Pro12

Pro12
Current season or competition:
2015–16 Pro12
Sport Rugby union
Instituted 2001 (2001)
Number of teams 12
Nations Ireland Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Holders Scotland Glasgow Warriors (2014–15)
Most titles Ireland Leinster (4 titles)
Wales Ospreys (4 titles)
Website pro12rugby.com

The Pro12 (known as the Guinness Pro12 for sponsorship reasons)[1] (formerly known as the Celtic League, Magners League and RaboDirect Pro12) is an annual rugby union competition involving twelve professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the French Top 14) the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the pan European championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 season.

Beginning in the 2001–02 season, the league was originally known as the Celtic League (Irish: An tSraith Cheilteach; Italian: La Lega Celtica; Scots Gaelic: An Lìog Cheilteach; Welsh: Y Gynghrair Geltaidd)[2] and comprised teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The league was sponsored by Irish cider makers Magners from the 2006–07 season until 2010–11. At the start of the 2010–11 season, the league expanded from ten to twelve teams, adding two Italian teams and following the end of Magners sponsorship the league was sponsored by RaboDirect from 2011–12 through to 2013–14.[1][3] The "Pro12" was adopted to reflect that it now includes teams from outside the Celtic nations.[4] The current sponsorship deal with Guinness commenced at the beginning of the 2014–15 season.

The league has used a play-off structure since the 2009–10 season to determine the champions, similar to that used in the English Premiership.[5] Until the 2008–09 season, the champions was determined from league performance.

Tournament format

The league season takes place between September and May, with each team playing every other team on a home and away basis. League matches traditionally avoided the international weekends in November and during the Six Nations Championship, however there has been some overlap since the 2010–11 season due to the increased number of games.

League points are awarded using the Rugby union bonus points system. Until and including the 2008–09 season, the champions were decided solely on the basis of who led the final league table, but since the 2009–10 season, the league champion has been decided by a play-off series, in line with other rugby club competitions such as Super Rugby, Top 14, and the English Premiership: at the conclusion of the regular season, the top four placed teams enter the semi-final stage, with the winner of the first vs fourth and second vs third play-offs entering the final (known as the "grand final" in 2010 and 2011). The venue for the final is chosen by the highest placed team in the regular season.

Two Italian teams – the ex-National Championship of Excellence team Benetton Rugby Treviso, and a new team, Aironi – joined the league starting with the 2010–11 season, Aironi being replaced by Zebre from the 2012–13 season. Through the 2012–13 season, the Welsh, Irish, Scottish and Italian rugby unions used the league as the sole determinant for Heineken Cup qualification, and from 2013–14 they use it as the sole means of qualification for the successor to the Heineken Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Corporate organisation

The legal name of the body running the competition is Celtic Rugby Limited, an Irish private company limited by shares based in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The company is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union, the Scottish Rugby Union and the Italian Rugby Federation. The board of directors consists of two representatives appointed by each Union and an independent chairman. As and from the start of the 2010–11 season, the league is being managed out of the same office of the RBS 6 Nations and the British and Irish Lions and sharing a chief executive (John Feehan) and staff with these two organisations.[6]

Media coverage

Since the 2010–11 season, the League has been broadcast live on BBC Two Wales, BBC Two Northern Ireland, RTE, the Irish language channel TG4, the Scottish Gaelic channel BBC Alba, the Welsh channel S4C.[7] The BBC Two Wales matches are usually made available to the rest of the United Kingdom via BBC Red Button. Complete match replays are also available on the BBC iPlayer. Each broadcaster provides feed to the others for matches in their home territory. While this means that the league is now available free to air in the UK and Ireland, in Italy it was only available on a subscription basis in its first year. However, from the 2014–15 season, Italy's Nuvolari began broadcasting the games involving the two Italian clubs live on its digital free-to-view channel. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh matches are also broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland.

Commencing from the 2014–15 season, Sky Sports became one of the league's broadcast partners, broadcasting 33 live games on a Saturday and also showing both the semi-finals and the final live.

Setanta Sports previously held the live rights for Ireland and Scotland, along with a large number of international territories. STV took over the broadcast rights in Scotland after Setanta closed in the UK in 2009 and still cover the league in a weekly highlights programme. Despite no longer having the live rights, Setanta Ireland continued to show Pro12 games on a tape-delayed and highlights basis during the 2010–11 season.

