Pro 14 19-20

by the-goon Wed 24 Apr 2019, 11:18 am

Does anyone know what is being planned for the conferences for next year? Is it staying the same?

by tigertattie Wed 24 Apr 2019, 11:24 am

The conferences are being mixed up based on final standings from this year

But this is all a moot point as apparently the competition is dead........

by marty2086 Wed 24 Apr 2019, 11:27 am

tigertattie wrote:The conferences are being mixed up based on final standings from this year

But this is all a moot point as apparently the competition is dead........

That's just in Wales though, no ones watching there though so how can we be sure?

by the-goon Wed 24 Apr 2019, 11:46 am

Ok, let's assume on the off chance that we get 1 more year of this dross league to endure. Do we know how they will split up the conferences?

by marty2086 Wed 24 Apr 2019, 11:52 am

If it's dross why are you bothered then?

by the-goon Wed 24 Apr 2019, 12:04 pm

marty2086 wrote:If it's dross why are you bothered then?

I don't mean it. I enjoy the comp, try to catch as much as possible. Clearly my mocking sarcasm of the "pro 14 is dead" crowd doesn't come across as easily via the written word.

by **LondonTiger** Wed 24 Apr 2019, 12:17 pm

the-goon wrote:
marty2086 wrote:If it's dross why are you bothered then?

I don't mean it. I enjoy the comp, try to catch as much as possible. Clearly my mocking sarcasm of the "pro 14 is dead" crowd doesn't come across as easily via the written word.

Best to add some kind of smiley to show you are not serious. Unless you have a long history of supporting the Pro14 against the bashers, it would be hard for anyone to take plain text as anything other than genuine.

by Eejit Wed 24 Apr 2019, 1:07 pm

Still all to play for going into the last weekend of the dead Pro14. Meanwhile in the far superior Premiership that's definitely way better than the Pro14 Newcastle are going down barring a miracle, Irish are coming up for a season then going down again, Exeter and Saracens will win their semis and meet in the final - its nice knowing what's going to happen isn't it. Its like watching reruns.

I might be talking pish but I believe conference A will be something like
Leinster, Connacht, the 2nd and 3rd ranked dead Welsh teams (because the Pro14 is dead in Wales) along with Glasgow, Cheetahs and Zebre.

Conference B would therefore be:
Munster, Ulster, Edinburgh, Kings, Treviso and the remaining dead Welsh teams, one of which will be the Dragons.

by **profitius** Wed 24 Apr 2019, 2:25 pm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2019–20_Pro14_transfers

Current transfers for anyone interested.

by Guest Wed 24 Apr 2019, 2:48 pm

Surprising to see Gori released. Was looking like a shining star a few years ago. Italian rugby cannot seem to really hone potential still, too many players burning out too quickly/never really fulfilling their potential.

Also, surprised to see J. Sexton joining the Kings. Bit of a step down...

by TightHEAD Wed 24 Apr 2019, 3:20 pm

Better off having a proper league and ditching the Irish super clubs

by Guest Wed 24 Apr 2019, 3:59 pm

Looking forward to next season. Dragons’ final home game was on the 3rd March, two weeks before even the 6 Nations finished! So it’s a long old wait until September for another fixture. Fingers crossed for a better spread of home games next season

by TightHEAD Wed 24 Apr 2019, 4:09 pm

3rd March, that's shockingly early.

by **LondonTiger** Wed 24 Apr 2019, 4:21 pm

The Oracle wrote:Looking forward to next season. Dragons’ final home game was on the 3rd March, two weeks before even the 6 Nations finished! So it’s a long old wait until September for another fixture. Fingers crossed for a better spread of home games next season

I assume they are officially the home team this weekend?

There will only have been 3 games in that window I believe of which half teh teams will have 2 away games. At least one of teh official away games was only down the road in Swansea.

by **LondonTiger** Wed 24 Apr 2019, 4:25 pm

TightHEAD wrote:3rd March, that's shockingly early.

I would argue that for teh Bath fan their end of season run in has been worse:

Exeter, Twickenham, Gloucester, Sale, Rec, Leicester - just 1 out of the last 6 games at the Rec.

by Guest Wed 24 Apr 2019, 4:27 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
The Oracle wrote:Looking forward to next season. Dragons’ final home game was on the 3rd March, two weeks before even the 6 Nations finished! So it’s a long old wait until September for another fixture. Fingers crossed for a better spread of home games next season

I assume they are officially the home team this weekend?

