2001–02 Celtic League
The 2001–02 Celtic League was the inaugural season of the Celtic League. The first season would see fifteen 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).
| 2001–02 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Scotland.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Champions | Leinster (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Munster |
| Matches played | 56 |
| Attendance | 252,213 (average 4,504 per match) |
| Tries scored | 271 (average 4.8 per match) |
| Top point scorer | David Humphreys (Ulster) 122 points[1] |
| Top try scorer | Girvan Dempsey (Leinster) Denis Hickie (Leinster) 7 tries[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of 8 and 7) 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 2001-02 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 final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners.
Background
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.
Teams
Location of 2001–02 Celtic League teams in Wales. | |
 Pool A;  Pool B. | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgend |
Brewery Field | 6,000 | Bridgend, Wales |
| Caerphilly |
Virginia Park | 5,000 | Caerphilly, Wales |
| Cardiff |
Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
| Connacht |
Galway Sportsgrounds | 6,000 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
| Ebbw Vale |
Eugene Cross Park | 8,000 | Ebbw Vale, Wales |
| Edinburgh |
Myreside | 5,500 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Glasgow |
Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leinster |
Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Llanelli |
Stradey Park | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
| Munster |
Thomond Park Musgrave Park |
13,200 8,500 |
Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Neath |
The Gnoll | 6,000 | Neath, Wales |
| Newport |
Rodney Parade | 11,676 | Newport, Wales |
| Pontypridd |
Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd, Wales |
| Swansea |
St Helen's | 4,500 | Swansea, Wales |
| Ulster |
Ravenhill | 12,300 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Pool stage
The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin - each team played the other teams in its pool once only.
Pool A Table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leinster |
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 281 | 114 | +167 | 35 | 8 | 21 | ||
| 2 | Ulster |
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 194 | 157 | +37 | 19 | 17 | 13 | ||
| 3 | Glasgow |
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 204 | 172 | +32 | 25 | 17 | 13 | ||
| 4 | Llanelli |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175 | 123 | +52 | 14 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 5 | Swansea |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 124 | 158 | −34 | 9 | 12 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Bridgend |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 161 | 208 | −47 | 17 | 25 | 9 | ||
| 7 | Pontypridd |
7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 111 | 207 | −96 | 8 | 25 | 3 | ||
| 8 | Ebbw Vale |
7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 134 | 245 | −111 | 13 | 29 | 3 | ||
|
Match points were awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | |||||||||||||
Pool A Fixtures
17 August 2001 19:35 |
| Leinster |
39 – 11 | Glasgow |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Girvan Dempsey Gordon D'Arcy Andrew Dunne Con: Brian O'Meara x 3 Pen: Brian O'Meara x 6 |
Preview Preview Report Report Report Report |
Try: Andy Nicol Pen: Tommy Hayes x 2 |
24 August 2001 19:30 |
| Glasgow |
25 – 25 | Ulster |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Gordon Simpson x 2 Andy Nicol Con: Tommy Hayes x 2 Pen: Tommy Hayes James McLaren |
Preview Preview Preview Report Report Report |
Try: Paddy Wallace Ryan Constable Russell Nelson Con: Paddy Wallace David Humphreys Pen: David Humphreys x 2 |
29 August 2001 19:00 |
| Bridgend |
50 – 15 | Glasgow |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Adrian Durston Gareth Thomas x 2 Gareth Jones Maama Molitika Con: Cerith Rees x 5 Pen: Cerith Rees x 5 |
Preview Report Report Report Report Report |
Try: James Craig Roland Reid Con: Barry Irving Pen: Barry Irving |
31 August 2001 19:30 |
| Glasgow |
59 – 14 | Pontypridd |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Glenn Metcalfe Tommy Hayes Roland Reid x 3 Jason White James McLaren Jon Steel Lee Harrison Con: Tommy Hayes x 7 |
Preview Report Report Report Report Report |
Try: Gareth Wyatt Dale McIntosh Con: Alex Lawson Ceri Sweeney |
Pool B Table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Munster |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 228 | 120 | +108 | 23 | 9 | 15 | ||
| 2 | Connacht |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 152 | 97 | +55 | 16 | 8 | 12 | ||
| 3 | Neath |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 151 | 116 | +35 | 14 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 4 | Newport |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 147 | 109 | +38 | 15 | 10 | 9 | ||
| 5 | Cardiff |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 128 | 135 | −7 | 15 | 15 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Edinburgh |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 159 | −25 | 11 | 16 | 6 | ||
| 7 | Caerphilly |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 88 | 292 | −204 | 11 | 37 | 0 | ||
|
Match points were awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | |||||||||||||
Pool B Fixtures
Knockout stages
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 30 November 2001 - Donnybrook | ||||||||||
| Leinster | 34 | |||||||||
| 7 December 2001 - Lansdowne Road | ||||||||||
| Newport | 22 | |||||||||
| Leinster | 35 | |||||||||
| 1 December 2001 - Sportsground | ||||||||||
| Glasgow | 13 | |||||||||
| Connacht | 29 | |||||||||
| 15 December 2001 - Lansdowne Road | ||||||||||
| Glasgow | 34 | |||||||||
| Leinster | 24 | |||||||||
| 1 December 2001 - Thomond Park | ||||||||||
| Munster | 20 | |||||||||
| Munster | 13 | |||||||||
| 8 December 2001 - Lansdowne Road | ||||||||||
| Llanelli | 6 | |||||||||
| Munster | 15 | |||||||||
| 30 November 2011 - Ravenhill | ||||||||||
| Ulster | 9 | |||||||||
| Ulster | 38 | |||||||||
| Neath | 29 | |||||||||
Quarter finals
Semi finals
Final
15 December 2001 15:00 |
| Leinster |
24 - 20 | Munster |
|---|---|---|
Try: Gordon D'Arcy  Shane Horgan Con: Nathan Spooner Pen: Nathan Spooner (4) |
Report | Try: Anthony Foley John O'Neill Anthony Horgan Con: Ronan O'Gara Pen: Ronan O'Gara |
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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.
Top points scorers
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Top try scorers
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Notes
External links
References
- "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- "Attendances". Rugby Network. Retrieved 3 March 2008.