Leinster vs Ulster | PRO14 Final 2020

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GUINNESS PRO14 FINAL GUINNESS PRO14 2019|20 AWARDS WINNERS Leinster, Munster and Ulster are familiar faces when it comes to the Guinness PRO14 Final Series but Edinburgh’s arrival as a major force was one of the stories of the 2019/20 season. The Scottish outfit topped Conference B with 11 wins, finishing ahead of Munster, and that success has led Richard Cockerill to be named the Guinness PRO14 Coach of the Season. Edinburgh’s evolution from sleeping giant to major players has been gradual but since Cockerill’s arrival, they have travelled in just one direction. The Englishman joined Edinburgh in 2017 after a 12-year spell coaching at Leicester Tigers, including seven as head coach. There he won three English Premiership titles and made it to the final of the European Champions Cup, while as a player he won 27 England caps. Yet while Cockerill was forging a reputation as one of English rugby’s brightest young coaches, Edinburgh were drifting in the bottom half of the then-PRO12. Between 2010-2017, they failed to finish higher than eighth. When Cockerill arrived and the 14 clubs 56 COACH OF THE SEASON Richard COCKERILL (EDINBURGH) were split into two conferences, things changed. In his first season, Cockerill led Edinburgh to the Quarter-Finals, where they narrowly lost 20-16 to Munster, before they took a slight step backwards last season by finishing fifth in Conference B. However, under Cockerill’s watch, Edinburgh have developed some of the league’s finest players. Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn are all regulars in the Scotland squad and so it is no surprise Edinburgh have emerged this season. Head-turning wins against Scarlets (46-7), Munster (18-16) and Connacht (41-14) steered them to the Semi-Finals while they also secured a third successive 1872 Cup on the way, with two wins against rivals Glasgow Warriors. Ulster’s BT Murrayfield miracle may have denied them a place in the Final but they dominated their opponents for large portions of the game. Edinburgh may have been a surprise package this season but everyone is aware of them now. Richard Cockerill has played a massive part in that. DREAM TEAM They may have narrowly missed out on a place in the Final but Edinburgh can take some comfort from the fact that six of their players made it in the Guinness PRO14 Dream Team. Richard Cockerill’s side topped Conference B after winning 11 of their 15 matches and that impressive campaign has been recognised in the end-of-season awards. Edinburgh fill two of the back three spots, with winger Duhan van der Merwe an obvious pick on the left after he bagged seven tries and made more metres (971), more clean breaks (32) and beat more defenders (80) than anyone else in the PRO14. Scotland international Blair Kinghorn fills in at full-back, while Benetton’s Monty Ioane is the only player from an Italian club and gets the nod at No.14. Pace and power make up the centre combination of Ulster’s Ireland international Stuart McCloskey and the electric Cardiff Blues ace Rey Lee-Lo, while Jaco van der Walt – another Edinburgh player – and Ulster’s John Cooney get in at half-back. Cooney’s has followed in the footsteps of predecessor Ruan Pienaar to become a talismanic Ulster No.9 and he was also the league’s second-highest points scorer (105) behind only JJ Hanrahan. The pack is jammed full of talent and the front row combination of Edinburgh’s Pierre Schoeman, Toyota Cheetahs’ Joseph Dweba and Dragons’ Leon Brown is as fierce as it comes. 12|09|20 AVIVA STADIUM | DUBLIN
FINAL LEINSTER V ULSTER Leinster -who are targeting a Guinness PRO14 clean sweep in the Final – have their first player in at No.4, with imperious Australian Scott Fardy joining Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist in the engine room. 1 And two of Leinster’s glut of incredibly talented back-row players – blindside flanker Max Deegan and openside Will Connors – make up two thirds of that unit, alongside the everimpressive Bill Mata. 6 – EDINBURGH 3 – LEINSTER 2 – ULSTER 1 – DRAGONS 1 – CARDIFF BLUES 1 – BENETTON RUGBY 1 – TOYOTA CHEETAHS DREAM TEAM 2019|20 2 3 4 5 Pierre SCHOEMAN Joseph DWEBA Leon BROWN Scott FARDY Grant GILCHRIST 6 7 8 9 10 Max DEEGAN Will CONNORS Bill MATA John COONEY Jaco van der WALT 11 12 13 14 15 Duhan van der MERWE Stuart McCLOSKEY Rey LEE-LO Monty IOANE Blair KINGHORN GILBERT GOLDEN BOOT JJ HANRAHAN (MUNSTER) Munster’s JJ Hanrahan has been a crucial performer in his team’s path to the Guinness PRO14 Semi-Finals with his place-kicking coming to the fore. Hanrahan’s accuracy off the tee was 90.91% as he converted 50 kicks from 55 attempts. The Munster out-half has scored 121 points in 14 appearances this season. 12|09|20 AVIVA STADIUM | DUBLIN 57
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