Will Pro 12 underdogs continue to Surprise in 2016?

The usual suspects are beginning to climb to the top of the Pro12 table, but a couple of the underdogs are still fighting hard, and landing some haymakers.

It’s easy to put the success of Connacht and the Scarlets, sitting at number one and two, down to that ultimate playing field leveller, the world cup, but if we look back at some of the highlights from the first half of the season, the quality of play from these two teams has been astounding, not least Connachts historic win in Thomand Park.

Now, we’re staring down the barrel of Champions Cup knockout stages, league playoffs, and high-octane matches as no team can afford to concede a single point.

After the last few months, it’s hard to see how we’ll get the same rugby kicks as we’ve had this side of the season.

No Distractions

The Champions Cup quarter finals normally results in teams putting Pro 12 clashes on the back burner, resting players for league games in favour of fielding their big guns in the European tournament. But as it stands, the teams in the playoff zone in this league are unlikely to make it far, if at all, into the knock-out stages.

Although Ospreys are looking strong in Europe, and provided they keep Clermont at bay in January, could be playing their first quarter final in six years, they don’t however, look like a team that will be making their way to the league final in Murrayfield.

Leinster sit at the bottom of their pool, and Ulster look unlikely to get one of those second placed quarter final spots despite doing the double on Toulouse. Both teams are separated in third and fourth place, only by points different.

Scarlets will also have a free run towards the playoffs as long as they maintain their form, and it’s Connacht who’ll have to prioritise the Pro12 over Europe.

The Galway men have cut through their Challenge Cup group stage like butter, and actually have a decent chance of going the distance. If they do, they could end up being the only team fighting for a good playoff spot that still has to battle through gruelling knock out games on the other side of the continent. Remember, it only takes one or two big injuries to upset a teams’ run of form.

The pressure is, however, mounting behind the top four. Edinburgh, breathing down the necks of Ulster and Leinster in the table, will expect to take four or five points from Treviso at home, while Connacht will have another big test in the RDS arena in Dublin this Friday to decide if they deserve to be in the top two.

Notice I haven’t even mentioned the reigning champions? Glasgow are nine points off the top, and face a Scottish derby this weekend in an effort to climb back up into contention.

All said and done, just 10 points, or two bonus point wins, separate the top eight teams in a league of just 12.

The world cup may be over, but the legacy lingers. Roll on the second half of the season. I’m not even going to try and predict who’ll be in the final, but wouldn’t it be great to see two emerging and entertaining squads in green and red battle it out in neutral Scotland?