Pro12 - Improving or still lacking?
It has been another phenomenal year of rugby with some of the highlights including England lifting the Six Nations trophy way back in March, Leinster defeating Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in May and New Zealand winning their second World Cup trophy in front of their own fans in October.
However, one aspect of the game that has come under heavy fire for some time now is the RaboDirect Pro12. The Pro12 league, containing sides from Italy, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, with clubs from the two latter nations dominating the league in recent years, continues to be criticised. Why is this?
Attendances in the Pro12 are on the up, as highlighted in the Christmas fixture between the Scarlets and the Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets on Boxing Day where the attendance was just below 15,000. Yes, Scarlets v Opsreys is a local derby and is expected to attract larger viewing figures but the game, like many others in the Pro12 league, was also screened live on the BBC. But this has also been seen as one of the main reasons that attendances in the Pro12 league are significantly lower than those in the Aviva Premiership. The Pro12 league can be viewed after paying a TV licence fee whereas the Aviva Premiership is broadcasted on pay to view platforms.
Performances of the Pro12 clubs in the Heineken Cup so far this season have surpassed those of the teams from the English and French leagues. Munster and the Scarlets top Pool One ahead of English Premiership side Northampton and French club Castres. Edinburgh and Cardiff Blues occupy the top two spots in Pool two and Pool 3 is lead by Leinster and Glasgow Warriors. Ulster are in pole position of Pool 4but they are closely followed by Leicester Tigers and Clermont Auvergne in a group where Aironi are rock bottom. The only pool that is currently being led by an Aviva Premiership side is Pool 5 where the Saracens lead the way ahead of Biarritz and the two Pro12 sides Ospreys and Treviso. Connacht, who are currently making their Heineken Cup debut, are propping up the other three sides in Pool 6, the only pool that is currently being led by a French side, that side being Toulouse.
The Heineken Cup has seen four rounds of matches pass so far this season and English outfit Bath have already failed to qualify for the latter stages of the tournament after suffering a brace of defeats to current Pro12 leaders Leinster. But the greater significance of this was the reaction of Bath coach Brad Davis following the 52-27 defeat to the current Heineken Cup champions on December 17:
"They (Leinster) are able to rest their key men and are able to target these Heineken Cup games, Whereas with the Premiership you're in a week in, week out grind and then you've got to lift yourself for these games, you've got to come back to the Premiership which is attritional. They would have an advantage in terms of freshness. But looking at their game they are able to maintain their accuracy, speed and tempo for not only spells but for the whole 80 minutes. They put you under relentless pressure, and you don't have the chance to slip up."
Is this fair? To an extent I think it is because Leinster did rest players for their match against the Blues who were missing eight internationals after Wales' fixture against Australia at the Millennium Stadium at the beginning of December. On the other hand, Bath are underperforming this season and they currently lie in 10th place, only eight points ahead of bottom club Newcastle so it could just be that Bath aren't playing well enough and used that as an excuse for their humiliating defeat.
The issue could be debated all night long, but the argument will continue until and beyond the Heineken Cup final at Twickenham in May as to whether or not the Pro12 is as good as the Top 14 and the Aviva Premiership.