Sporadic coverage of the tournament can be found in other territories – on beIN Sports in France, and on various Setanta Sports channels around the globe (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South East Asia and the Middle East). The United States rights are held by beIN Sports, and were formerly held by Setanta and News Corporation's Fox Soccer Plus.[8]

Broadcast coverage history

Current broadcasters:

Previous broadcasters:

From 2004 to 2009, the Scottish and Irish rights were owned by Setanta Sports. Setanta closed down in Scotland in 2009, but Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 remained available to Irish subscribers. In 2010, RTÉ Sport, BBC Northern Ireland, TG4, BBC Wales, BBC Alba and SKY Italia came together to buy the Celtic League broadcasting rights.[10]

On 2 May 2013, Sky Sports announced that it had agreed a four-year deal to broadcast 33 live Pro12 matches each season. This deal commenced at the start of season 2014–15, Sky have 30 exclusive matches but are only allowed to cover 1 set of fixtures for instance only one Leinster v Munster match is live on Sky with the other on TG4.[11] Regional screening of matches continued, BBC Wales show Scrum V Live on Friday Night with S4C covering a match now on Sunday Afternoons. BBC Alba screen matches with some matches also available in English on BBC Scotland and BBC Alba now have English Language Red Button Commentary when not on BBC Scotland and BBC Northern Ireland screen all Ulster matches both home and away not available on Sky Sports while RTE Sport dropped their coverage after the 2014 final due to budget cuts therefore TG4 are the only broadcasters of the tournament in the Republic of Ireland. The semi-finals and finals are available to all broadcasters.

Teams

The league is based on regionalised/provincial representation of the participating nations, except for Benetton Treviso which represents the city of Treviso itself. Benetton Treviso was selected for its long history after the project of a second Italian regional team, Praetorians Roma, failed.[12]

Overview of teams
Country Team First season Location Stadium(s) (capacity)
Ireland
Ireland		 Connacht 2001–02 Galway
Province of Connacht		 Galway Sportsgrounds (7,500)
Leinster 2001–02 Dublin
Province of Leinster		 RDS Arena (18,500)
Aviva Stadium (51,700)
Munster 2001–02 Limerick and Cork
Province of Munster		 Thomond Park (25,630)
Irish Independent Park (8,200)
Ulster 2001–02 Belfast
Province of Ulster		 Kingspan Stadium (18,196)
Italy
Italy		 Benetton Treviso 2010–11 Treviso
Historic rugby club of Veneto		 Stadio Comunale di Monigo (6,700)
Zebre 2012–13 Parma
Northwest Italy plus Emilia Romagna		 Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi (5,000)
Scotland
Scotland		 Edinburgh 2001–02 Edinburgh
Lothian, Fife, Tayside and the south of Scotland (Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway)		 Murrayfield Stadium (67,144)
Glasgow Warriors 2001–02 Glasgow
West and Central Scotland, plus North Scotland and Grampian 		Scotstoun Stadium (9,708)
Wales
Wales		 Cardiff Blues 2003–04 Cardiff
City of Cardiff plus Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and southern Powys		 Cardiff Arms Park (12,125)
Newport Gwent Dragons 2003–04 Newport
South-east Wales, including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen		 Rodney Parade (8,500)
Ospreys 2003–04 Swansea and Neath
City and county of Swansea, Neath and Bridgend		 Liberty Stadium (20,827)
Scarlets 2003–04 Llanelli
West Wales, North Wales and northern Powys		 Parc y Scarlets (14,870)

Italian participation since 2010–11

In November 2008, the Celtic League board met to explore the possibility of Italian participation, and on 5 December, the chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, Roger Lewis, stated that the league was looking "favourably" on Italian participation. Following a 19 December 2008 board meeting of the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) to discuss proposals to improve the standard of Italian rugby,[13] FIR announced that it would submit a proposal to join the Celtic League. FIR had two possibilities on the table – either entering four existing Italian clubs from the National Championship of Excellence into the league; or creating two teams, composed solely of Italy-qualified players, exclusively for the competition.[14]

On 18 July 2009, the FIR announced that Aironi and Praetorians Roma would compete in the Celtic League from the start of the 2010–11 season – beating bids from Benetton Rugby Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest. Praetorians would be based in Rome and would play at the city's Stadio Flaminio, while Aironi will be based in Viadana but would play some matches in the city of Reggio Emilia.[15]

On 2 October 2009, the FIR proposed Benetton Treviso in place of Praetorians Roma.[16]

On 28 January 2010, the FIR declared that they had withdrawn from all negotiations with the board of the Celtic League regarding two Italian teams joining the 2010–11 tournament, with the main issue being a €3 million warranty asked for by the board of the league.[17][18][19] However, by 7 February, the Italian clubs had come up with the required funding.[20]

By 8 March 2010, a deal had been finalised for Aironi and Benetton Treviso to enter the Celtic League from the 2010–11 season, with each team guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup.[21]

At the end of the 2011–12 season however, Aironi were no longer be available to compete in future competitions as a regional club, as, on 6 April 2012, they were refused a licence to continue on financial grounds.[22] They were replaced by another Italian side, Zebre.[23]

Former Welsh teams

Before regionalisation, Wales was represented by Welsh Premiership clubs.

