Pro 14 - General Thread

[shreyathakare]

it seems really funny

[blockhead]

Benetton 18-10 Edinburgh FT:
8 points clear of Edinburgh in 4th and have Connacht, us and the Franchise next before an end of season derby. Could make Europe. Which would be wow.

[MylesNaGapoleen]

Benetton 18-10 Edinburgh FT:
8 points clear of Edinburgh in 4th and have Connacht, us and the Franchise next before an end of season derby. Could make Europe. Which would be wow.

fully deserved for treviso in my opinion if they do. they have been doing really well. O Shea has being doing some work at the club level and with their academies....here is hoping it brings italian rugby up a little.

watched the edinburgh game...treviso should have been out of sight by half time....fluffed so many chances in the edinburgh 22.

[paddyor]

Benetton 18-10 Edinburgh FT:
8 points clear of Edinburgh in 4th and have Connacht, us and the Franchise next before an end of season derby. Could make Europe. Which would be wow.

They’re undefeated since mid December. That’s Ulster Scarlets and Edinburgh they’ve taken points off.

[blockhead]

Scarlets 10-6 Munster

[MylesNaGapoleen]

Scarlets 10-6 Munster

wasn't great weather for rugby but Leinster South fluffed that. Loads of chances. Not sure if the ref was a bit anti munster....but in fairness to scarlets, a win is a win.

[blockhead]

Scarlets 10-6 Munster

wasn't great weather for rugby but Munster fluffed that. Loads of chances. Not sure if the ref was a bit anti munster....but in fairness to scarlets, a win is a win.

Every Ref is Anti-Munster, don't ye know that?
Never beaten by the better team.

[MylesNaGapoleen]

Scarlets 10-6 Munster

wasn't great weather for rugby but Munster fluffed that. Loads of chances. Not sure if the ref was a bit anti munster....but in fairness to scarlets, a win is a win.

Every Ref is Anti-Munster, don't ye know that?
Never beaten by the better team.

haha. Leinster south lost tonight. Leinster North up against the dragons tomorrow!

[dropkick]

wasn't great weather for rugby but Munster fluffed that. Loads of chances. Not sure if the ref was a bit anti munster....but in fairness to scarlets, a win is a win.

Every Ref is Anti-Munster, don't ye know that?
Never beaten by the better team.

haha. Leinster south lost tonight. Leinster North up against the dragons tomorrow!

Munster derangement syndrome in full flow I see. Lol

Leinster are well run so ye need some team to rant over. Its interesting observing it.

[Logorrhea]

Anyone else feel that the league has become kinda pointless? Not sure if its because of the conferences or the additional dip in the fortunes of Welsh regions but half the matches are pointless nowadays.

[blockhead]

Anyone else feel that the league has become kinda pointless? Not sure if its because of the conferences or the additional dip in the fortunes of Welsh regions but half the matches are pointless nowadays.

Conf 1-neck and neck for top spot with a dog fight for 3rd and all that that means
Conf 2- Leinster have run away with it (Last year there was a 2 point spread between the top 3 teams). And 4 teams fighting for 2 spots.
Pointless? Pointless? Its waaay more exciting than ever, more teams still with a chance of playoffs and europe.

[Peg Leg]

Anyone else feel that the league has become kinda pointless? Not sure if its because of the conferences or the additional dip in the fortunes of Welsh regions but half the matches are pointless nowadays.

Conf 1-neck and neck for top spot with a dog fight for 3rd and all that that means
Conf 2- Leinster have run away with it (Last year there was a 2 point spread between the top 3 teams). And 4 teams fighting for 2 spots.
Pointless? Pointless? Its waaay more exciting than ever, more teams still with a chance of playoffs and europe.

Yeah, feels pointless if you're not looking at the rest of the league. A couple more of Joe's extraditions and we'll be very interested.

[blockhead]

Simon Thomas@simonrug
I’m hearing increasingly encouraging noises about the prospects of CVC investing in the PRO14. That could be a game-changer for our regions in terms of financial security.

[Keith]

Simon Thomas@simonrug
I’m hearing increasingly encouraging noises about the prospects of CVC investing in the PRO14. That could be a game-changer for our regions in terms of financial security.

I got a bad feeling about this...

