Each game week Paul Williams ‘Black & White’ column will take a look around the world of the Guinness PRO14. Known for his contributions to Rugby World, his obsession for the game and his notorious tennis elbow, Paul will bring his unique takes on rugby to pro14rugby.org. With no grey areas, entertainment and enlightenment are assured. For more make sure to follow him on Twitter @thepaulwilliams GUINNESS PRO14 Bosses Europe There’s a fine line between praise and propaganda in rugby. A line so fine that even Cheslin Kolbe would struggle to navigate it. Every league involved in European competition will obviously big-up their teams, and their success, in this year’s tournament. Stats are stretched and tweaked so the respective leagues are always seen in a positive European light. But when it comes to the Guinness PRO14’s contribution to this year’s Champions Cup, the stats do not require the Donald Trump treatment, they speak for themselves. For the first time since 2012 the Championship has five teams in the last eight of the Champions Cup and the fixtures guarantee that two teams from the Guinness PRO14 will reach the Semi-Finals. The win ratio of PRO14 teams against teams from outside the Championship 64.7% this season and it stands at 55.88% over the past three years. But perhaps the most charming stat is the manner in which these achievements have been executed. The success hasn’t been achieved by playing set-piece/goalkicking dominated rugby, the Guinness PRO14 teams scored 131 tries between them. Before the English Premiership and Top 14 move their tanks onto my lawn, there have obviously been some fantastic performances from their teams also. But when you consider the difference in funding between some of those in the Guinness PRO14 and those in the English and French league, it would be particularly salty to not pay the PRO14 their dues. Scottish Rugby Making Huge Progress Scottish club rugby is on such a high that you could be forgiven for suspecting that the whole of the SRU and their supporters had spent the weekend in Amsterdam. Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors’s qualification for Europe is a stunning achievement and has capped what was a difficult restructuring process for the now two-team nation. But whilst many will lament the loss of other professional teams in Scotland, how can you argue with the success of the venture? With resources consolidated, both teams are now able to retain much of their talent and still have enough budget to attract the likes of Billy Mata. Edinburgh’s win over Montpellier was arguably the Guinness PRO14 performance of the weekend and proved that technique, not size is still the key to scrummaging – seeing Montpellier’s farmyard sized pack skating around Murrayfield was a rare sight indeed. Scottish Rugby has shown what can be done with some shrewd restructuring and a pooling of resources and long may it continue. WP Nel Goes Full Tadhg Furlong When we talk about the ultimate modern tighthead, Tadhg Furlong gets all the retweets and favourites. Furlong is now revolutionising the tighthead role in the same way that the loosehead role was redefined in the early-mid 2000s by players like Gethin Jenkins, etc. But if you’re looking for a ‘Tighthead 2.0’ performance, look no further than WP Nel’s against Montpellier – it was stunning. At the scrum, Nel moved more French meat than a grill-chef on Bastille Day. Nel contributed to a 100% scrum completion (11 from 11) and a total penalty count of just 4 – a key indicator of good scrummaging. As impressive as his scrummaging was, it was the reverse through the legs pass that really caught the eye. That a tighthead can even sperate their thighs is a remarkable achievement, to throw a perfect pass through that fleshy ravine is nothing short of witchcraft. Well played WP. Owen at Home in the Fast Lane There are some fantastic young wings in the Guinness PRO14. Jacob Stockdale and the increasingly impressive Duhan van der Merwe being the most obvious. Both players are hugely impressive over 40m and even if you weren’t impressed with their times over 40m, and you told them so, they’re both big enough to lift you off the floor and throw you in a bin. Cardiff Blues’ Owen Lane can also be added to that fast, bin-throwing collective. At a shade under 6ft 2inches tall and 16 stone, he is the blueprint of a modern winger. And whilst his physique is impressive, it’s his speed that shredded Lyon at Cardiff Arms Park. Having been given a freakshow pass from the immaculate Tomos Williams, Lane scored in the corner, untouched. ‘Untouched’ makes it sounds like there was no defender in place and that Lane merely ran in a massive overlap. But that wasn’t the case. Using his centre as a decoy, he ran a perfect in-to-out leaving Alexis Palisson stranded in YouTube land. Lane’s try was 50m of winger’s perfection and he has been very unlucky not to make Warren Gatland’s Six Nations’ squad. Well played, Owen. The Guinness Six Nations will be Hyper Competitive Ireland are rightly favourites for this year’s Six Nations. They have a squad so deep that it contravenes Fracking legislation. But that doesn’t mean that this year’s tournament will be an Irish parade. Quite the opposite. There are five teams who can genuinely win the title. Such are the quality of squads, even with injuries, that England, Wales, Scotland and France can genuinely compete. In seasons gone by, injuries to key players meant that certain squads had no chance of winning the title before a ball had been kicked or a supporter’s tweet has been sent in anger. There are so many fantastic young players who can and will make a difference in the tournament. But the one with arguably the most potential is Glasgow and Scotland’s George Horne. He has the feet and gas of a teenager, but the brain of a test Lion. Keep an eye on his impact from the bench for Scotland. He’s got it all.
