Tag Archives: pro12

Why Italy should stay in the Six Nations.

I take at look at some of the key battles ahead of this evening's game.

Warren Gatland believes that Rob Howley will quit Wales in 2019 and doesn't expect him to become the next Wales coach.

The PRO14, with new teams and unfamiliar structures, finally gets underway this weekend with three intriguing games on Friday evening. The league was officially launched last week in the Aviva Stadium and it gave us our first chance to see all the new jerseys together. And that got us thinking, who has the best one? So, after a lot of …

The future landscape of Guinness Pro12 league is still something of a mystery as clubs, players and fans are still no closer to knowing just how many teams will contest the forthcoming season or even what fixtures lie in wait for them. A mere month out from the start of the 2017/18 campaign and there is still no fixture list. …

With all the excitement surrounding the imminent arrival of the Southern Kings and the Cheetahs into the PRO12 for the coming 2017/2018 season, there is one, large elephant in the room which has yet to be dealt with.  And that is the performance both on and off the field of the two Italian franchises, Zebre and Treviso. These two sides …

The South African invasion of the European game looks set to continue unabated. Further to the expected announcement this week that the Southern Kings and Toyota Cheetahs are to join what will henceforth be known as the Pro14 competition, reports from South Africa have suggested that four more sides are in talks with Premiership Rugby to join the Anglo-Welsh Cup. …

The future of Welsh international Leigh Halfpenny has been thrown into further chaos as he looks for a new club. The fullback, recently home from New Zealand where he featured as a late replacement in the first of the three tests against the All Blacks, left Toulon at the end of last season after failing to agree terms on a …

Munster Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus made up his mind to return to his native South Africa months before an official announcement to that effect was made. The Irish province confirmed at the end of June that Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber would be leaving later in the year having invoked get-out clauses in their contracts, but IRFU chief executive …

Only last week, the news broke that two South African Super Rugby sides were set to join the Pro12 this coming September.  It had been reported for some time that the PRO12 was looking to expand the competition by inviting new teams from lucrative, untapped markets. With two South African sides cut from the competition as Super Rugby looks to trim …

Reports emerged last week suggesting the process of adding two Super Rugby teams to the PRO12 had quickly accelerated. BBC Sport Wales claimed that the Cheetahs and Southern Kings will leave Super Rugby this month and join the league this September. Fans are understandably very skeptical of the decision with fears arising over the logistics of adding southern hemisphere teams …

On Friday news emerged that the South African franchises of the Cheetahs, based in Bloemfontein, and the Kings, based in Port Elizabeth, could join the Pro12 as early as next September. Ahead of this huge potential change, we take a look at the three major stumbling blocks surrounding this introduction. 1. Travel Issues The trip to South Africa is a …

News broke this morning that South Africa’s Southern Kings and the Cheetahs could join the PRO12 in September. Reports had circled for a number of months that Springbok or Australian teams could join the league in the future but many had expected to take several years for it to materialise if it ever did. However, BBC Sport Wales are claiming both …

On Saturday evening Scotland made history, and the Lions’ latest tourist Finn Russell was right in the midst of it. The Scots have jetted Down Under just twelve times since 1970, and on nine of those occasions the hosts have won. Before Saturday’s game Scotland had won just two matches in Australia; once in 1982 and another back in 2012. …

Scarlets emphatically secured their maiden Pro12 title this year in somewhat surprising fashion against a much-fancied Munster side that have been on their best form in years after the untimely passing of head-coach Anthony Foley. For the second year in a row, Rhys Patchell was the tournament’s top points scorer – overtaking Kiwi Tyler Bleyendaal’s tally of 144 points in …

The Scarlets are the surprise package of the PRO12 season. The Welsh outfit were not expected by many to be in contention, but they fought hard throughout the year to secure a spot in the semi-final of the competition. In the play-offs, they were given the daunting task of taking on Leinster in the RDS. However, Ken Owens and Co. …

Despite being sent off in the first half of his side’s shock 27-15 victory over Leinster in the PRO12 semi-final at the RDS last Friday, Scarlets winger Steff Evans will be allowed to start against Munster in the competition’s decider this coming weekend. Having scored Scarlets’ opening try just ten minutes in, Evans saw red in the 38th minute for …