Team Years Location Stadium (capacity)
Wales Bridgend 2001–03 Bridgend, Wales Brewery Field (6,000)
Wales Caerphilly 2001–03 Caerphilly, Wales Virginia Park (5,000)
Wales Cardiff 2001–03 Cardiff, Wales Cardiff Arms Park (12,500)
Wales Ebbw Vale 2001–03 Ebbw Vale, Wales Eugene Cross Park (8,000)
Wales Llanelli 2001–03 Llanelli, Wales Stradey Park (10,800)
Wales Neath 2001–03 Neath, Wales The Gnoll (6,000)
Wales Newport 2001–03 Newport, Wales Rodney Parade (11,676)
Wales Pontypridd 2001–03 Pontypridd, Wales Sardis Road (7,861)
Wales Swansea 2001–03 Swansea, Wales St Helen's (4,500)

Defunct teams

Team Years Location Stadium(s) (capacity)
Italy Aironi 2010–12 Viadana
Various professional rugby clubs of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna		 Stadio Luigi Zaffanella (6,000)
Scotland Border Reivers 2002–07 Galashiels
South of Scotland (Scottish Borders plus Dumfries and Galloway)		 Netherdale (6,000)
Wales Celtic Warriors 2003–04 Bridgend and Pontypridd
Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil		 Brewery Field (12,000)
Sardis Road (8,000)

Other nations

As well as the successful negotiations with Italy,[24][25] talks have been held intermittently with South Africa[26][27] about the possible expansion of the Pro12. A Rainbow Cup involving South African and Italian teams was announced in 2005,[28] but because of financial issues on the European end of the deal[27] and changes in the leadership of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), the idea was abandoned.

In February 2009, rumours spread that South Africa was negotiating entry of its current Super Rugby teams into the Celtic League, to take effect when the current media contract between SANZAR and News Corporation expires after the 2010 season,[27] although these rumours were immediately denied by SA Rugby, the commercial arm of SARU.[29]

London Welsh have in the past expressed an interest in joining the Celtic League if promotion and relegation were to be removed from the English Premiership.[30]

Current standings

2015–16 Pro12
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff Tries For Tries Against Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Ireland Connacht 15 10 0 5 362 294 +68 42 32 6 4 50
2 Ireland Leinster 14 11 0 3 298 160 +138 33 14 3 1 48
3 Wales Scarlets 15 11 0 4 324 278 +46 32 32 1 3 48
4 Ireland Ulster 15 9 0 6 285 198 +87 36 18 5 5 46
5 Scotland Edinburgh 15 8 0 7 254 222 +32 24 16 1 5 38
6 Wales Ospreys 15 8 1 6 297 278 +19 29 32 2 2 38
7 Ireland Munster 14 8 0 6 257 277 −20 28 24 2 4 38
8 Scotland Glasgow Warriors 13 6 1 6 269 258 +11 30 24 4 5 35
9 Wales Cardiff Blues 14 5 0 9 302 298 +4 34 34 3 6 29
10 Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 15 4 0 11 248 297 −49 21 34 0 7 23
11 Italy Zebre 14 4 0 10 210 401 −191 23 53 2 1 19
12 Italy Benetton Treviso 15 2 0 13 217 362 −145 23 42 0 7 15

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[31]

  1. number of matches won;
  2. the difference between points for and points against;
  3. the number of tries scored;
  4. the most points scored;
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against;
  6. the fewest number of red cards received;
    7.
  7. the fewest number of yellow cards received.

Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places, and earn a place in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places, that earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
To facilitate the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there will be no play-offs for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup with the 20th place going to the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup if not already qualified.
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

    History

    The Celtic League Logo

    Wales and Scotland had joined forces for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, with the expansion of the Welsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh and Glasgow to form the Welsh-Scottish League.

    In 2001, an agreement was made between the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League.

    Some saw the competition as the forerunner of a British/Irish league with teams from England also taking part. The WRU had previously negotiated with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to form an Anglo-Welsh league but negotiations had broken down over how many teams from each union would take part.

    2001–02

    The first season saw 15 teams compete: the four Irish provinces (Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster), two Scottish teams (Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow) and all nine Welsh Premier Division teams (Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea).

    Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of eight and seven) and played a series of round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the knock-out phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the Welsh-Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.

    The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the thrilling final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners.[32]

    2002–03

    The demands of the Celtic League led to the Scottish/Welsh league being abandoned in 2002. The Irish inter-provincial championship was also downgraded.

