In all 10 bonus points were won – a tally that equals the record for most in a round – while Round 1 saw wins for both Italian teams, Benetton Rugby and Zebre, in the season opener for the first time.
Fans in Cardiff, Galway and Belfast were treated to results that went right to the wire as every game was broadcast live in the UK by Premier Sports with eir sport (Republic of Ireland) and DAZN (Italy) also making their debuts.
Round 2 will have a lot to live up to but with a host of mouth-watering fixtures the Guinness PRO14 will be up to the test with Glasgow Warriors hosting Munster, Scarlets welcoming Leinster to West Wales and Ulster facing Edinburgh just some of this weekend’s headline fixtures.
On Friday night Munster(A1) take on Glasgow Warriors(A3) at Scotstoun (live on Premier Sports 2 & eir sport 1, 19:35) in a game that will have lasting consequences in Conference A come the end of the season with both of these former champions eager to make another title run. Munster hold a good record over Warriors, but Dave Rennie’s team are formidable at home having won all their regular season PRO14 fixtures last year at Scotstoun failing just once to collect a try-scoring Bonus Point.
Pipped to the Guinness PRO14 Final Series by this weekend’s opponents, Ulster(B3) will host Edinburgh(B6) (live on Premier Sports 1 & eir sport 2, 19:35) aiming to build on their opening win over Scarlets. Back-to-back victories would be a great way to start the new era under Dan McFarland, but Richard Cockerill’s team will be fully focused for this Conference B clash. Ulster have won their last six games at Kingspan Stadium, but Edinburgh will be buoyed by their two wins on Irish soil last season against Connacht and Ulster.
On Saturday Dragons (B5) will be out to make amends against the Isuzu Southern Kings (B7) (live on Premier Sports 1 & eir sport 1, 15:00)for their opening round defeat to Benetton. The Kings, however, will be buoyed by their performance in the loss to Zebre and having already beaten Dragons in Port Elizabeth may sense an opportunity to win their first away game in the Guinness PRO14 but the hosts will ensure that is not the case.
Galway plays host as Connacht (A6) take on Zebre(A2) (live on Premier Sports 2, TG4 17:15 & DAZN 18:15). Coach Michael Bradley returns to his former stomping ground having instilled a free-flowing attacking game at Zebre who have won their previous three encounters with the Westerners and their last four Guinness PRO14 games. Connacht, however, are looking to right the ship and showed plenty of encouraging signs under new head coach Andy Friend in their narrow defeat to Glasgow Warriors last weekend.
Ospreys (A4) will look to build on their win over Edinburgh by seeing off the Toyota Cheetahs(A7) (live on Premier Sports 1 & eir sport 2, 17:30) who need to regroup quickly after a heavy defeat to Munster. George North racked up two tries on his debut for Ospreys last weekend and he and his new region will want to continue that vein of form in order to put the disappointment of last season behind them.
If Benetton Rugby (B2) can get a positive result against Cardiff Blues (A5) here in Treviso (live on DAZN, 20:35 & Free Sports, 19:35) then the Stadio Monigo will continue to regain its former position as one of the toughest tasks on the fixture list. In Benetton’s opening season in the Championship they were robust at home and if they can emulate that it would go some way to their challenge of reaching the Guinness PRO14 Final Series. However, the Blues showed plenty of attacking intent against Leinster and harbour their own end-of-season ambitions.
DRAGONS v ISUZU SOUTHERN KINGS
Did you know?
- Dragons record against South African opponents in the PRO14 last season was won one, lost two.
- Isuzu Southern Kings lost out to Zebre in Parma in round 1 and have now been defeated in their last five Guinness PRO14 encounters.
- The Kings have yet to achieve an away win in the Guinness PRO14 with their most recent success outside South Africa being against the Jaguars in Buenos Aires in Super Rugby in June 2017.
- The two sides have met twice before with each side winning its respective home game last season - Kings only Championship victory to date.
Tickets for the home clash with Isuzu Southern Kings are on sale NOW!
Click HERE to buy online today or thanks to a new partnership with Leisure Trusts through the region you can also purchase tickets at the following venues:
Aneurin Leisure Trust are participating in the scheme at their venues at Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre, Tredegar leisure Centre and Parc Bryn Bach. Torfaen leisure Trust at their venues in Cwmbran Stadium and Pontypool Active Living Centre and Caerphilly CBC at Caerphilly, Risca, Newsbridge and at the Dragons training base in Ystrad Mynach Centre of Excellence