Yeah, kinda. But still not! It’s like in some European competitions in the past where a team would get to play a ‘home’ fixture in their country but not at their home ground.

So I should say, last game at Rodney Parade was on 3rd March Smile

by Pot Hale Wed 24 Apr 2019, 10:33 pm

the-goon wrote:Does anyone know what is being planned for the conferences for next year? Is it staying the same?

Yes - they’re staying the same in order to build rivalries. Until the remaining two SA teams join and then they’ll probably change based on previous season rankings.

Allegedly.

by Guest Wed 24 Apr 2019, 10:50 pm

Pot Hale wrote:
the-goon wrote:Does anyone know what is being planned for the conferences for next year? Is it staying the same?

Yes - they’re staying the same in order to build rivalries. Until the remaining two SA teams join and then they’ll probably change based on previous season rankings.

Allegedly.

The articles I’ve read say they’ll be changed for next season. Hmmm.

by TightHEAD Thu 25 Apr 2019, 3:46 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
TightHEAD wrote:3rd March, that's shockingly early.

I would argue that for teh Bath fan their end of season run in has been worse:

Exeter Not too far, Twickenham Great day out, Gloucester Again not too far but castle grim is always a hell hole, Sale Who goes North to watch a game? , Rec Home sweet home, Leicester Bring it on. - just 1 out of the last 6 games at the Rec.

by RugbyFan100 Wed 29 May 2019, 12:34 pm

Will be very interesting to see what the attendance in the Cardiff City stadium is at next season's final.

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 12:38 pm

Pot Hale wrote:
the-goon wrote:Does anyone know what is being planned for the conferences for next year? Is it staying the same?

Yes - they’re staying the same in order to build rivalries. Until the remaining two SA teams join and then they’ll probably change based on previous season rankings.

Allegedly.

Latest I've heard is that, based on league finishing places, Leinster and Scarlets basically swap with Munster and Ospreys to make up the conferences. Anyone else heard this or can confirm?

by marty2086 Wed 29 May 2019, 12:40 pm

The Oracle wrote:
Pot Hale wrote:
the-goon wrote:Does anyone know what is being planned for the conferences for next year? Is it staying the same?

Yes - they’re staying the same in order to build rivalries. Until the remaining two SA teams join and then they’ll probably change based on previous season rankings.

Allegedly.

Latest I've heard is that, based on league finishing places, Leinster and Scarlets basically swap with Munster and Ospreys to make up the conferences. Anyone else heard this or can confirm?

That is what they are saying, just nothing official yet

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 12:49 pm

From now on do they base it purely on ‘meritocracy’, I.e. league finisher in 1st place to conference 1, 2nd place to conference 2, 3rd to conference 1, etc.......regardless of nationality? Or are they still trying to get an even spread of nationalities/derbies/rivalries in each conference like they did for the first year? Because just by chance I guess you could mathematically one year have all the Welsh or all of the Irish in the same conference if they happened to finish in 2,4,6,8 positions overall.

by marty2086 Wed 29 May 2019, 1:04 pm

The Oracle wrote:From now on do they base it purely on ‘meritocracy’, I.e. league finisher in 1st place to conference 1, 2nd place to conference 2, 3rd to conference 1, etc.......regardless of nationality? Or are they still trying to get an even spread of nationalities/derbies/rivalries in each conference like they did for the first year? Because just by chance I guess you could mathematically one year have all the Welsh or all of the Irish in the same conference if they happened to finish in 2,4,6,8 positions overall.

It has to be on nationality, otherwise the fixtures will be imbalanced surely?

by **profitius** Wed 29 May 2019, 1:16 pm

The problem is some teams have 10 home games and some have 11. If they swapped every year you could have an unlucky team who keep getting 10 home games every season.

by **profitius** Wed 29 May 2019, 1:18 pm

profitius wrote:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2019–20_Pro14_transfers

Current transfers for anyone interested.

Ulster doing the best business in the transfer market.

