Scarlets will be the main threat to Leinster
THE Guinness PRO14 – as it is now – is nothing like the league I played in. In its current guise the competition is easily the equal of the English Premiership or the Top14 in France and I believe there’s a very strong argument to say it’s actually better.
That’s why I’m so excited about the season to come because our Welsh regions, not to mention the teams from Ireland, Scotland, Italy and South Africa, are playing in a competition which will only continue to grow in the years to come. England and France, watch out!
In my career I was lucky enough to win the Celtic League a handful of times. It was never a walk in the park but there were weeks when you could take your foot off the pedal.
Any match away from home was always difficult, but when I was at the Ospreys and we played teams like Glasgow, Edinburgh and Connacht on our own patch, they were often easy wins.
That’s not to decry those teams, more to point out there were occasionally sides who came down to Swansea and knew we were always going to beat them. That’s not the case now.
If you look at the PRO14, it is hugely competitive and there are no walkovers. I wouldn’t say any team can any other because the likes of Leinster and Scarlets are clearly stronger than teams such as Southern Kings, Benetton and Zebre.
But at the same time, every team in every round will know they’re in for a real contest and my view of the campaign to come is that each side has strengthened.
I expect every outfit to continue to provide not only the quality of entertainment we saw last season, but also some successful rugby too.
When you look back and analyse the 2017-18 PRO14 season, it was a record year in terms of tries scored. The competition also provided the winners of both European trophies in the Cardiff Blues and Leinster and if you looked at the Champions Cup, three of the four semi-finalists were PRO14 sides. When you read that back to yourself, how can you not say the PRO14 is the best around?
I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but the brand of rugby being played in the PRO14 is unrivalled in my view.
The Scarlets aren’t the only team in the competition who look to play and what is fascinating is that the brand of rugby which is used in Wales, Ireland and Scotland could yet have a big impact on the World Cup.
In the PRO14, sides have realised you need a lot more than just a strong defence to be successful. In the best Wales sides I played in, we focused on our ‘D’ and realised we could win a lot of matches if we mastered that. What was the end result? We won Grand Slams and Six Nations titles.
That’s not enough anymore. Of course a resolute defence is still a vital part of a team’s armoury, but you also have to be able to work the opposition with your attacking game because, without that, you’re dead meat.
PRO14 sides have realised that and looked to be more expansive and that approach has transferred to their respective international sides. Scotland certainly look to play more rugby now and Ireland and Wales do too, despite what some people might say.
My view is that England and France have struggled to adapt in comparison and we saw them have poor Six Nations campaigns last season as a result. Has the nature of their domestic competition played a part in that? I certainly think so.
That’s not for the PRO14 or its teams to worry about though. Their concern is winning rugby matches. So, who is going to carry home the trophy in May?
Leinster are the clear and obvious favourites given the strength of their squad and their double last year, but what’s intriguing for me is the number of teams capable of shooting them down.
In Wales the Scarlets will once again be their main threat, but both Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys look capable of big things. Glasgow and a rejuvenated Edinburgh should also be troubling the scorers and the two South African sides will both be all the better for their first season in the PRO14 and also a proper rest over the summer.
They didn’t have that last time around after moving up from Super Rugby.
The end result will be the most competitive league season we’ve ever had and my hope is the ever increasing quality of the product on the field can continue to be matched by what happens away from the action in terms of commercial revenue, broadcast deals, and more.
When you analyse the PRO14 now, it contains some of the best players not only in Northern Hemisphere rugby, but in the world.
In Ireland there’s Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne and more. Wales’ four regions boast the likes of George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and Alun Wyn Jones and the Scottish sides have recruited very well too.
That’s not to mention the influx of top quality foreign talent. My tip is for Blade Thomson to have a very big impact for the Scarlets after his arrival from the Hurricanes.
When I look at the four Welsh sides as a whole, I’m not sure they’ve ever been in a better place as a collective.
In the past we’ve had one side do well and the others struggle. In the late 1990’s it was Llanelli and then the Scarlets leading the way. A decade later my Ospreys team won trophies, but in both those instances neither side never really had a Welsh rival to speak of.
Now it’s different with the Scarlets ahead of the pack, but with the Blues and Ospreys biting at their heels and the Dragons determined to improve on the back of some good summer signings.
It all bodes well for another hugely exciting 12 months and for me it’s going to be a pleasure to be involved on the media side of things for another season.
I’m looking forward to watching some more top class rugby. Bring on the action!
“Look at the PRO14 now, it is hugely competitive and there are no walkovers”