PRO14 to build on success with focus on South Africa

There may be a familiar look about the cast list for this weekend’s Guinness PRO14 semi-finals, as the two most titleholders, Glasgow Warriors and Scarlets, square up to each other in Scotstoun this evening.

With Leinster hosting Munster tomorrow at the RDS, the business end of the league campaign sports teams which have all featured in one or more of the last three finals, Glasgow beating Munster in 2015, Leinster losing to Connacht a year later, while 12 months ago Scarlets delivered a knockout blow to Ireland’s southern province in the showpiece event.

Same as it ever was, perhaps, but much has changed in the PRO14 since the Aviva Stadium hosted the 2017 decider and, if you listen to the league’s chief executive, Martin Anayi, we had better buckle up for further developments in the not too distant future.