Leinster losing a few.

by wayne Wed 29 May 2019, 1:33 pm

Somebody put on our Forum at seasons end the following Conferences
A
Munster (Ire 1)
Connacht (Ire 4)
Cardiff (W 2)
Scarlets (W 3)
Glasgow (S1)
Zebre (Ita 2)
Cheetahs ( Sa 1)

B
Leinster (Ire 2)
Ulster (Ire 3)
Ospreys (Wal 1)
Dragons (Wal 4)
Edinburgh (S 2)
Treviso (Ita 1)
Kings (Sa 2)
This poster is normally very reliable, he didn't say where he had his information from.

by marty2086 Wed 29 May 2019, 1:37 pm

Simon Thomas saying on Twitter it's still to be confirmed, Munster and Leinster seem to be throwing a spanner in the works with Munster getting more points but Leinster being champions so who is number 1?

by RugbyFan100 Wed 29 May 2019, 1:40 pm

wayne wrote:Somebody put on our Forum at seasons end the following Conferences
A
Munster (Ire 1)
Connacht (Ire 4)
Cardiff (W 2)
Scarlets (W 3)
Glasgow (S1)
Zebre (Ita 2)
Cheetahs ( Sa 1)

B
Leinster (Ire 2)
Ulster (Ire 3)
Ospreys (Wal 1)
Dragons (Wal 4)
Edinburgh (S 2)
Treviso (Ita 1)
Kings (Sa 2)
This poster is normally very reliable, he didn't say where he had his information from.

Geoff999rugby over in the Ulster thread has assured us that these are not correct - because Leinster are apparently seeded 1st as they have won the Pro14.

by marty2086 Wed 29 May 2019, 1:40 pm

profitius wrote:
profitius wrote:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2019–20_Pro14_transfers

Current transfers for anyone interested.

Ulster doing the best business in the transfer market.

Leinster losing a few.

Cardiff and Connacht doing some good business too, Connacht due to add Jonny McPhillips on top of whats already announced

by **RDW** Wed 29 May 2019, 1:52 pm

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I had a look on the Pro 14 website for the rules on conferences and it basically says that, other than the standard national splits, it's basically up to them to decide who goes in which conference. i.e. it isn't necessarily based on where teams finish (although that would be a sensible way of doing things)

by SecretFly Wed 29 May 2019, 2:35 pm

Choosing who goes in which conference...on a whim as it were, surely open to suggestions of potential corruption and possible attempts to stage manage proceedings for profit or preference.
Now I personally wouldn't be one to bother about such stuff but there are those who would. After all, nothing is ever just whim. There is always reasons why you might favour a side in one conference of another.

by **RiscaGame** Wed 29 May 2019, 2:52 pm

wayne wrote:Somebody put on our Forum at seasons end the following Conferences
A
Munster (Ire 1)
Connacht (Ire 4)
Cardiff (W 2)
Scarlets (W 3)
Glasgow (S1)
Zebre (Ita 2)
Cheetahs ( Sa 1)

B
Leinster (Ire 2)
Ulster (Ire 3)
Ospreys (Wal 1)
Dragons (Wal 4)
Edinburgh (S 2)
Treviso (Ita 1)
Kings (Sa 2)
This poster is normally very reliable, he didn't say where he had his information from.

That'll probably be right, bar maybe Leinster and Munster possibly swapping. I would've loved to have had Connacht in Dragons conference, so I know I get an away trip there. I assume that that fixture will be at RP next season.

by **RDW** Wed 29 May 2019, 3:15 pm

There's been a lot of articles on rugby social media pages saying Glasgow and Leinster will be in the same conference.

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 4:34 pm

marty2086 wrote:
The Oracle wrote:From now on do they base it purely on ‘meritocracy’, I.e. league finisher in 1st place to conference 1, 2nd place to conference 2, 3rd to conference 1, etc.......regardless of nationality? Or are they still trying to get an even spread of nationalities/derbies/rivalries in each conference like they did for the first year? Because just by chance I guess you could mathematically one year have all the Welsh or all of the Irish in the same conference if they happened to finish in 2,4,6,8 positions overall.

It has to be on nationality, otherwise the fixtures will be imbalanced surely?

