Showing posts with label pro12. Show all posts
North showing the way for impressive Scarlets
By David Blair
Three teams remain unbeaten after two intriguing rounds of the RaboDirect Pro 12. But it is the Llanelli Scarlets who have caught the eye most in the opening weekends. And with Munster and Ulster going head-to-head at Ravenhill on Friday evening the Scarlets look set to extend their advantage at the head of the table providing they can see off Connacht in round three.
It would be unwise to underestimate their opposition in Galway but a Scarlets victory seems the likeliest result given their impressive start to the campaign. The Welsh region has scored nine tries in their opening two fixtures including six for the backs in a dismantling of Leinster first up.
Three teams remain unbeaten after two intriguing rounds of the RaboDirect Pro 12. But it is the Llanelli Scarlets who have caught the eye most in the opening weekends. And with Munster and Ulster going head-to-head at Ravenhill on Friday evening the Scarlets look set to extend their advantage at the head of the table providing they can see off Connacht in round three.It would be unwise to underestimate their opposition in Galway but a Scarlets victory seems the likeliest result given their impressive start to the campaign. The Welsh region has scored nine tries in their opening two fixtures including six for the backs in a dismantling of Leinster first up.
Tackling Rugby's Attendance Problem
Empty seats have become a sight far too common in the modern rugby game. The World Cup last year helped to increase rugby's exposure with large media attention but attendances for first division matches have become disappointingly low.
One of the key issues in the professional era of rugby union is the low attendances of the top leagues in the Northern Hemisphere. The largest stadium in the Aviva Premiership is the Madejski Stadium, a football stadium, with a capacity of 24,161.
Welford Road, surprisingly not a football stadium, is Leicester's home ground and holds 24,000 people. Another football stadium, Vicarage Road, holds just shy of 20,000 and Kingsholm, a rugby stadium, has the fourth largest capacity with 16,500.
Glasgow take well deserved victory against Ospreys
The Ospreys made a strong start and probably underestimated strong oponents who fought back later on in the game. The Ospreys were lucky not be penalized any more than the single yellow card they received in the second half as the referee highlighted key disciplinary errors throughout for the Welsh side. Glasgow fully capitalized on Ospreys disclipinary problems by pouncing on them in the second half with a host of penalties and tries.