2009–10 Celtic League

2009–10 Celtic League
Countries Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
Date 4 September 2009 – 29 May 2010
Champions Ospreys (3rd title)
Runners-up Leinster
Matches played 93
Attendance 818,634 (average 8,803 per match)
Tries scored 333 (average 3.581 per match)
Top point scorer Dan Parks (164)
Top try scorer Tim Visser (10)

The 2009–10 Celtic League (known as the 2009–10 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth Celtic League season and the fourth with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2009 and ended with the Grand Final on 29 May 2010. Ten teams played each other on a home-and-away basis, with teams earning four points for a win, two points for a draw and a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match. The losing team may also earn a bonus point if they lose by seven points or less.

The ten teams competing consisted of the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

This season saw the introduction of a play-off structure similar to the Guinness Premiership in order to determine the overall winner.[1][2] The Ospreys won the final, defeating Leinster in Dublin 17–12.[3]

Contents

Teams

Team Coach Captain Stadium Capacity
Cardiff Blues Dai Young Paul Tito Cardiff City Stadium 26,828
Connacht Michael Bradley John Muldoon Galway Sportsgrounds 7,000
Edinburgh Rob Moffat Mike Blair Murrayfield 67,500 (limited to 12,464)
Glasgow Warriors Sean Lineen Alastair Kellock Firhill Stadium 10,887
Leinster Michael Cheika Leo Cullen Donnybrook Rugby Ground
RDS Arena		 11,200
18,500
Munster Tony McGahan Paul O'Connell Thomond Park
Musgrave Park		 26,500 (15,100 seated)
8,300
Newport Gwent Dragons Paul Turner Tom Willis Rodney Parade 11,700
Ospreys Scott Johnson Ryan Jones Liberty Stadium 20,520
Scarlets Nigel Davies Mark Jones Parc y Scarlets 14,870
Ulster Brian McLaughlin Rory Best Ravenhill Stadium 12,125

Table

Key to colours
     Top four teams advance to playoffs.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1 Leinster 18 13 0 5 359 295 +64 27 29 1 2 55
2 Ospreys 18 11 1 6 384 298 +86 37 26 3 3 52
3 Glasgow Warriors 18 11 2 5 390 321 +69 31 24 2 1 51
4 Munster 18 9 0 9 319 282 +37 33 20 3 6 45
5 Cardiff Blues 18 10 0 8 349 315 +34 33 28 2 2 44
6 Edinburgh 18 8 0 10 385 391 −6 40 40 4 5 41
7 Newport Gwent Dragons 18 8 1 9 333 378 −45 32 37 3 2 39
8 Ulster 18 7 1 10 357 370 −13 39 35 4 2 36
9 Scarlets 18 5 0 13 361 382 −21 35 35 1 8 29
10 Connacht 18 5 1 12 254 459 −205 20 53 0 4 26


Regular season results

Round 1

4 September 2009
19:00		 Connacht 12 – 19 Ospreys Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,982
Referee: Graham Knox
Report
4 September 2009
19:05		 Cardiff Blues 21 – 22 Edinburgh Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 8,124
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report
4 September 2009
20:00		 Glasgow Warriors 22 – 9 Munster Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 3,694
Referee: James Jones
Report
5 September 2009
18:30		 Scarlets 18 – 16 Leinster Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 6,075
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
6 September 2009
14:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 23 – 6 Ulster Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,561
Referee: Carlo Damasco
Report

Round 2

11 September 2009
19:05		 Munster 24 – 13 Cardiff Blues Thomond Park
Attendance: 19,752
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
11 September 2009
19:30		 Edinburgh 62 – 13 Connacht Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,042
Referee: James Jones
Report
12 September 2009
18:30		 Ospreys 16 – 20 Ulster Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 7,072
Referee: Alan Lewis
Report
12 September 2009
19:00		 Leinster 23 – 14 Newport Gwent Dragons RDS Arena
Attendance: 15,145
Referee: Graham Knox
Report
13 September 2009
17:05		 Glasgow Warriors 19 – 11 Scarlets Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,582
Referee: John Lacey
Report

Round 3

18 September 2009
19:00		 Connacht 18 – 16 Cardiff Blues Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,425
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
18 September 2009
19:05		 Ospreys 11 – 18 Leinster Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 7,182
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
18 September 2009
19:30		 Newport Gwent Dragons 30 – 19 Glasgow Warriors Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,219
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Report
18 September 2009
20:00		 Ulster 13 – 16 Edinburgh Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,899
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
19 September 2009
18:30		 Scarlets 20 – 22 Munster Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 6,313
Referee: Alain Rolland
Report