    The format of the league remained the same for the second season, except for the addition of a third Scottish side, the newly re-established Scottish Borders.

    Surprisingly, the champions Leinster failed to make the quarter-final stage in 2003. In their absence, Munster went on to easily win the competition by beating Connacht 33–3 in the quarter-finals, Ulster 42–10 in the semi-finals, and Neath 37–17 in the final. The final of 2003 was played in Cardiff.[33]

    2003–04

    A major change in Celtic League philosophy came during the early part of 2003, partly due to the commercial success of the league itself but mostly because of the Welsh Regional Rugby's financial constraints that left Wales with only five fully professional clubs. It was decided that the Celtic League would become the sole professional league of the three countries, incorporating all four Irish, three Scottish and the five new Welsh regional sides (Cardiff Blues, Celtic Warriors, Llanelli Scarlets, Neath-Swansea Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons).

    Reformatted into a traditional league competition (double round-robin style, all clubs play each other twice, once home, once away), which meant that a season long 22-round match program was launched, and with a new strength in depth due to the amalgamation of Welsh teams and the continuing strengthening of Irish and Scottish teams through the re-signing and retention of star players, the league has been in rugby terms a success. Also introduced for the 2003–04 season was the Celtic Cup, a straight knock-out cup competition between the 12 Celtic League teams.

    However the unfortunate timing of the league's launch and poor organisation of a working calendar meant that first the 2003 Rugby World Cup and later the Six Nations Championship prevented many of the league's top stars from playing in over half the games. This caused the league to struggle commercially, especially regarding the newly adopted regions in Wales where the game has always traditionally been played on a club basis, not having the regional histories of Ireland or Scotland. The season ended with the Llanelli Scarlets running out as eventual winners, four points ahead of Ulster.[34]

    2004–05

    The league format was further refined at the end of the 2003–04 season, with the participants deciding to better manage the dates of the matches so as to not interfere with the national squad set-ups and to make the league more commercially viable. The league was played until April, and then the Celtic Cup was contested amongst the top eight teams of the league.

    However, even the prospect of the improved league structure wasn't enough to keep all the competitors viable, with the liquidation of the Celtic Warriors region by the WRU, which meant that starting in 2004–05, Wales would have only four entrants in a league of eleven teams. The new format took the league into what many saw as a make-or-break season, clear of massive distractions such as the Rugby World Cup. With the Welsh regions partly embedded, the signs were that the Celtic League would be a competition that could continue.

    The 2004–05 season was the first season that Ireland agreed to use the Celtic League standings to determine which provinces would enter the Heineken Cup. The IRFU had previously classed Connacht as a "development" team and so nominated Leinster, Munster and Ulster over Connacht – fearing the loss of revenue from one of the "big three" teams failing to qualify for the Heineken European Cup.

    The IRFU also insisted on International squad training sessions taking precedence over Celtic League matches. A consequence of this was that Irish provinces (especially Munster and Leinster) occasionally fielded virtual second teams for Celtic League games. Some claimed this had the effect of devaluing the competition. However, despite this alleged half-hearted approach, Munster finished second and Leinster third with Munster going on to win the Celtic Cup. The Ospreys topped the league table, making it two in a row for Welsh regional sides.[35]

    It was suggested that Italian sides might join an expanded Celtic League – whilst this proved to be merely a publicity "bubble" at the time, it would eventually materialise in 2010.

    2005–06

    In 2005, there were discussions over a potential Anglo-Welsh Cup competition which some saw as undermining the Celtic League. Despite Welsh assurances that the proposed Anglo-Welsh tournament would not interfere with their commitments to either the Celtic League in its present format or an expanded 'Rainbow League', the WRU made arrangements to play games on five weekends that clashed with Celtic League fixtures. The SRU and IRFU then threatened to expel the Welsh sides from the Celtic League in June 2005. It was proposed that the competition would continue as a Scottish and Irish affair for the 2005–06 season, with the possible addition of four Italian sides and the re-admittance of Welsh sides for the 2006–07 season. However a deal was reached that allowed for the Celtic League to continue with the Anglo-Welsh cup fixtures involving Welsh clubs re-scheduled.

    Despite these problems, the league enjoyed its most successful season, with the record attendance at a Celtic League match being broken four times from 12,436 at the Cardiff Blues v Newport Gwent Dragons match in December to 15,327 for the Cardiff Blues v Leinster match at the Millennium Stadium. The total attendances for the season were up nearly 50,000 at 571,331 compared to 521,449 for the previous season.

