In the last of our Guinness PRO12 previews we take a look at the teams outside of Ireland and see what they might bring to the table.
Who will step up and challenge the Irish provinces for the title this year? Will Glasgow be as strong as they have been in previous seasons? Can the Ospreys put a disappointing season behind them and emerge as genuine contenders this season? Can the Italian teams mark any sort of credible assault on the table this year? We’ll soon see.
Ospreys
Key Player: Alun-Wyn Jones
Last season: 4th
Prospects: The losses of Adam Jones, Ryan Jones and Richard Hibbard will severely hamper their title ambitions for the coming season. Those three are all Welsh internationals and have also represented the British and Irish Lions. As a result their pack looks a bit lightweight and could struggle in the wet and muddy conditions that will inevitably arrive come winter time.
Scarlets
Key player: Gareth Davies
Video via Pro12 Rugby.
Last Season: 5th
Prospects: They’ve lost homegrown talents George North and Jonathan Davies in successive seasons and are a bit short on cover in the backline division. The signing of Regan King will help to ease the loss of Davies but they still look a few players short of challenging for a top four spot.
Cardiff Blues
Key player: Sam Warburton
Last season: 6th
Prospects: Cardiff have strengthened their squad impressively over the summer and now look in a strong position to take a charge at the top four. The signing of Gareth Anscombe is a huge coup for the Welsh side and when you combine this with the signings of Josh Turnbull, Travis Knoyle and a few others, they have quite a rounded squad. They may end up challenging Ulster or Munster for fourth spot.
Newport Gwent Dragons
Key player: Toby Faletau
Last Season: 9th
Prospects: They have strengthened somewhat during the summer and the signings of Aled Brew and Lee Byrne will no doubt add a little flair in the backs. We expect a minor improvement for the often forgotten Welsh side and if they can improve their consistency, then that improvement could be a major one.
Glasgow Warriors
Key Player: Stuart Hogg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaCyCpIifqE
Video via RugbyVidsOfficial.
Last Season: 2nd
Prospects: They have the quality to make it to another play-off again this season. Gregor Townsend has done great work with the Scottish side and has created a strong squad. A solid pack combined with an exciting backline means they are one of the most appealing teams to watch in the competition. Keep an eye out for Irish centre James Downey, who joined from Munster in the off-season.
Edinburgh
Key player: Dave Denton (when he returns from injury)
Last Season: 8th
Prospects: What is going on with Edinburgh rugby? From Heineken Cup semi-finalists in 2012, they just about scraped eighth place in last year’s PRO12. Surely there are enough rugby players in Scotland to sustain more than one professional team? They haven’t strengthened enough to give us any reason to think they will improve this season. They will probably finish in the same spot or possibly even lower if they don’t shape up.
Treviso
Key player: Alessandro Zanni (pictured above)
Last Season: 11th
Prospects: Not good. They have been decimated by departures from the club and are really going to struggle this season. Expect them to be in a dogfight with fellow Italian side Zebre to try and avoid the bottom spot. They look a poor, poor side.
Zebre
Key player: Luciano Orquera
Last Season: 12th
Prospects: Slightly more positive but only because they look like they have a team on their own level in the shape of Treviso. May finally make the big jump to second from bottom if they can win those all-important Italian derbies.
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