Round 4

25 September 2009
19:05		 Glasgow Warriors 16 – 26 Ospreys Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 3,108
Referee: Simon McDowell
Report
25 September 2009
20:00		 Connacht 6 – 30 Ulster Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 2,435
Referee: George Clancy
Report
26 September 2009
18:30		 Cardiff Blues 19 – 15 Scarlets Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 12,198
Referee: Andrew Small
Report
26 September 2009
18:30		 Edinburgh 19 – 21 Leinster Murrayfield
Attendance: 5,761
Referee: Tim Hayes
Report
27 September 2009
17:05		 Munster 27 – 3 Newport Gwent Dragons Musgrave Park, Cork
Attendance: 8,685
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report

Round 5

2 October 2009
19:05		 Ulster 45 – 24 Scarlets Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,141
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
3 October 2009
16:30		 Newport Gwent Dragons 23 – 10 Connacht Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,331
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report
3 October 2009
18:30		 Cardiff Blues 5 – 21 Glasgow Warriors Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 9,185
Referee: George Clancy
Report
3 October 2009
18:30		 Leinster 30 – 0 Munster RDS Arena
Attendance: 18,500
Referee: Simon McDowell
Report
4 October 2009
16:00		 Ospreys 31 – 10 Edinburgh Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 7,033
Referee: John Lacey
Report

Round 6

23 October 2009
19:05		 Scarlets 18 – 3 Newport Gwent Dragons Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 6,464
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
23 October 2009
19:30		 Glasgow Warriors 34 – 20 Connacht Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,887
Referee: Tim Hayes
Report
23 October 2009
20:00		 Edinburgh 12 – 7 Munster Murrayfield
Attendance: 5,426
Referee: Gwyn Morris
Report
24 October 2009
18:00		 Ulster 16 – 14 Leinster Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,523
Referee: Andrew Small
Report
24 October 2009
18:30		 Cardiff Blues 20 – 12 Ospreys Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 16,341
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report

Round 7

30 October 2009
18:30		 Connacht 16 – 10 Scarlets Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,756
Referee: Graham Knox
Report
30 October 2009
19:05		 Ospreys 9 – 9 Glasgow Warriors Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 6,661
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report
31 October 2009
17:00		 Munster 24 – 10 Ulster Thomond Park
Attendance: 23,298
Referee: Alain Rolland
Report
31 October 2009
18:30		 Leinster 23 – 6 Cardiff Blues RDS Arena
Attendance: 15,910
Referee: James Jones
Report
1 November 2009
17:05		 Edinburgh 8 – 9 Newport Gwent Dragons Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,066
Referee: Alan Lewis
Report

Round 8

4 December 2009
19:05		 Scarlets 16 – 17 Edinburgh Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 5,540
Referee: Carlo Damasco
Report
4 December 2009
20:00		 Ulster 13 – 25 Glasgow Warriors Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,761
Referee: James Jones
Report
5 December 2009
18:30		 Ospreys 19 – 14 Munster Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 8,077
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
6 December 2009
15:00		 Cardiff Blues 21 – 9 Connacht Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 7,105
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
6 December 2009
17:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 30 – 14 Leinster Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,437
Referee: Simon McDowell
Report

Round 9

26 December 2009
14:05		 Scarlets 14 – 21 Ospreys Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 14,739
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
26 December 2009
17:30		 Leinster 15 – 3 Ulster RDS Arena
Attendance: 18,140
Referee: George Clancy
Report
26 December 2009
19:30		 Munster 35 – 3 Connacht Thomond Park
Attendance: 25,291
Referee: Alain Rolland
report
27 December 2009
15:05		 Glasgow Warriors 25 – 12 Edinburgh Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 8,830
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
27 December 2009
18:00		 Cardiff Blues 42 – 13 Newport Gwent Dragons Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 15,210
Referee: James Jones
Report

Round 10

31 December 2009
14:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 9 – 14 Scarlets Rodney Parade
Attendance: 6,429
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
1 January 2010
17:15		 Ospreys 26 – 0 Cardiff Blues Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 14,476
Referee: James Jones
Report
2 January 2010
15:05		 Edinburgh 15 – 22 Glasgow Warriors Murrayfield
Attendance: 11,785
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
2 January 2010
16:00		 Connacht P – P Leinster Sportsgrounds
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report
2 January 2010
18:00		 Ulster 15 – 10 Munster Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,800
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Report

Round 11

8 January 2010
18:30		 Connacht P – P Newport Gwent Dragons Sportsgrounds
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
8 January 2010
19:05		 Ulster P – P Ospreys Ravenhill
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
8 January 2010
20:00		 Leinster P – P Glasgow Warriors RDS Arena
Referee: James Jones
Report
9 January 2010
18:30		 Edinburgh 21 – 12 Cardiff Blues Murrayfield
Attendance: 1,569
Referee: John Lacey
Report
10 January 2010
17:00		 Munster P – P Scarlets Musgrave Park
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report