    The league went down to the last round with Ulster and Leinster both in contention. Following Leinster's victory over Edinburgh and with Ulster losing against the Ospreys, it looked like the cup would go to Dublin but David Humphreys kicked a last minute 40-metre drop goal to clinch the game and the league for Ulster.[36]

    2006–07

    In May 2006, Magners Irish Cider were named as the competition sponsors for the next five seasons, and the league was renamed as the Magners League. Although known as Bulmers Irish Cider in the Republic of Ireland, the Magners brand name was used there for the league.[37] The sponsorship followed on from Magners' previous sponsorship deals with Edinburgh and the London Wasps.

    The Scottish Rugby Union announced that the Borders territory would be disbanded from the end of the 2006–07 season. It may be revived when the Scottish Rugby Union debt decreases enough to make it financially viable along with a possible fourth Scottish territory (Four professional teams being the original plan for the SRU) with Falkirk, Stirling or a London-based team being possible locations; or even the Caledonia Reds, the forgotten Scottish region. In the meantime Scotland would have only two professional teams based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.[38]

    The league's record attendance was smashed in this season with a full house at Lansdowne Road (48,000) for Leinster v Ulster. This was the last game in the stadium prior to its demolition, and was billed as "The Last Stand".

    The league was won by the Ospreys on the final day of fixtures. The Blues' home win over Leinster allowed the Ospreys to top the league by a single point and take the title with an away win at Borders.[39]

    2007–08

    Only ten teams competed in the 2007–08 season, after the Borders were disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season. Glasgow Warriors moved their home games to Firhill.[40] After missing out on the title on the last day for the previous two seasons, Leinster finally won the 2007–08 title with one game remaining. They had been runaway leaders for much of the season.[41]

    In April 2008 it was announced that the Celtic League was to introduce a play-off system commencing in the 2009–10 season to determine the winner, thus generating a greater climax to the season and bringing it in line with other major leagues such as the English Premiership and French Top 14.[42]

    2008–09

    The 2008–09 season was decided quite early in the season as Munster claimed the title without playing, as they were preparing for their Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster. The final challenge from Ospreys was snuffed out when the Dragons denied them a bonus point win on 30 April. Munster had led pretty much from the start of the season with a team largely captained by Mick O'Driscoll showing Munster's squad depth. Munster lost only four games, three to the other Irish teams, including a double loss to Ulster. Felipe Contepomi finish as league top scorer for Leinster, the year they went on to win the Heineken Cup.

    2009–10

    The 2009–10 season was the last 10-team league as the Italian teams joined in 2010–11. The league was one of the most competitive in years with perennial wooden-spooners Connacht challenging Ulster all the way for the 3rd Irish Heineken Cup spot. Ulster needed a superb away bonus point win at Edinburgh to seal it, ending Edinburgh's own play-off hopes. Scarlets had a disappointing campaign as typical Welsh underdogs the Dragons had a great season, eventually finishing mid table and comfortably qualifying for the Heineken Cup. Luckily for the Scarlets, Cardiff Blues won the Amlin Cup and thereby earned Wales an extra Heineken Cup place. 2009–10 was also the first time a play-off was used to decide the champion, previously the top team at the end of the season was champion. The Scottish teams and particularly Glasgow came of age and had a fine season, finishing 3rd in the end.

    The four qualifiers for the play-offs were Leinster, Ospreys, Glasgow and Munster in that order, each country having at least one team. In the semi-finals Leinster defeated Munster at the RDS,[43] after Ospreys overcame Glasgow in Swansea. In the grand final at the RDS in Dublin the Ospreys shocked Leinster, winning the title with their first win in Dublin in five years.[44]

    2010–11

    The 2010–11 saw the introduction of the two Italian sides, Aironi and Benetton Treviso. In the new 12 team format, the play-offs came down to Munster hosting the Ospreys in one semi-final, and Leinster hosting Ulster in the other.

    The two home sides went on to win their respective matches and the final was held in Thomond Park, home of Munster rugby, where they defeated Leinster (who had just been crowned champions of Europe a week earlier).

    2011–12

    Main article: 2011–12 Pro12

    The 2011–12 season saw a re-branding of the competition as the Rabo Direct Pro12. Leinster were the runaway winners of the regular season, with a 10-point cushion over the Ospreys in second.[45] The top four were Leinster, Ospreys, Munster and Warriors in that order. Ospreys easily overcame Munster at home in the first semi-final in Swansea[46] while Leinster beat the Glasgow Warriors in the RDS after giving up a strong lead.[47] In the final, also held at the RDS, Leinster were aiming to become the first Celtic League team to complete a domestic and European double, after beating Ulster the previous week in the Heineken Cup final. After trailing for most of the game, Ospreys took a late lead through a try by Shane Williams. Dan Biggar then landed a difficult conversion to give Ospreys their fourth title by a single point, 31–30.[48]

    After two years in the competition Aironi played their final match, as their licence to compete was revoked by the FIR for financial reasons.[49]

    2012–13

    Main article: 2012–13 Pro12

    With the demise of Aironi they were replaced with a new FIR controlled team to be based in Parma called Zebre, near the Aironi base in Viadana.[50] The Welsh clubs chose to operate under a new self-imposed salary cap, which led to a number of departures from the Welsh teams as they strove to balance their books.[51] Some high-profile Welsh players moved to the French Top 14, but other Pro12 teams also benefited with the likes of Casey Laulala going to Munster from Cardiff Blues, Sean Lamont to Glasgow from Scarlets, Dan Parks from Cardiff Blues to Connacht and Tommy Bowe from Ospreys back to Ulster.

