i think that the ospreys and scarlets were always going to be up against it with the draws that they got. The scarlets were well in it against clermont until stoddart got sent off and priestland kicked the game away at home to leinster. In relation to the crowd afaik llanelli is smaller than galway and their region is a predominantly rural one similar to connacht so 9.5k isnt bad.

The ospreys being beaten away at welford rd is no surprise and many teams have succumbed to the pressure late on there but they will be dissapointed. in terms of attendance afaik they are at around 8k which isnt bad considering they are in the shadows of a premiership footie team.

The blues are rebuilding and still got 9k which wasnt bad consideriing recent results and ave around 7.5k to my knowledge.
The dragons conspired to lose against bayonne the other night and were involved in a ding dong with wsps away the week before but again came out the wrong side.they ave around 6k at home.

These arent bad figures for league rugby. THe AP ave attendance this season so far is 11.5k and thats distorted by the double header at twickers to start season. teams like wasps, sarries, london irish,welsh, exeter are at or below the regions figures regularly.

The scots are the worry as there attendances are abysmal and the rugby as bad.Glasgow are in the middle of a serious injury crisis which is a reas excuse but edinburgh are just terrible and again give the Pro12 a bad name.

Treviso did better at home v toulouse than we did last season and the zebre are what everyone expected them to be, nothing more.

the three big irish provinces are the only teams capable of competing with the bigger french and english teams atm. imo thats only because of central contracts and the player management system.
I read an interview with downey recently when he refered to the predetermined built in rest periods in his season at munster and compared it to saints where he only got that when injured.

The head to heads will tell a lot about this seasons competition.

Not a bad little signing for Warriors, missed ITM cup for Canterbury through a thumb injury apparently..

Crusaders star Maitland joins the Warrior Nation
23 October 2012, 11:48 am

Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby have today pulled off another major signing coup, landing Crusaders back-three star Sean Maitland.


The 24-year-old Canterbury man, equally adept on the wing or at full-back, is one of the most highly rated outside backs in Super Rugby, and qualifies to play for Scotland courtesy of both his paternal Grandparents who were born in Glasgow.

Subject to medical and visa, he will join up with the Warriors squad in the coming weeks, having put pen to paper on a contract that will keep him at Scotstoun Stadium until at least the end of May 2015.
Since making his Super Rugby debut in 2008, Maitland has scored some 24 tries, equaling the record for the most individual touchdowns in a single tournament game when he crossed the whitewash four times against the Brumbies in 2011.

He was a part of the New Zealand under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2007, and the under-20 side that scooped the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship. Maitland scored against Argentina, Ireland and Wales in that latter tournament.

In 2010, he represented the New Zealand Maori team, and commended himself to the British audience with two tries for the Crusaders at Twickenham in their showcase Super Rugby game against the Sharks in March 2011.

Head coach Gregor Townsend today hailed his latest signing, telling www.glasgowwarriors.org : "We're delighted to be welcoming a player of Sean Maitland's calibre to Glasgow Warriors.

"The back three is an area of the team where we already have a number of excellent options, and Sean will provide a further layer of quality as we enter another busy phase of the season.

"His try-scoring record in Super Rugby speaks for itself, and he's also a player who has a big appetite for self-improvement. He will be a fantastic addition to our squad and will, I'm sure, be very popular with our supporters.

"It's another indication of the increasing profile of Glasgow Warriors that a player of Sean's ability and ambition sees us as a club where he can continue to progress."

Maitland is the second high-profile addition to the Warriors ranks from Super Rugby in as many months. Former Lions and Golden Lions captain Josh Strauss has already made a significant impact in the Glasgow back row, scoring a try in the recent Heineken Cup match away to Northampton Saints.

Maitland has strong family lineage in the game, being a cousin of Wallabies pivot Quade Cooper. He is also related to "Smoking Joe" Stanley, the centre who helped New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup in 1987.

Yeah I was thinking about that myself. Was dismayed to see the attendance at the Scarlets game. It's just giving more ammunition to the English and French when it comes to negotiations on a new format for the Heineken Cup.

As for the Welsh most supporters have put there interest in the Wales National Team which has been fairly successful the last few years. Apart from Ospreys none of the other districts can say that they've draped themselves in glory.

having done research, i dont know why fans are not showing up in wales, great international side and between ospreys/cardiff/scarlets there squad is busting with internationals. money might be tight for supporters but not as many players play abroad as i thought.

Wales VS FRANCE, SEMI FINAL WC
1. Gethin Jenkins - TOULON FRANCE
2. Huw Bennett - ospreys
3. Adam Jones - ospreys
4. Luke Charteris - PERPIGNAN FRANCE
5. Alun Wyn Jones - ospreys
6. Danny Lydiate - dragons
7. Sam Warburton (c) - cardiff
8. Toby Faletau - dragons
9. Mike Phillips - BAYONNE FRANCE
10. James Hook - PERPIGNAN FRANCE
11. Shane Williams - MITSUBISHI DYNABOARS JAPAN
12. Jamie Roberts - cardiff
13. Jonathan Davies - scarlets
14. George North - scarlets
15. Leigh Halfpenny - cardiff
Replacements:

16. Lloyd Burns - RETIRED
17. Paul James - BATH ENGLAND
18. Bradley Davies - cardiff
19. Ryan Jones - ospreys
20. Lloyd Williams - cardiff
21. Stephen Jones - LONDON WASPS ENGLAND
22. Scott Williams - scarlets

7/22 plays outside of wales, 1/22 retired, 14/22 play in wales

LAST INTERNATIONAL VS OZ
15 Leigh Halfpenny - cardiff
14 Alex Cuthbert - cardiff
13 Jonathan Davies - scarlets
12 Ashley Beck - ospreys
11 George North - scarlets
10 Rhys Priestland - scarlets
9 Mike Phillips - BAYONNE FRANCE
1 Gethin Jenkins - TOULON FRANCE
2 Matthew Rees - scarlets
3 Adam Jones - ospreys
4 Bradley Davies -cardiff
5 Alun-Wyn Jones - ospreys
6 Dan Lydiate - dragons
7 Sam Warburton - cardiff
8 Ryan Jones - ospreys

5/22 play outside of wales, 17/22 play in wales

OTHERS
richie rees - edinburgh
alex brew - biarritz

Outside the Irish provinces things haven't gone well for the other Rabo sides which is a worry for the league and its credibility.

Even at that, Leinster at home against Exeter and Ulster at home against Castres are the only victories for Rabo teams against non-Rabo teams to date.I make it approx. 2 wins from 14 for Rabo teams against non-Rabo teams.

Game is pretty much up for all the Welsh sides in European competition already. Cardiff, Scarlets in HC and Dragons in Challenge Cup have yet to register a win between them. 2 bonus points between the 3 of them.

Ospreys have some hope but gave up a 5-0 to Leicester today and with Toulouse in that group as well face an uphill battle to continue their involvement in either European competition. They'll probably need a minimum of 5 from the Toulouse double header to get back in the reckoning which is a big ask.

Scots and Italians between them have yet to register even a lbp from 8 games.

Glasgow have had their moments in their first two games but pretty much are playing for 3rd spot at best at this stage.

Edinburgh after last seasons heroics have been an embarrassment this year.

Treviso had Toulouse worried for a bit but ultimately have 0 points from 2 games. Zebre will struggle to pick up much in our group.

All in all the figures don't make for pretty reading for the league. In a league thats struggling for interest and attendances outside of Ireland these results are not good news especially in Wales.