Round 12

19 February 2010
19:05		 Ulster 22 – 22 Newport Gwent Dragons Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,909
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
19 February 2010
19:30		 Glasgow Warriors 7 – 30 Cardiff Blues Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,754
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Report
19 February 2010
20:00		 Munster 19 – 12 Edinburgh Musgrave Park
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: Tim Hayes
Report
20 February 2010
18:30		 Leinster 27 – 14 Scarlets RDS Arena
Attendance: 13,890
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
21 February 2010
17:00		 Ospreys 19 – 17 Connacht Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 5,053
Referee: Neil Patterson
Report

Round 13

5 March 2010
19:05		 Scarlets 25 – 8 Ulster Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 6,266
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
5 March 2010
20:00		 Connacht 19 – 19 Glasgow Warriors Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,412
Referee: James Jones
Report
6 March 2010
18:30		 Newport Gwent Dragons 31 – 22 Munster Rodney Parade
Attendance: 6,137
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Report
7 March 2010
14:00		 Edinburgh 33 – 17 Ospreys Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,329
Referee: George Clancy
Report
7 March 2010
16:00		 Cardiff Blues 20 – 29 Leinster Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 9,384
Referee: Andy McPherson
Report

Rearranged fixtures

17 March 2010
18:30		 Connacht 16 – 3 Newport Gwent Dragons Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,485
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
18 March 2010
19:30		 Leinster 20 – 14 Glasgow Warriors RDS Arena
Attendance: 11,840
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
18 March 2010
19:10		 Munster 23 – 17 Scarlets Musgrave Park
Attendance: 8,200
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
19 March 2010
18:10		 Ulster P – P Ospreys Ravenhill

Round 14

26 March 2010
19:05		 Cardiff Blues 19 – 9 Ulster Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 7,532
Referee: Neil Patterson
Report
26 March 2010
19:30		 Edinburgh 24 – 20 Scarlets Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,762
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report
26 March 2010
20:00		 Munster 27 – 19 Glasgow Warriors Thomond Park
Attendance: 23,814
Referee: James Jones
Report
27 March 2010
16:30		 Leinster 17 – 14 Connacht RDS Arena
Attendance: 13,835
Referee: Jérôme Garces
Report
27 March 2010
19:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 28 – 20 Ospreys Rodney Parade
Attendance: 7,121
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report

Round 15

2 April 2010
18:00		 Connacht 22 – 21 Edinburgh Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 1,460
Referee: Leighton Hodges
Report
2 April 2010
19:05		 Ospreys 27 – 19 Scarlets Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 13,913
Referee: Christophe Berdos
Report
2 April 2010
20:05		 Munster 15 – 16 Leinster Thomond Park
Attendance: 26,043
Referee: Romain Poite
Report
3 April 2010
19:30		 Ulster 24 – 33 Cardiff Blues Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,334
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
4 April 2010
15:05		 Glasgow Warriors 27 – 19 Newport Gwent Dragons Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,621
Referee: Alan Lewis
Report

Rearranged fixture

13 April 2010
19:30		 Ulster 27 – 38 Ospreys Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,649
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report

Round 16

16 April 2010
19:05		 Glasgow Warriors 25 – 18 Ulster Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 3,766
Referee: Tim Hayes
Report
16 April 2010
19:05		 Leinster 20 – 16 Ospreys RDS Arena
Attendance: 15,836
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
17 April 2010
18:30		 Scarlets 16 – 39 Cardiff Blues Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 10,171
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
18 April 2010
17:05		 Connacht 12 – 18 Munster Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 4,125
Referee: Alain Rolland
Report
18 April 2010
17:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 49 – 28 Edinburgh Rodney Parade
Attendance: 7,142
Referee: James Jones
Report

Rearranged fixture

21 April 2010
19:45		 Connacht 27 – 13 Leinster Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 3,250
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Report

Round 17

23 April 2010
19:05		 Newport Gwent Dragons 14 – 20 Cardiff Blues Rodney Parade
Attendance: 8,108
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
23 April 2010
20:00		 Glasgow Warriors 30 – 6 Leinster Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 4,638
Referee: James Jones
Report
24 April 2010
18:30		 Munster 11 – 15 Ospreys Thomond Park
Attendance: 24,112
Referee: Neil Paterson
Report
25 April 2010
14:05		 Scarlets 58 – 10 Connacht Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 5,023
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Report
25 April 2010
16:05		 Edinburgh 25 – 37 Ulster Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,759
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report