    Ulster topped the table in the regular season, with Leinster, Glasgow and Scarlets completing the top 4 in that order. They then went on to comfortably beat Scarlets 28–17 in Belfast, while Leinster were hard pressed by Glasgow in a tense 17–15 win for the hosts. In the final (held in the R.D.S. due to redevelopment of Ravenhill) Leinster prevailed 24–18 to win their 3rd title.

    2013–14

    Main article: 2013–14 Pro12

    Rabo Direct announced that this was to be their last season as sponsors. This, combined with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the European Cup, meant that there were concerns over the future commercial viability of the tournament. However, despite all off-field issues it was a successful season with a new high for both total attendance and for a single game (51,700 for Leinster v Munster).

    In the end Leinster topped the table, having led for most of the season. Glasgow had a late surge to finish 2nd overtaking Munster and Ulster in the process. All four teams showed they were worthy contenders in the next round with Leinster needing to score late to beat Ulster 13–9 in Dublin while Glasgow just got past Munster in Scotstoun by one point to win 16–15. The final in the R.D.S. was also a close game for most of the match with Leinster forced to defend for long periods. However they eventually pulled clear, adding two late scores which made the final result look somewhat lopsided at 34–12.

    2014–15

    Main article: 2014–15 Pro12

    It was the first season to be referred to as the Pro12 to not have RaboDirect as the title sponsor, having been replaced by Guinness.[52][53] With the Heineken Cup being replaced by the 20-team European Rugby Champions Cup in the 2014–15 season, the Pro12 table had a greater impact on qualification. Under the previous format, the Pro12 provided a minimum of ten teams, with Scotland and Italy providing two teams each, and Ireland and Wales both providing three. The new system saw one place now being reserved for the highest finishing Pro12 team from each of four participating countries and three other qualifiers based solely on league position, for a total of seven teams. The other teams were entered in the new second-tier competition, the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

    Leinster were the defending champions having beaten Glasgow Warriors in the previous season's playoff final, to become the first team in the league to successfully retain the trophy.[54] Leinster were unable to defend their title as they failed to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs for the top four teams after the regular season. Glasgow Warriors finished the regular season on top of the table, and were crowned champions for the first time, beating second seeded team Munster 31–13 in the final.[55][56][57] Thus, the Warriors became the first Scottish team to win a professional trophy, beating Edinburgh's appearance in the final of the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

    Results

    By year

    League

    Pro12
    SeasonTeamsWinnerRunner-up
    2001–02 15 Ireland Leinster Ireland Munster
    2002–03 16 Ireland Munster Wales Neath
    2003–04 12 Wales Llanelli Scarlets Ireland Ulster
    2004–05 11 Wales Ospreys Ireland Munster
    2005–06 11 Ireland Ulster Ireland Leinster
    2006–07 11 Wales Ospreys Wales Cardiff Blues
    2007–08 10 Ireland Leinster Wales Cardiff Blues
    2008–09 10 Ireland Munster Scotland Edinburgh
    2009–10 10 Wales Ospreys Ireland Leinster
    2010–11 12 Ireland Munster Ireland Leinster
    2011–12 12 Wales Ospreys Ireland Leinster
    2012–13 12 Ireland Leinster Ireland Ulster
    2013–14 12 Ireland Leinster Scotland Glasgow Warriors
    2014–15 12 Scotland Glasgow Warriors Ireland Munster

    Celtic Cup

    Celtic Cup
    SeasonTeamsWinnerRunner-up
    2003–04 12 Ireland Ulster Scotland Edinburgh
    2004–05 8 Ireland Munster Wales Llanelli Scarlets

    By championship wins

    Team Titles Years Runners-up Years runners-up
    Ireland Leinster 4 2001–02, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14 4 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
    Wales Ospreys 4 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12 0
    Ireland Munster 3 2002–03, 2008–09, 2010–11 3 2001–02, 2004–05, 2014–15
    Ireland Ulster 1 2005–06 2 2003–04, 2012–13
    Scotland Glasgow Warriors 1 2014–15 1 2013–14
    Wales Scarlets 1 2003–04 0
    Wales Cardiff Blues 0 2 2006–07, 2007–08
    Scotland Edinburgh 0 1 2008–09
    Wales Neath 0 1 2002–03

