Ulster Rugby v Connacht

In the Guinness PRO14 we celebrate the great diversity that exists across our five countries, but the heritage and passion ingrained in our derbies is hard to beat which is why Round 6 will get the pulses racing. Derbies in Ireland and Wales headline what is a terrific line-up of Championship fixtures. The action kicks off on Friday night in Belfast with Ulster hosting Connacht, then Saturday’s fixtures see Scarlets and Ospreys duelling for supremacy in Llanelli, Dragons seeking to down Cardiff Blues in Newport before Leinster and Munster go toe-to-toe in Dublin. These games mean so much to our clubs and to their fans, but for the players there is international selection to consider as these games can count for so much when the likes of Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt sit down to pick their squads for the November Test window. The Championship has kicked off a serious pace this year and the level of competition has reached new heights across the opening five rounds. Every team has tasted defeat and only the Toyota Cheetahs are left in search of their first victory. The South Africans have come mightily close in the past two weeks with Ulster securing a late draw in Bloemfontein and then Cardiff Blues striking late to claim the spoils in the Welsh capital last weekend. Franco Smith takes his men to Edinburgh on Friday night where they will face Richard Cockerill’s team and it should prove a fascinating encounter between two sides who reached the Guinness PRO14 Final Series last season, but are yet to hit their top form so far this season. If Edinburgh and Cheetahs presence in the knock-out stages were a surprise last season, then Benetton Rugby could prove to be this year’s wildcard. Sitting fourth in Conference B, the Italians have a run of three games at home before their tour to South Africa and they could be in a very promising position by the time they play their first derby of the season against Zebre in December. I include Zebre, too, when I say that teams from Italy provide a serious challenge for their opponents now and their improvements have only benefitted our tournament to make it more competitive and unpredictable. Retaining that consistency will be key, as it will be for our South African clubs, too. The Cheetahs are regrouping after their initial success and the Isuzu Southern Kings, now with financial backing from their new ownership group, are showing signs of improvement and hopefully they will follow the path of Benetton and Zebre in really adding to the quality of the Guinness PRO14. Of course every year we see new faces emerge that add to the calibre of the Championship and already it’s been exciting to see the likes of Adam Hastings of Glasgow Warriors, Luca Sperandio of Benetton, Rabs Maxwane of the Cheetahs, Alex Wootton of Munster and Owen Watkin at Ospreys beginning to flourish. After today’s game you can keep up with the storylines written by these players and their teams by switching on or logging into our network of broadcast partners – Premier Sports, eir sport, Super Sport, TG4, S4C or DAZN – where live matches and highlights are always on offer. Close to 300 internationals played in the Guinness PRO14 last season with 76 of those making their Test debuts during the campaign which speaks to the great health and sustainability of our clubs. Naturally, everyone is fighting to reach the Guinness PRO14 Final at Celtic Park which will mark another historic chapter for our Championship as the showpiece game is being played at a non-rugby stadium for the first time. To get access to the best offers check our official accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or visit bit.ly/glasgow2019 to get your tickets. Enjoy the game, Martin Anayi Chief Executive Officer