teams remain in the race to reach the GUINNESS PRO14 final on Saturday, May 26, and claim the title as the first champions of Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
It has been another terrific season as the GUINNESS PRO14 continues to go from strength to strength with attendances up 16%, another new try-scoring record set with a tally of 861 while, in European competition, teams from the Championship continued to best their rivals from other leagues.
The introduction of the Conference format means that more teams will compete in the PRO14 final series, with six teams involved compared to four in previous seasons. This means more jeopardy and more drama than ever before at the tail-end of the season which is renowned for producing incredible rugby.
This weekend’s semi-final qualifiers sees Edinburgh and the Toyota Cheetahs compete in knockout rugby in the Championship for the first time ever. With Glasgow Warriors and Leinster already safely through to the semi-finals having finished top of their Conferences, Edinburgh and the Cheetahs travel to Munster and the Scarlets respectively, aiming to upset the odds the create their own special piece of history.
Thomond Park will be a formidable battleground for Richard Cockerill’s Edinburgh team who come into this qualifier game against Munster after a superb season. Edinburgh’s 15 wins were matched only by Glasgow Warriors, a tally that also set a new club record for the team from Scotland’s capital.
Sky Sports, TG4 and BBC ALBA will broadcast the action on Saturday afternoon when Munster will be eager to set up a semi-final meeting with provincial rivals Leinster. Johann van Graan’s men lost last year’s final to the Scarlets and, after another season of consistency, the men in red will be aiming to go one step further this time around.
Meanwhile, Scarlets v Toyota Cheetahs is a mouth-watering pairing and a match-up that could create memories that last for many years to come as the defending champions take on the leading South African side. Both of these teams have been responsible for the most daring and exciting play in the PRO14 and now they meet with a semi-final trip to Glasgow on the line.
The Llanelli tie will be screened live by S4C and SuperSport as the Scarlets look to launch their title defence by playing a final series game at home for the first time. The Cheetahs have caught the imagination with their offloading game but they are yet to develop consistent results away from Bloemfontein.
The Scarlets continue to be lethal from turnover situations and with their free-flowing play, this game promises the perfect elements for an end-to-end spectacle that should showcase the best of the PRO14.
GUINNESS PRO14 SEMI-FINAL QUALIFIERS: Saturday, May 5
MUNSTER (2nd, Con A) v Edinburgh (3rd, Con B), Thomond Park, 3.15pm (live TG4/Sky Sports Action/Sky Sports Main Event/BBC ALBA)
Munster v Edinburgh tickets are available to buy via Ticketmaster.ie, from the Munster Rugby ticket offices in Irish Independent Park and Thomond Park, or by calling 061-421103.?
Scarlets (2nd, Con B) v Toyota Cheetahs (3rd, Con A), Parc y Scatlets, 6.35pm (live S4C/SuperSport 1)
Semi-Final 1: LEINSTER v MUNSTER/Edinburgh, the RDS, 3.15pm, Saturday, May 19
Semi-Final 2: Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets/Toyota Cheetahs, Scotstoun Stadium, 7.45pm, Friday, May 18
TOP PERFORMERS IN GUINNESS PRO14 AFTER ROUND 21 (Powered by Opta Statistics):
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
John Cooney (Ulster) 160
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 132
Jack Carty (Connacht) 131
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 127
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 110
TOP TRY SCORERS –
Barry Daly (Leinster) 12
Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 10
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 9
Mattia Bellini (Zebre) 8
Craig Gilroy (Ulster) 8
Monty Ioane (Benetton Rugby) 8
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) 8
Alex Wootton (Munster) 8
TOP TRY ASSISTS –
John Cooney (Ulster) 10
Luke McGrath (Leinster) 9
Ross Byrne (Leinster) 9
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues) 9
Shaun Venter (Toyota Cheetahs) 9
Marty Banks (Benetton Rugby) 9
METRES GAINED –
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) 1327
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 1294
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 1173
Clayton Blommetjies (Toyota Cheetahs) 1159
Jeff Hassler (Ospreys) 1076
MOST CARRIES –
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 228
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 228
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster) 225
Dan Evans (Ospreys) 204
Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) 199
CLEAN BREAKS –
Jeff Hassler (Ospreys) 26
John Cooney (Ulster) 24
Mattia Bellini (Zebre) 23
Makazole Mapimpi (Toyota Cheetahs) 22
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 21
Matt Healy (Connacht) 21
DEFENDERS BEATEN –
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) 64
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 64
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 61
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues) 56
Ashton Hewitt (Dragons) 55
MOST PASSES –
John Cooney (Ulster) 1410
Tom Habberfield (Ospreys) 1242
Marcello Violi (Zebre) 1156
Kieran Marmion (Connacht) 1032
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh) 806
MOST OFFLOADS –
Tom Farrell (Connacht) 44
Charles Piutau (Ulster) 30
Francois Venter (Toyota Cheetahs) 25
Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues) 22
James Lowe (Leinster) 22
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 22
KICKS FROM HAND –
Carlo Canna (Zebre) 136
Jack Carty (Connacht) 132
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh) 123
Ian Keatley (Munster) 111
Sam Davies (Ospreys) 103
MOST TACKLES –
Bobby de Wee (Southern Kings) 262
Paul Schoeman (Toyota Cheetahs) 243
Olly Robinson (Cardiff Blues) 243
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) 226
Andisa Ntsila (Southern Kings) 222
LINEOUTS WON –
Reniel Hugo (Toyota Cheetahs) 87
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 65
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) 63
Alan O’Connor (Ulster) 62
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) 61
TURNOVERS WON –
Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets) 37
Nick Williams (Cardiff Blues) 22
Michael Willemse (Southern Kings) 21
Robin Copeland (Munster) 18
Jean Deysel (Ulster) 18
For more statistics, please visit www.pro14rugby.org/powered-by-opta.