I know, but if we ensure an even nationality split then in theory we could by mistake have a lop sided conference with better teams in one and and easier 2nd conference, couldn’t we? Maybe a dual approach is needed. I.e. previous season league placing with a touch of tinkering to make it a fair distribution of nationalities. Possibly.

by marty2086 Wed 29 May 2019, 4:39 pm

The Oracle wrote:
marty2086 wrote:
The Oracle wrote:From now on do they base it purely on ‘meritocracy’, I.e. league finisher in 1st place to conference 1, 2nd place to conference 2, 3rd to conference 1, etc.......regardless of nationality? Or are they still trying to get an even spread of nationalities/derbies/rivalries in each conference like they did for the first year? Because just by chance I guess you could mathematically one year have all the Welsh or all of the Irish in the same conference if they happened to finish in 2,4,6,8 positions overall.

It has to be on nationality, otherwise the fixtures will be imbalanced surely?

I know, but if we ensure an even nationality split then in theory we could by mistake have a lop sided conference with better teams in one and and easier 2nd conference, couldn’t we? Maybe a dual approach is needed. I.e. previous season league placing with a touch of tinkering to make it a fair distribution of nationalities. Possibly.

Maybe but given the inconsistency year to year from some teams it is still a lottery to an extent, Cheetahs, Edinburgh and Scarlets would have expected to do better than they did this season, Benetton and to a lesser extent Ulster wouldn't have been expected to do as well. Maybe some cancel each other out but sometimes you just don't know what you'll get no matter how hard you try to balance things

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 4:44 pm

Dragons last home game was not 3rd March.

They had a later game which the WRU/Dragons moved to Cardiff

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 4:47 pm

Read the transfers link with a pinch of salt
For Ulster it is missing 4 departures - Herbst, Deysel, Browne and Ah You
and also missing one arrival - Hyde

by wayne Wed 29 May 2019, 4:55 pm

The WOL article concerning the awarding of next seasons final to the Cardiff City stadium which is not officially confirmed. Goes on to say that the Conferences will be different to this season with for example, Ireland 1&4 will be in with Wales 2&3. What it doesn't say is the teams that fill those positions. So we'll just have to wait and see until the setup is revealed.

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 5:33 pm

RugbyFan100 wrote:
wayne wrote:Somebody put on our Forum at seasons end the following Conferences
A
Munster (Ire 1)
Connacht (Ire 4)
Cardiff (W 2)
Scarlets (W 3)
Glasgow (S1)
Zebre (Ita 2)
Cheetahs ( Sa 1)

B
Leinster (Ire 2)
Ulster (Ire 3)
Ospreys (Wal 1)
Dragons (Wal 4)
Edinburgh (S 2)
Treviso (Ita 1)
Kings (Sa 2)
This poster is normally very reliable, he didn't say where he had his information from.

Geoff999rugby over in the Ulster thread has assured us that these are not correct - because Leinster are apparently seeded 1st as they have won the Pro14.

To clarify what I said was the league when first setting up the conferences said they were based upon finishing positions in the regular season and that the play offs were part of the regular season.
As a consequence Scarlets were 1st seed in the entire league that year.
If the same rule is applied this time then Munster and Leinster will be swapped from the above posting

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 5:34 pm

wayne wrote:The WOL article concerning the awarding of next seasons final to the Cardiff City stadium which is not officially confirmed. Goes on to say that the Conferences will be different to this season with for example, Ireland 1&4 will be in with Wales 2&3. What it doesn't say is the teams that fill those positions. So we'll just have to wait and see until the setup is revealed.

Ireland 1&4 and Wales 2&3 were in the same conference this year - that hasn't changed

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 8:53 pm

Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, is running with the same conferences as this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_Pro14

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 8:55 pm

geoff999rugby wrote:Dragons last home game was not 3rd March.

They had a later game which the WRU/Dragons moved to Cardiff

In fairness, I did clarify my point a couple of posts later! It was the last Dragons match of the season at our home ground (Rodney Parade).