    By country

    Country Titles Teams Runners-up Teams
    Ireland Ireland 8 Leinster (4), Munster (3), Ulster (1) 9 Leinster (4), Munster (3), Ulster (2)
    Wales Wales 5 Ospreys (4), Scarlets (1) 3 Cardiff Blues (2), Neath (1)
    Scotland Scotland 1 Glasgow Warriors (1) 2 Edinburgh (1), Glasgow Warriors (1)
    Italy Italy 0 0

    Player of the year

    Player statistics

    Career

    Season

    Attendance

    Season Total Average Highest
    2001–02 252,213 4,504 30,000 (Leinster v Munster, Final, 15 December 2001)[60][n 1]
    2002–03 308,374 4,895 30,076 (Munster v Neath, Final, 1 February 2003)[61][n 2]
    2003–04 501,875 3,802 12,000 (Ulster v Leinster, Round 21, 7 May 2004)[62][n 3]
    2004–05 470,446 4,277 10,500 (Dragons v Cardiff Blues, Round 13, 27 December 2004)[63]
    2005–06 571,331 5,194 15,327 (Cardiff Blues v Leinster, Round 16, 14 May 2006)[64]
    2006–07 661,163 6,011 48,000 (Leinster v Ulster, Round 12, 31 December 2006)[65][n 4]
    2007–08 609,015 6,767 18,500 (Leinster v Munster, Round 15, 12 April 2008)[67]
    2008–09 731,328 8,126 26,043 (Munster v Leinster, Connacht and Ospreys in Rounds 15, 16 and 18)[68]
    2009–10 818,181 8,798 25,623 (Munster v Leinster, Round 15, 2 April 2010)[69]
    2010–11 1,019,634 7,553 50,645 (Leinster v Munster, Round 5, 2 October 2010)[70][n 5][n 6]
    2011–12 1,042,374 7,721 48,365 (Leinster v Munster, Round 8, 4 November 2011)[72]
    2012–13 1,106,873 8,199 46,280 (Leinster v Munster, Round 6, 6 October 2012)[73]
    2013–14 1,107,707 8,205 51,700 (Leinster v Munster, Round 18, 29 March 2014)[74]
    2014–15 1,159,127 8,586 52,762 (Cardiff Blues v Ospreys / Dragons v Scarlets, Round 20, 25 April 2015)[75][n 7]
    1. ↑ Figures for 2001–02 are incomplete.
    2. ↑ Figures for 2002–03 are incomplete.
    3. ↑ The 2003–04 season was the first that did not include a knockout stage so no show-piece final and hence a decline in average attendance.
    4. ↑ This was the final rugby match at Lansdowne Road before it was redeveloped as the Aviva Stadium.[66]
    5. ↑ The first senior match to take place at the Aviva Stadium.[71]
    6. ↑ The decline in average attendance following the 2009–10 season coincided with the entry of two Italian teams into the Pro12.
    7. ↑ These matches formed a double-header at the Millennium Stadium, and hold the record attendance in the history of the league.

