2020–21 Pro14
The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the Guinness PRO14 for sponsorship reasons) is the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It is also the fourth season to be referred to as the PRO14 (the competition was named the Pro12 immediately prior to the addition of two South African teams).[1][2]
| 2020–21 Pro14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Italy Scotland.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Date | 2 October 2020 – 27 March 2021 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Twelve teams will compete in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. Neither of the two South African teams will compete this season, with the Cheetahs unable to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Southern Kings having entered into voluntary liquidation due to heavy financial losses.[3]
Due to the delays experienced during the 2019–20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later than usual on the 2 October 2020.[4] Leinster are the defending champions, having defeated Ulster 27–5 in the 2019–20 final to defend their title and complete a hat-trick of title wins.[5]
On 23 December 2020 it was announced that the 2020-21 PRO14 season will conclude on 27 March 2021 after 16 rounds, and will be followed by the Rainbow Cup, a competition featuring the four former South African Super Rugby sides, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers. The Rainbow Cup will consist of a pool stage with two pools of 8 teams, followed by a final between the pool winners, and will run from April 17 to June 19 2021.[6]
Teams
| Team | Coach / Director of Rugby |
Captain | Stadium/
Stadia |
Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benetton |
 Kieran Crowley |
 Dewaldt Duvenage |
Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso | 6,700 |
| Cardiff Blues |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} John Mulvihill Dai Young (interim) |
Ellis Jenkins |
Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 |
| Connacht |
Andy Friend |
Jarrad Butler |
Galway Sportsgrounds | 8,129 |
| Dragons |
 Dean Ryan |
Rhodri Williams |
Rodney Parade | 8,700 |
| Edinburgh |
Richard Cockerill |
Stuart McInally |
Murrayfield Stadium | 67,144[lower-alpha 1] |
| Glasgow Warriors |
Danny Wilson |
Fraser Brown Ryan Wilson |
Scotstoun Stadium | 7,351 |
| Leinster |
Leo Cullen |
Jonathan Sexton |
RDS Arena Aviva Stadium |
18,500 51,700 |
| Munster |
Johann van Graan |
Peter O'Mahony |
Thomond Park Irish Independent Park |
25,600[lower-alpha 2] 8,008 |
| Ospreys |
Toby Booth |
Justin Tipuric |
Liberty Stadium | 20,827 |
| Scarlets |
Glenn Delaney |
Ken Owens |
Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 |
| Ulster |
Dan McFarland |
Iain Henderson |
Kingspan Stadium | 18,196 |
| Zebre |
Michael Bradley |
Tommaso Castello |
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | 5,000 |
Competition format
- League Stage
The twelve teams are split into two conferences of six teams, with each conference featuring two teams from Ireland and Wales plus one team from Italy and Scotland.[7] To ensure a competitive balance, the teams are distributed approximately evenly between the conferences based upon their performance in the previous season.[8]
The regular season will consist of 16 rounds, a home-and-away double round robin with same conference opponents (10 matches), and a home or away tie against each team in the other conference (6 matches). This represents a reduction from previous years, due to a delayed start and in order to make space for the PRO14 Rainbow Cup to be played following the conclusion of the season, which will introduce former Super Rugby teams into the Pro14 competitions.[9]
- Final
The top-ranked team in each conference will meet in the final on 27 March 2021.
- Champions Cup Qualification
The organiser of the European Rugby Champions Cup, EPCR, has not yet confirmed the format for the 2021–22 tournament. If the usual qualification rules apply, at least seven PRO14 teams would qualify. The top three teams in each conference would qualify automatically. Previously, the winner of a playoff match between the fourth-ranked eligible teams in each conference became the seventh qualifying team. However, the organiser has confirmed that no play-off game will be used for European qualification this season and that rankings after round 16 will be used to determine which teams will qualify.[10] The seventh qualifying team would be the fourth-ranked team which accumulated the most match points.
It is unclear if there will be any further qualifiers as it will influenced by the format of the 2021-22 tournament and, potentially, the final placings in the 2020-21 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.
Team changes
South Africa
Southern Kings entered liquidation in September 2020 and therefore withdrew from the league, while the Cheetahs will not compete due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
It is expected that the four former South African Super Rugby sides, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers, will join an expanded tournament beginning in the 2021–22 season, after this was what was voted on by the South African Rugby Union.[11] This leaves the future of the Cheetahs in doubt, but they will likely be withdrawn from the PRO14.
