Guinness PRO12 Previews Round 22
With just one point separating the four teams at the top of the table, the line up for the Guinness PRO12 Play-Offs will not be confirmed until the final whistle is blown on round 22. And with Leinster guaranteeing their spot in Europe’s top tier next season, three teams are left battling it out for the remaining automatic place in the tournament, or to be the PRO12’s representative in a qualifying round.
Just two teams are involved in a direct head to head battle for home field advantage in the Guinness PRO12 Play-Offs, second placed Glasgow Warriors hosting fourth place Ulster. Glasgow, having led the table for six of the last eight rounds, know any slip-up could let Ospreys and Munster take the coveted top two places. Ulster’s destiny may not lie in their own hands, as even a win at fortress Scotstoun may not be enough to claim a home tie.
Ospreys emphatic win over Warriors last time out meant they reclaimed the top spot they had held for all but two of the first 13 round. Ospreys will have to overcome a Connacht team themselves battling for European qualification if they are to remain at the top of the table and hope that their fellow Welsh region Newport Gwent Dragons will pull off a victory over Munster in Cork.
Scarlets and Edinburgh are the other two teams involved in a three way fight for the last remaining automatic place in the 2015/16 European Champions Cup, Scarlets perhaps having the edge by being four points ahead of their nearest rivals, but nothing can be taken for granted in this competition and as it enters the last round, 10 of the 12 teams still have a viable route to the Champions Cup awaiting them.
The calculators will be out as the teams take to the pitch in an unprecedented finale to 132 enthralling games.