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 "Guinness Confirmed as pro12 sponsor". The Score. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
    2. ↑ "Y Gynghrair Geltaidd" (in Welsh). BBC Chwaraeon. 28 September 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    3. ↑ "Magners to end six-year Celtic League backing". BBC News. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    4. ↑ "Celtic League to be called PRO 12 as new sponsor unveiled".
    5. ↑ "Magners set to bring in play-offs". BBC Sport. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    6. ↑ "Celtic Rugby set for new heights". magnersleague.com. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
    7. ↑ "RTÉ secures Magners League rights – RTÉ Sport". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    8. ↑ "Fox Soccer Plus Set to Launch March 1 with DirecTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FIOS" (PDF) (Press release). Fox Cable Networks. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
    9. ↑ "New broadcast partner for RaboDirect Pro12". Sportspromedia.com. 30 June 2012.
    10. ↑ Clutton, Graham (9 June 2010). "Celtic Rugby secure improved broadcast deal for Magners League coverage". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 9 June 2010.
    11. ↑ "RaboDirect Pro12 games to be shown on Sky Sports from 2014". Sky Sports (skysports.com). 2 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
    12. ↑ "Treviso in Celtic League Praetorians Roma bocciati". la Repubblica. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
    13. ↑ "Italians may join Magners League". BBC Sport. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
    14. ↑ "Italy confirm Magners League move". BBC Sport. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
    15. ↑ "Italians pick Celtic League teams". BBC Sport. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
    16. ↑ "Il Veneto in Celtic League, Roma fuori" (in Italian). Rugby Veneto. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
    17. ↑ "COMUNICATO STAMPA FIR SULLA CELTIC LEAGUE" (in Italian). FIR. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
    18. ↑ Irish Times
    19. ↑ "Italians will not join Magners League". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
    20. ↑ Fanning, Brendan (7 February 2010). "Italians up offer to join Magners party". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
    21. ↑ "Italians added to Magners League". The Irish Times. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    22. ↑ "Italian side Aironi to pull out of Pro12 after their licence is revoked". BBC Sport. 6 April 2012.
    23. ↑ "Zebras join RaboDirect herd". Sky Sports News. 5 July 2012.
    24. ↑ Kirkup, Jonny (5 February 2008). "Italian Celts – Non Starter". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    25. ↑ Glover, Tim (17 December 2006). "How Italy became Europe's fall guys". The Independent on Sunday (London). Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    26. ↑ "Rugby Union: Major Organisations". Talkrugbyunion.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    27. 1 2 3 Smith, Wayne (17 February 2009). "South Africa threatens to quit Super 14". The Australian. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
    28. ↑ "Celtic nations in new Rainbow Cup". BBC Sport. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    29. ↑ "SA Rugby denies Magners League link" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
    30. ↑ "London Welsh keen on Celtic move". BBC Sport. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    31. ↑ Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
    32. ↑ "Leinster win Irish battle". BBC Sport. 15 December 2001. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    33. ↑ "Munster seize Celtic crown". BBC Sport. 1 February 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    34. ↑ "Scarlets 23–16 Ulster". BBC Sport. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    35. ↑ "Ospreys 29–12 Edinburgh". BBC Sport. 26 March 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    36. ↑ "Ospreys 17–19 Ulster". BBC Sport. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    37. ↑ Hurst, Greg (20 July 2006). "Magners ends drought by sponsoring Celtic League". The Times (London). Retrieved 23 April 2007.
    38. ↑ "Edinburgh hit out at Borders loss". BBC Sport. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
    39. ↑ "Border Reivers 16–24 Ospreys". BBC Sport. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    40. ↑ "Warriors look to create fortress at Firhill". magnersleague.com. 12 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
    41. ↑ "Six of the Best As Leinster Secure Magners League Title". magnersleague.com. 3 May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
    42. ↑ Magners set to bring in play-offs BBC Sport, 11 April 2008
    43. ↑ "Leinster 16–6 Munster: As it happened – RTÉ Sport 2011". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    44. ↑ Byrne makes Leinster pay price for sloppy showing – Independent.ie
    45. ↑ "Rugby Union Tournaments | Tables". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    46. ↑ "Munster hammered by Ospreys". The Irish Times. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
    47. ↑ The Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0514/1224316064297.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)(subscription required)
    48. ↑ "Williams try sets up last-gasp, one-point Ospreys win over Leinster". Irish Examiner. 27 May 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    49. ↑ "Tournaments | Aironi". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    50. ↑ "Tournaments | Aironi". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    51. ↑ "Ins & outs at the Welsh regions". BBC. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    52. ↑ "RaboDirect to pull sponsorship of Pro12". The Score. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
    53. ↑ "Pro12: Guinness named as league's new sponsor". BBC. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
    54. ↑ "Leinster retain Pro12 title in fine style". RTÉ Sport. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
    55. ↑ "Glasgow Warriors 31-13 Munster". BBC Sport (BBC). 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
    56. ↑ "Glasgow Warriors defeated Munster 31-13 to claim victory in the Pro12". Sky Sports (BSkyB). 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
    57. ↑ Mulligan, Richard (30 May 2015). "Glasgow Warriors clinch first PRO12 title with 31-13 victory over Munster at Kingspan Stadium". The News Letter (Johnston Publishing). Retrieved 30 May 2015.
    58. ↑ "Ruan Pienaar picks up Ulster Player of the Year award", BBC Sport, 11 May 2011.
    59. ↑ "Nick Williams named PRO12 Player of the Year", RTE Sport, 6 May 2013.
    60. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2001–02". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    61. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2002–03". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    62. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2003–04". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    63. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2004–05". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    64. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2005–06". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    65. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2006–07". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    66. ↑ "Leinster win The Last Stand at Lansdowne". breakingnews.ie. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    67. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2007–08". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    68. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2008–09". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    69. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2009–10". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    70. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2010–11". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    71. ↑ "Leinster overcome Munster in front of record crowd". RaboDirect PRO12. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    72. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2011–12". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    73. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2012–13". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    74. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2013–14". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
    75. ↑ "RaboDirect PRO12 Fixtures & Results 2014–15". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 24 August 2015.

    External links

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