Table
| |||||||||||||||||
| Conference A | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS | |||||
| 1 | Leinster |
11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 396 | 161 | +235 | 56 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 50 | ||||
| 2 | Ulster |
11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 335 | 180 | +155 | 45 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 46 | ||||
| 3 | Ospreys |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 215 | 217 | -2 | 24 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 27 | ||||
| 4 | Glasgow Warriors |
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 177 | 222 | -45 | 21 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 15 | ||||
| 5 | Dragons |
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 168 | 253 | -85 | 19 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||||
| 6 | Zebre |
11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 157 | 355 | -198 | 15 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 13 | ||||
| Conference B | |||||||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS | |||||
| 1 | Munster |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 292 | 185 | +107 | 34 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 42 | ||||
| 2 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 278 | 243 | +35 | 37 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 32 | |||||
| 3 | Cardiff Blues |
12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 174 | 203 | -29 | 19 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 26 | ||||
| 4 | Scarlets |
12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 200 | 227 | -27 | 20 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 25 | ||||
| 5 | Edinburgh |
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 165 | 223 | -58 | 18 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||||
| 6 | Benetton |
10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 161 | 249 | -88 | 21 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 5 | ||||
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order -[12]
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams that will compete in the Pro14 Final, and also earn a place in the 2021–22 European Champions Cup Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the 2021–22 European Champions Cup | |||||||||||||||||
Rounds 1 to 16
Fixtures for the first 11 rounds of matches were announced on 23 September 2020. Several matches are also scheduled to take place on Monday nights to avoid clashes with the extended international calendar.[13] The remaining fixtures for rounds 12 to 16 were confirmed on the 25th of January 2021.[10]
All times are local.
Round 1
Round 3
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 4 (rescheduled match)
Round 6 (rescheduled match)
Round 10
1872 Cup 1st round
Round 9 (rescheduled match)
Round 11
1872 Cup 2nd round
Round 14 (rescheduled match)
Round 11 (rescheduled match)
Round 9 (rescheduled match)
Round 8 (rescheduled match)
Round 5 (rescheduled match)
Round 8 (rescheduled match)
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Play-offs
Final
27 March 2021 |
| 1st Conference A | v | 1st Conference B |
|---|---|---|
TBD |
Referees
Pro14 2018–19 14-man referee elite squad: (number of matches refereed):[15]
- Mike Adamson (SRU) – (21)
- Stuart Berry (SARU) – (14)
- Andrew Brace (IRFU) – (35)
- George Clancy (IRFU) – (102)
- Ian Davies (WRU) – (72)
- Sean Gallagher (IRFU) – (9)
- Quinton Immelman (SARU) – (10)
- Dan Jones (WRU) – (14)
- John Lacey (IRFU) – (70)
- Lloyd Linton (SRU) – (21)
- Marius Mitrea (FIR) – (78)
- Frank Murphy (IRFU) – (14)
- Andrea Piardi (FIR) – (1)
- Nigel Owens (WRU) – (166)
- Ben Whitehouse (WRU) – (46)
Note: Additional referees are used throughout the season, selected from a select development squad.
Attendances by club
| Club | Home games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benetton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Cardiff Blues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Connacht | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Dragons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Glasgow Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Leinster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Munster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Ospreys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Scarlets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Ulster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Zebre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
End of Season Awards
PRO14 Dream Team
| Pos | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FB | 15 | ||
| RW | 14 | ||
| OC | 13 | ||
| IC | 12 | ||
| LW | 11 | ||
| FH | 10 | ||
| SH | 9 | ||
| N8 | 8 | ||
| OF | 7 | ||
| BF | 6 | ||
| RL | 5 | ||
| LL | 4 | ||
| TP | 3 | ||
| HK | 2 | ||
| LP | 1 |
Award winners
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Season | |
| Young Player of the Season | |
| Coach of the Season | |
| Chairman's Award | |
| Golden Boot | |
| Top Try Scorer | |
| Fairplay Award | |
| Try of the Season |
Leading scorers
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.
Most points
|
Most tries
|
Notes
- Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the East Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
- Thomond Park's official capacity is 25,600 but can be expanded up to 26,276 with temporary seating.
- Although this fixture will count as an Ospreys home match, the match will be played at Parc Y Scarlets. The Liberty Stadium was unavailable due to urgent work needed to relay the playing surface.[14]
References
- "RaboDirect to pull sponsorship of Pro12". The Score. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- "Pro12: Guinness named as league's new sponsor". BBC. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- "Southern Kings go into voluntary liquidation". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- "Guinness PRO14 Restart Fixtures & Kick-Off Times Confirmed". Pro14. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- "Leinster recover from slow start to land their third PRO14 title in a row". The42. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- "Guinness PRO14 to Conclude in March Ahead of Rainbow Cup with South Africa's Super Teams". www.pro14.rugby. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- "Pro14: Who's in? How will conferences work? What about derby matches?". BBC Sport. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- "Guinness PRO14 Championship Q&A". Pro14Rugby.org. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- "Guinness PRO14 to Conclude in March Ahead of Rainbow Cup with South Africa's Super Teams". www.pro14.rugby. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- "Confirmed: Every Fixture for the Final Chapter of the Guinness PRO14". Pro14.rugby. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- "SARU members vote to seek northern hemisphere future". SA Rugby. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro14. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- "Prime Time: Monday Night Rugby Comes to the Guinness PRO14". www.pro14.rugby. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- "Parc y Scarlets to host Boxing Day derby". Scarlets. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "Guinness Pro14 Elite Referee Squad named for the 2017/18 Season". Pro14. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- "Players". Pro14. 30 August 2020.