[paddyor]

Neil Fissler
‏Verified account @neilfissler

Understand players have been told today of a proposed merger between Ospreys and Scarlets. Working name of the club is Scarlet Ospreys, they will train in Swansea and play in Llanelli.
6:06 PM - 4 Mar 2019

[blockhead]

Neil Fissler
‏Verified account @neilfissler

Understand players have been told today of a proposed merger between Ospreys and Scarlets. Working name of the club is Scarlet Ospreys, they will train in Swansea and play in Llanelli.
6:06 PM - 4 Mar 2019

Irish Times

Welsh rugby is set for its most radical overhaul since 2003 with the country’s two most successful professional sides – Ospreys and Scarlets – poised to merge for as soon as the start of next season.
While Warren Gatland’s national side are just two victories away from a first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2012 having won their last 12 games, off the field political chaos has ensued.
Crunch talks over ‘Project Reset’ – the system by which Welsh rugby will be run moving forward – have been held between the Welsh Rugby Union and its four professional sides.
WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips has long been keen to establish a new outfit in north Wales, which has led to the current outfits – Dragons, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Scarlets – fearing for their future. It is understood Ospreys and Scarlets will combine to form a new team.
Discussions over what the new combined region will be called and where they will play are ongoing, but barring any last minute hitches an announcement is imminent.
Discussions between the WRU and its four regions over the last fortnight saw every option considered, but the Scarlets have stepped in to ensure the Ospreys have some sort of future.
The new franchise will have a higher budget than both the Ospreys and Scarlets respectively and the hope is the combined region will stand a chance of competing to win the Heineken Champions Cup.
Current contracts for players on both sides will be honoured. Incoming Scarlets head coach Brad Mooar and Ospreys boss Allen Clarke will both have future coaching roles at the new side.
It is also understood that initially the plans are to play Guinness Pro 14 fixtures out of Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli with European games at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium.
The side will train at Llandarcy, the home of the Ospreys as things stand.
Benefactors of both the Ospreys and Scarlets will pump money into this new entity and are confident it can become self-sustainable and successful over the next few seasons.
The Ospreys and Scarlets boast some of Gatland’s biggest Six Nations stars including captain Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Jonathan Davies, Justin Tipuric, Rob Evans, Samson Lee and Gareth Davies.
Those players are set to join together with recruitment plans for next season well underway.
An imminent amalgamation of the Ospreys and Scarlets – who have five Celtic League titles between them – means a new professional region in north Wales based in Colwyn Bay is imminent

Sounds like a right oul mess.
Scarlet Ospreys? Surely they could do better than that.

[paddyor]

[dropkick]

Neil Fissler
‏Verified account @neilfissler

Understand players have been told today of a proposed merger between Ospreys and Scarlets. Working name of the club is Scarlet Ospreys, they will train in Swansea and play in Llanelli.
6:06 PM - 4 Mar 2019

Irish Times

Welsh rugby is set for its most radical overhaul since 2003 with the country’s two most successful professional sides – Ospreys and Scarlets – poised to merge for as soon as the start of next season.
While Warren Gatland’s national side are just two victories away from a first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2012 having won their last 12 games, off the field political chaos has ensued.
Crunch talks over ‘Project Reset’ – the system by which Welsh rugby will be run moving forward – have been held between the Welsh Rugby Union and its four professional sides.
WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips has long been keen to establish a new outfit in north Wales, which has led to the current outfits – Dragons, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Scarlets – fearing for their future. It is understood Ospreys and Scarlets will combine to form a new team.
Discussions over what the new combined region will be called and where they will play are ongoing, but barring any last minute hitches an announcement is imminent.
Discussions between the WRU and its four regions over the last fortnight saw every option considered, but the Scarlets have stepped in to ensure the Ospreys have some sort of future.
The new franchise will have a higher budget than both the Ospreys and Scarlets respectively and the hope is the combined region will stand a chance of competing to win the Heineken Champions Cup.
Current contracts for players on both sides will be honoured. Incoming Scarlets head coach Brad Mooar and Ospreys boss Allen Clarke will both have future coaching roles at the new side.
It is also understood that initially the plans are to play Guinness Pro 14 fixtures out of Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli with European games at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium.
The side will train at Llandarcy, the home of the Ospreys as things stand.
Benefactors of both the Ospreys and Scarlets will pump money into this new entity and are confident it can become self-sustainable and successful over the next few seasons.
The Ospreys and Scarlets boast some of Gatland’s biggest Six Nations stars including captain Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Jonathan Davies, Justin Tipuric, Rob Evans, Samson Lee and Gareth Davies.
Those players are set to join together with recruitment plans for next season well underway.
An imminent amalgamation of the Ospreys and Scarlets – who have five Celtic League titles between them – means a new professional region in north Wales based in Colwyn Bay is imminent

Sounds like a right oul mess.
Scarlet Ospreys? Surely they could do better than that.

That's only a working title.

I hear they're going to be called the Chameleons.

[FLIP]

Welsh Rugby facebook and twitter full of the usual braying about "If we played the English more, people would come" and "I only support my club not the region". So why do they not go to watch their club either?

[nc6000]

It's all kicking off now.....

https://twitter.com/BBCSportWales/statu ... 9407071233