Ulster Rugby v Cardiff Blues

The arrival of Round 10 means we are almost at the half-way point of the regular season and teams right across the Guinness PRO14 still have so much to play for. The introduction of the Conference format was a necessity when we expanded into South Africa, but one of the knock-on benefits was the expansion of the Guinness PRO14 Final Series which means that more teams have more to play for. In Conference A right now, everyone fromMunster down to Cardiff Blues will feel confident they can join GlasgowWarriors in reaching the knock-out stages. It’s been another terrific start to the season for the Warriors under Dave Rennie who has his entire squad playing off the same hymn sheet. During the international window Rennie’s men have returned two bonus-point victories which speaks to the calibre of their squad and the quality of young players coming through. It’s a mirror image in Conference B with Leinster setting the pace and also picking up maximum points in the past month. Scarlets, Ulster, Edinburgh and Benetton Rugby are battling for what looks like two Final Series berths which puts so much emphasis on this weekend before we head into the Festive derby matches. An indication of the improvement of the Championship this season can be seen in the competitiveness of the teams lower down in the Conference tables. Teams outside of the top three in each conference have an average of 17.5 points which compares to only 14 points after Round 9 and that’s really pleasing especially with every side having managed at least one victory. On the international front, it would be remiss of me not to congratulate our teams and players on an incredible November. Firstly, Ireland after beating the All Blacks have now been named World Rugby Team of the Year, thanks in part to their Coach of the Year Joe Schmidt and Player of the Year, Leinster’s Johnny Sexton. That’s a sensational achievement for everyone involved and great to know that all of those players ply their trade in the Guinness PRO14. Ireland, Scotland and Wales also combined to win seven of eight fixtures against top-tier Southern-Hemisphere opposition (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand & Argentina) with nine players from the Championship also making their Test debuts. As for this weekend, we have games taking place in Ireland, Scotland and Wales with Connacht and Benetton Rugby finishing up their two-match tours in South Africa. The Toyota Cheetahs and Isuzu Southern Kings will enter their mid-season break after this weekend and get back to action in January, so they will be eager to sign-off on a winning note. Right now the excitement and warm-weather atmosphere of the Guinness PRO14 Final might seem a long way away, but every team in the tournament is dreaming of winning the trophy at Celtic Park on May 25. However, without even making a tackle you can guarantee your place by going direct to bit.ly/glasgow2019 to get your tickets. In the last week we have seen a huge number of you take advantage of our Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers so make sure to our official accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for future offers. Enjoy the game, Martin Anayi Chief Executive Officer