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 10:16 pm

Fair enough Very Happy

by geoff999rugby Wed 29 May 2019, 10:16 pm

The Oracle wrote:Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, is running with the same conferences as this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_Pro14

I suspect that is because, like everyone else, they haven't been told the changes yet

by Guest Wed 29 May 2019, 11:08 pm

geoff999rugby wrote:
The Oracle wrote:Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, is running with the same conferences as this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_Pro14

I suspect that is because, like everyone else, they haven't been told the changes yet

Then why go to the effort of printing (possibly) incorrect info?! At best it’s a waste of time as someone will have to go in and change it all!

by Pot Hale Thu 30 May 2019, 12:29 am

geoff999rugby wrote:
RugbyFan100 wrote:
wayne wrote:Somebody put on our Forum at seasons end the following Conferences
A
Munster (Ire 1)
Connacht (Ire 4)
Cardiff (W 2)
Scarlets (W 3)
Glasgow (S1)
Zebre (Ita 2)
Cheetahs ( Sa 1)

B
Leinster (Ire 2)
Ulster (Ire 3)
Ospreys (Wal 1)
Dragons (Wal 4)
Edinburgh (S 2)
Treviso (Ita 1)
Kings (Sa 2)
This poster is normally very reliable, he didn't say where he had his information from.

Geoff999rugby over in the Ulster thread has assured us that these are not correct - because Leinster are apparently seeded 1st as they have won the Pro14.

To clarify what I said was the league when first setting up the conferences said they were based upon finishing positions in the regular season and that the play offs were part of the regular season.
As a consequence Scarlets were 1st seed in the entire league that year.
If the same rule is applied this time then Munster and Leinster will be swapped from the above posting

I put those possible conference that Wayne posted forward based on what was done in the first year - I understood it was based on regular season, and the unions decided individually as to the rankings of their teams based on their finishing position. Scarlets only finished 3rd on the table in the year they won the title 2016/17, but were the highest placed Welsh side in the league. So they would have been ranked No 1 by the WRU anyway for the following season when conferences were introduced.

This year, Munster finished ahead of Leinster on points during Conference Stage, but Leinster won the Finals stage. So it would be up to the IRFU to decide the respective ranking of the two. I wrote the post before the PRO14 final result was known. In the same post on the other thread, I also put forward other possibilities, as not much would change in the above scenario bar Scarlets and Ospreys switching conferences. So instead of Wales/Ireland 1&4 being paired with Ireland/Wales 2&3, that they might switch to Wales/Ireland 1&3 being paired with Ireland/Wales 2&4 respectively - thus, let's say that IRFU ranks based on conference stage places:

Munster 1
Leinster 2
Ulster 3
Connacht 4

And WRU ranks same way
Ospreys 1
Cardiff 2
Scarlets 3
Dragons 4

Then you could have Munster 1 and Ulster 3 combined with Cardiff 2 and Dragons 4 in Conf A. And Leinster 2, Connacht 4 combined with Ospreys 1 and Scarlets 3 in Conf B. Glasgow 1, Zebre 2 and Cheetahs 1 into Conf A, and Edinburgh 2, Benetton 1 and Kings 2 into Conf B.

Alternatively, if Leinster are ranked 1, and same 1&4 with 2&3 system is used:

Then Leinster 1/Connacht 4 get joined with Cardiff 2/Scarlets 3

by Guest Thu 30 May 2019, 9:29 am

Dragons 4th ranked welsh team?! Behave!

by marty2086 Thu 30 May 2019, 9:30 am

The Oracle wrote:
geoff999rugby wrote:
The Oracle wrote:Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, is running with the same conferences as this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_Pro14

I suspect that is because, like everyone else, they haven't been told the changes yet

Then why go to the effort of printing (possibly) incorrect info?! At best it’s a waste of time as someone will have to go in and change it all!

Wikipedia is user generated content

by Guest Thu 30 May 2019, 9:53 am

marty2086 wrote:
The Oracle wrote:
geoff999rugby wrote:
The Oracle wrote:Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, is running with the same conferences as this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_Pro14

I suspect that is because, like everyone else, they haven't been told the changes yet

Then why go to the effort of printing (possibly) incorrect info?! At best it’s a waste of time as someone will have to go in and change it all!

Wikipedia is user generated content

Oh I know that. I once added something about Jordan dating one of my mates (childish Very Happy

). Stayed on there for a few days. Just don’t see the point of putting this about the conferences up there now. It’s like putting up someone has died when they’re not quite there yet! #jumpingthegun

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