Round 18

7 May 2010
19:05		 Ospreys 42 – 10 Newport Gwent Dragons Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 8,004
Referee: Nigel Owens
Report
7 May 2010
19:05		 Scarlets 32 – 37 Glasgow Warriors Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 5,630
Referee: James Jones
Report
7 May 2010
19:30		 Ulster 41 – 10 Connacht Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,755
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Report
9 May 2010
18:15		 Cardiff Blues 13 – 12 Munster Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 12,602
Referee: Peter Allan
Report
9 May 2010
18:15		 Leinster 37 – 28 Edinburgh RDS Arena
Attendance: 11,836
Referee: James Jones
Report

Playoffs

Semi-finals

14 May 2010
19:05		 Ospreys 20 – 5 Glasgow Warriors Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 7,079
Referee: George Clancy
Try: Williams 9' c
Hook 54' c
Con: Biggar (2/2)
Pen: Biggar (2) 51', 79'
 Report Try: Thomson 42' m
15 May 2010
20:00		 Leinster 16 – 6 Munster RDS Arena
Attendance: 19,750
Referee: Nigel Owens
Try: Kearney 44' c
Con: Sexton
Pen: Sexton (3) 18', 50', 58'
 Report Pen: O'Gara 29'
Drop: O'Gara 41'

Grand Final

29 May 2010
18:30		 Leinster 12 – 17 Ospreys RDS Arena
Attendance: 19,850
Referee: Chris White
Pen: Sexton (4) 23', 45', 62' ,71'
 Report Try: Bowe 20' c
Byrne 35' c
Con: Biggar (2/2)
Pen: Biggar 48'

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.

Tries

Tries scored[4] Player Club
10 Tim Visser Edinburgh
7 Fionn Carr Connacht
Tommy Bowe Ospreys
6 Aled Brew Newport Gwent Dragons
Simon Danielli Ulster
5 Jean de Villiers Munster
Tom James Cardiff Blues
Nikki Walker Ospreys

Points

Points scored[5] Matches played Name Club
164 12 Dan Parks Glasgow Warriors
135 12 + 2 Dan Biggar Ospreys
121 12 Ben Blair Cardiff Blues
121 10 + 4 Ian Keatley Connacht
115 9 Chris Paterson Edinburgh
113 8 + 2 Jonathan Sexton Leinster

Transfers

In

Player From To Source
Gareth Cooper Gloucester Rugby Cardiff Blues BBC
Gavin Evans Scarlets Cardiff Blues BBC
Sam Norton-Knight NSW Waratahs Cardiff Blues BBC
Shaun Berne Bath Rugby Leinster Rugby RTE
Nathan Hines USA Perpignan Leinster Rugby RTE
Eoin Reddan London Wasps Leinster Rugby RTE
Jean de Villiers Western Province/Stormers Munster BBC
Jerry Collins Toulon Ospreys BBC
Barry Davies Brive Ospreys BBC
Ross Davies Sale Sharks Ospreys BBC
Tom Isaacs Newport RFC Ospreys BBC
Conor McInerney Leinster Ospreys BBC
Andy Fenby Newcastle Falcons Scarlets BBC
Tavis Knoyle Neath RFC Scarlets BBC
Sean Lamont Northampton Saints Scarlets BBC
Gareth Maule Newport Gwent Dragons Scarlets BBC
Richie Pugh Exeter Chiefs Scarlets BBC
Rhys M. Thomas Newport Gwent Dragons Scarlets Scarlets
Damien Welch Cardiff Blues Scarlets BBC

Out

Player From To Source
Jamie Robinson Cardiff Blues Toulon BBC
Nick Robinson Cardiff Blues Gloucester BBC
Hugo Southwell Edinburgh Stade Français BBC
Gary Brown Leinster retired
Felipe Contepomi Leinster Toulon BBC
Rocky Elsom Leinster Brumbies Brumbies
Timmy Ryan Munster Toulon
Leigh Bevan Ospreys Released BBC
David Bishop Ospreys Released BBC
Michael Collins Ospreys Released BBC
Filipo Levi Ospreys Released BBC
Gavin Cattle Scarlets Cornish Pirates BBC
Dafydd James Scarlets Contract terminated BBC
Simon Maling Scarlets Contract terminated BBC
Scott Roberts Scarlets Coventry RFC Coventry
Mahonri Schwalger Scarlets Sale Sharks BBC
Ceiron Thomas Scarlets Leeds Carnegie WRU
Gavin Thomas Scarlets Contract terminated BBC
Nathan Thomas Scarlets Contract terminated BBC

References

  1. ^ BBC Sport
  2. ^ BBC Sport
  3. ^ Petrie, Richard (2010-05-29). "Leinster 12–17 Ospreys". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/8713104.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-31. 
  4. ^ Magners League Match Reports
  5. ^ Magners League Match Reports

External links

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