As the European pool stages are consigned to history for another year attention is swiftly diverting back to the Guinness PRO14 and its increasingly dominant clubs. With the exception of the Isuzu Southern Kings and the Toyota Cheetahs the Guinness PRO14 clubs have not been in domestic action for a fortnight but will pick up the baton having shone in Europe. We now know of course that for the first time since 2012 the Guinness PRO14 will be represented by five teams in the Champions Cup quarter-finals, with Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors, Ulster, Munster and Leinster all reaching the knock-out stages. Connacht also made it to the final eight of the Challenge Cup but as we now fly back into Championship action, here’s a reminder of how things stand in the Guinness PRO14. Conference A With nine wins in 13 matches, Munster sit proudly atop the Conference A table with 44 points. The men from Thomond Park are in fine form at present and as they prepare for a fixture at Dragons this weekend, they do so having vanquished Exeter, Gloucester, Connacht and Leinster on successive weekends. Just two points behind them are Glasgow Warriors, who will be keen to get back to the top of the pile following their confirmation of a place in the Champions Cup quarters. The Warriors may have overcome Cardiff Blues in Europe in the meantime but before that were having a bit of a stumble domestically – losing out to Benetton and Edinburgh. Ospreys had won three in four heading into the European break and enter Round 14 of the Guinness PRO14 on 37 points, level with Connacht. Connacht themselves are facing an intriguing fixture this weekend, away at the Blues, who are five points behind the Galway-based province in the Conference. The Cheetahs, fresh from their 24-17 win over the Isuzu Southern Kings, have won their last two games and lie sixth, with Zebre seventh. Conference B Similarly to Conference A, there’s an Irish-Scottish one-two at the top of the division as Leinster sit 19 points above Edinburgh. Leinster have 11 wins in 13 and most recently in the Guinness PRO14 downed Ulster 40-7, although they did lose out to Munster in Round 12. Second-placed Edinburgh head to the Kings on Saturday and they do so in stellar form, having powered past Montpellier and Toulon in Europe and triumphed in their last three Guinness PRO14 fixtures – including that famous derby double over the Warriors. In third, Benetton are level with Edinburgh on 35 points and continue to impress – their last four Guinness PRO14 fixtures have yielded wins over the Kings, Zebre (twice) and Glasgow. Scarlets are fourth on 34 points and Ulster are just below on 33, but with the possibility of rising as high as second after this weekend when they take on Benetton. The Dragons are sixth and host Munster on Saturday, while the Kings are seventh and face Edinburgh.
