Seven Things We Learned From The First Seven Rounds: 1/7

It’s wide open!

The hugely competitive nature of the BKT URC this season is illustrated by the fact there have been new league leaders after every round of matches, with five different sides occupying top spot.

Here’s how the merry-go-round has spun so far.

Round 1 - Vodacom Bulls

Round 2 - DHL Stormers

Round 3 - Connacht Rugby

Round 4 - Vodacom Bulls

Round 5 - Leinster Rugby

Round 6 - Glasgow Warriors

Round 7 - Leinster Rugby

It looked as though we were finally going to have the same table toppers for consecutive rounds a couple of weeks ago.

With just seconds to go in the final game in Round 7, Glasgow Warriors remained in pole position thanks to the losing bonus point they picked up against Munster in Cork.

But then, in the last play out in Galway, full-back Ciaran Frawley crossed for Leinster to earn them a 24-22 win over Connacht which took them back to the top of the table.

The league’s competitiveness is also reflected by first and tenth being separated by just 11 points.

Then there’s the number of close contests we’ve had.

In all, no fewer than 29 matches have seen margins of seven or less points between the sides, including two draws.

That’s meant a host of losing bonus points which could prove invaluable in the final shake-up.

No team has been involved in more tight affairs than Cardiff Rugby with every one of their games going down to the wire.

The points margins in their seven fixtures have been 1, 7, 6, 6, 0, 7, 6, including a draw away to Zebre Parma.

It was the same story in their most recent game, with just seven points between them and Bath in a ten-try Investec Champions Cup thriller at the Arms Park.