No room for South African or Italian sides in PRO14 team of the season

Irish and Scottish sides dominate the Guinness PRO14 team of the season so far, making up 13 of the 15 players selected.

No South African or Italian franchise players made the cut, which was selected off the back of Opta stats. The selection was based on players’ performances over 80 minutes, with a minimum of 400 minutes required for selection.

This meant many big-name international players will not have made the list, having simply not played the pre-requisite five matches worth of minutes. Ireland flyhalf Jonny Sexton – f0r example – didn’t play a minute of PRO14 rugby this season.

Just two Welshman made the cut, Cardiff Blues fullback Hallam Amos and Ospreys hooker Scott Otten. In total, six of the competitions 14 teams were represented.

The best-represented team were Ulster Rugby and Edinburgh Rugby with four, while Leinster managed three and Glasgow Warriors two.

Statistically, no one from the Cheetahs, South Kings, Zebre Rugby, Treviso, Munster, Connacht, Dragons, Scarlets made the fifteen.

The selected reflects the fine form of both sides. Edinburgh are two points clear of Munster at the top of Conferene B, while Ulster sit in second in Conference A behind Irish rivals Leinster.

PRO14 TEAM OF THE SEASON SO FAR:

Hallam Amos (Cardiff)

Robert Baloucoune (Ulster)

Nick Grigg (Glasgow)

Matt Scott (Edinburgh)

David Kearney (Leinster);

Peter Horne (Glasgow)

John Cooney (Ulster)

Peter Dooley (Leinster)

Scott Otten (Ospreys)

Tom O’Toole (Ulster)

Lewis Carmichael (Edinburgh)

Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh)

Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh)

Will Connors (Leinster)

Marcell Coetzee (Ulster).