Pro14 2017-18 season thread

razorblunt

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Been hearing a lot of hype about George Horne at 9 for Glasgow, to be fair he looks like a great player.

If he gets in at 9 for Scotland they could get something going big time.

Diabhal Beag

McNicholl beat two soft tackles in the last 2 minutes. Glasgow defending on that wing is non-existent with the offloading.

thelad95

Scarlets frighteningly good but Glasgow look so out of sorts.

Exclamation Marc

Glasgow are so off the pace in this.

So it looks like a repeat of the Champions Cup Semi Final or a repeat of last year's Pro12 Final.

Good final on the cards either way!

Eod100

I'd say Scarlets know the way to Dublin backwards at this stage

Jump_In_Jack

Scarlets look the best team out of the two semi finals,
Can’t see Leinster getting themselves fully recharged for it, but if Sexton, Kearney and Leavy can come back into the team and the first choice players are all fresh enough for their 3rd tough weekend in a row then they could put it up to Scarlets.
Fully expect Scarlets to have the game plan ready and the fresher players, so if Leinster are any bit off the pace Scarlets will run rampant again.

Tigerandahalf

The best 2 sides are in the final and playing the best rugby in the competition. I hope it is a good contest as these 2 can really throw the ball around.

I think Leinster would probably need a tighter gameplan as the Scarlets are very dangerous once the game gets loose.

It would be fun to try and pick the best 15 for the league season. Easy to forget names and some fellas haven't played enough.

Arhip the Ospreys TH had a very good season and would be my shout for no. 3.

Tadhg Beirne an easy one at 4/5.

Treviso have done well but I wouldn't know enough about them other than that guy at 6 who played very well.

Johnny McNicholl a possible shout at 15 while I think Steff Evans for 11.

Luke McGrath at 9? Patchell at 10?

James Ryan didn't play too many league games I think.

Any others?

Jump_In_Jack

Feel sorry for Scott Williams and George North signing for Ospreys next season.

Burkie1203

Jonathan Davies whinging on scrum v about the final in the aviva.

irishbucsfan

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Jonathan Davies whinging on scrum v about the final in the aviva.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed

prawnsambo

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Jonathan Davies whinging on scrum v about the final in the aviva.

Well, under the previous venue selection system it would still be in the Aviva. :rolleyes:

thomond2006

Wales didn't bid for the final. They have no reason to whine.

Eod100

prawnsambo wrote: »

Well, under the previous venue selection system it would still be in the Aviva. :rolleyes:

Between this and the comments about Aviva not being ''neutral'', Welsh fans need to read up on competition rules i think !

stephen_n

thomond2006 wrote: »

Wales didn't bid for the final. They have no reason to whine.

They’re Welsh

Neil3030

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Jonathan Davies whinging on scrum v about the final in the aviva.

Which one?

prawnsambo

Neil3030 wrote: »

Which one?

I assume it's Jiffy. He's usually on Scrum V.

pickarooney

What's the V in Scrum V for?

kuang1

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the V in Scrum V for?

Five?

pickarooney

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the V in Scrum V for?

Squatter

I read a comment in another forum that suggests that the two Pro 14 conferences will be re-jigged for next season - is this correct?

Presumably given that both Pro 14 finalists come from Conference A, one of them will be switched into Conference B next season. If this is true, then what team will replace them? Does anyone know how this will work?

molloyjh

Squatter wrote: »

I read a comment in another forum that suggests that the two Pro 14 conferences will be re-jigged for next season - is this correct?

Presumably given that both Pro 14 finalists come from Conference A, one of them will be switched into Conference B next season. If this is true, then what team will replace them? Does anyone know how this will work?

IIRC, the conferences were selected at random. I'd imagine they will put more structure on it, i.e. that the finalists can't be in the same conference. I wouldn't think it would be more than that. As it is there's very little else can be done given the split by country. Weighting finishing position across the board is dodgy given relative strengths of each conference etc.

Riskymove

Will the conferences be redrawn every season on merit? Yes. The number of teams by union will remain constant in each conference, but in order to ensure a competitive balance the teams will then be distributed evenly based upon their union ranking from the season before.

Final placings are determined by the order in which teams progress through the Guinness Pro14 Final Series. So for example the Scarlets finished third in the league format last season but went on to win the title. They would be seeded one in the Guinness Pro14 rankings the following season.

I think that means the conferences will be:

A Leinster, Glasgow, Cheetahs, Cardiff, Ulster, Dragons, Treviso

B Scarlets, Munster, Edinburgh, Ospreys, Connacht, Kings, Zebre

Riskymove

molloyjh wrote: »

IIRC, the conferences were selected at random.

no, they were based on the final placings in the Pro12 season

presumably the SA teams were random

stephen_n

Did the Scarlets and Munster not end up in separate conferences because they were last years finalists?

Bridge93

The conferences this year looked in hindsight quite lobsided towards Conference B but I think that's as much the nature of how teams perform in any given year. You can seed all you want but can't take account of Edinburgh and a Treviso flying it and Ospreys and Connacht struggling. It transpired:

Conference B had both finalists
Edinburgh massively more competitive than the Cheetahs in third respectively
Ulster 8 points better off than Cardiff in 4th
Treviso 11 points better off in 5th than Ospreys
It's only once you get to 6th place that Conference B is massively behind A.

Some may point to Treviso getting 3 games with Zebre but they lost one of them and the Cheetahs got an even easier 3 against the Kings
There won't be a perfect system

molloyjh

Riskymove wrote: »

I think that means the conferences will be:

A Leinster, Glasgow, Cheetahs, Cardiff, Ulster, Dragons, Treviso

B Scarlets, Munster, Edinburgh, Ospreys, Connacht, Kings, Zebre

If that is how it ends up then that's a joke. Connacht, Kings and Zebre are 3 of the 4 worst teams in the competition. And Ospreys aren't that far ahead of them as it stands.

irishbucsfan

molloyjh wrote: »

If that is how it ends up then that's a joke. Connacht, Kings and Zebre are 3 of the 4 worst teams in the competition. And Ospreys aren't that far ahead of them as it stands.

Surely Dragons and Treviso are 2 of the 4 worst teams?

Bridge93

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Surely Dragons and Treviso are 2 of the 4 worst teams?

Treviso came 8th of 14 if last year is the sole barometer they use

bennyl10

molloyjh wrote: »

If that is how it ends up then that's a joke. Connacht, Kings and Zebre are 3 of the 4 worst teams in the competition. And Ospreys aren't that far ahead of them as it stands.

Ulster dragons and Treviso are hardly world beaters either based on this year!

thomond2006

molloyjh wrote: »

If that is how it ends up then that's a joke. Connacht, Kings and Zebre are 3 of the 4 worst teams in the competition. And Ospreys aren't that far ahead of them as it stands.

Cheetahs are going to be a mystery tbf. They will have a full pre-season under their belts but their HC and many starters will be gone.