2019–20 Pro14
The 2019–20 PRO14 (also known as the Guinness PRO14 for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the third 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]
| 2019–20 Pro14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Italy Scotland South Africa.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Date | 27 September 2019 – 12 September 2020 |
| Champions | Leinster (7th title) |
| Runners-up | Ulster |
| Matches played | 89 |
| Attendance | 652,443 (average 7,331 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 27,437 Edinburgh v Glasgow (28 December 2019) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,500 Southern Kings v Connacht (1 March 2020) |
| Top point scorer | JJ Hanrahan (Munster) 101 points |
| Top try scorer | Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs) 10 tries |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Fourteen teams competed in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; two South African teams: Cheetahs and the Southern Kings; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.
On 12 March 2020, the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] It restarted on 22 August in a truncated format. It was won by Leinster, their third consecutive Pro14 title.[4]
Teams
|
Location of 2019–20 Pro14 teams in South Africa | |
 Conference A;  Conference B. | |
Competition format
- League Stage
The fourteen teams are split into two conferences of seven teams, with each conference featuring two teams from Ireland and Wales plus one team from Italy, Scotland and South Africa.[5] To ensure a competitive balance, the teams are distributed approximately evenly between the conferences based upon their performance in the previous season.[6]
The regular season was due to be made up of 21 rounds. The original schedule was planned as follows –
6 home and 6 away games against each team in their own conference
7 games, either home or away, against the teams in the other conference
2 additional regional derbies[7][8]
- Each Irish team plays the two Irish teams in the other conference, one at home and one away
- Each Welsh team plays the two Welsh teams in the other conference, one at home and one away
- The two Italian teams play each other twice, home and away
- The two Scottish teams play each other twice, home and away
- The two South African teams play each other twice, home and away
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic
All teams played their normal schedule until round 13 after which an additional two rounds of derby matches were played by the 12 European teams.[9] The Southern Kings announced in August 2020 that they had voluntarily withdrawn from the league for the remainder of 2020 and therefore there will not be South African derbies.[10]
- League Play-Offs
The first and second placed teams in each conferences will meet in the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will then meet in the grand final.[11]
- Champions Cup Qualification
The top four eligible European teams in both conferences automatically qualify for the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup. (The South African teams do not compete in the Champions Cup.) Qualification is based on league position after round 13.
Team changes
Ireland
Connacht underwent a rebranding during the off-season, updating their team crest in the process.[12] During the course of the season, the planned redevelopment of the Sportsground was boosted by the commitment of €20 million from the Irish government.[13]
Leinster's highest profile departure in the off-season was Seán O'Brien, who made over 100 appearances and was the side's former vice-captain.[14] With captain Jonathan Sexton and vice-captain Rhys Ruddock missing the start of the season due to the World Cup,[15] Scott Fardy served as team captain in the opening rounds.[16]
Munster's backs coach Felix Jones and forwards coach Jerry Flannery left the province when their contracts expired in June 2019.[17] Former attack coach for the Australian national team, Stephen Larkham, was signed by the province as a senior coach ahead of the season,[18] while Graham Rowntree joined as their new forwards coach after the completion of his duties with Georgia at the World Cup.[19] The team's regular captain, Peter O'Mahony, missed the opening rounds of the tournament due to the World Cup,[15] during which time Billy Holland captained the side.[20]
Long-serving Ulster captain Rory Best announced in April 2019 that he would retire from rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[21] Iain Henderson replaced Best as captain.[22] With Henderson unavailable in the opening rounds due to the World Cup,[15] the side was captained by Rob Herring.[23] Herring was later called up to the World Cup as an injury replacement,[24] and the captaincy went to Billy Burns.[25]
South Africa
Cheetahs announced in June 2019 that Hawies Fourie had replaced Franco Smith as their head coach.[26]
Wales
Then-Crusaders assistant coach Brad Mooar was confirmed as Wayne Pivac's replacement as Scarlets head coach in December 2018, with Pivac leaving the region to take over from Warren Gatland as Wales' head coach after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[27] Scarlets also appointed then-Highlanders defence coach and former London Irish head coach Glenn Delaney as their new defence coach, replacing the outgoing Byron Hayward.[28]
Dragons announced the departure of head coach Bernard Jackman in December 2018, with Ceri Jones replacing Jackman on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2018–19 season, before the region confirmed in May 2019 that Dean Ryan would join in the newly created director of rugby position.[29]
Table
| |||||||||||||||||
| Conference A | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS | |||||
| 1 | Leinster (CH) |
15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 531 | 216 | +315 | 74 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 69 | ||||
| 2 | Ulster (RU) |
15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 385 | 306 | +79 | 50 | 40 | 7 | 3 | 43[lower-alpha 10] | ||||
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors |
15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 364 | 329 | +35 | 53 | 42 | 5 | 1 | 38 | ||||
| 4 | Cheetahs |
13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 342 | 280 | +62 | 48 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 32 | ||||
| 5 | Dragons |
15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 283 | 415 | –132 | 32 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 24 | ||||
| 6 | Zebre |
15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 230 | 399 | –169 | 29 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 21 | ||||
| 7 | Ospreys |
15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 205 | 375 | –170 | 21 | 45 | 1 | 4 | 17 | ||||
| Conference B | |||||||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS | |||||
| 1 | Edinburgh (SF) |
15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 391 | 225 | +166 | 47 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 51 | ||||
| 2 | Munster (SF) |
15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 426 | 255 | +171 | 53 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 51 | ||||
| 3 | Scarlets |
15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 354 | 274 | +80 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 47 | ||||
| 4 | Connacht |
15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 302 | 360 | –58 | 41 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 40 | ||||
| 5 | Benetton |
15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 309 | 350 | –41 | 35 | 42 | 5 | 5 | 36 | ||||
| 6 | Cardiff Blues |
15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 283 | 327 | –44 | 30 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 33 | ||||
| 7 | Southern Kings |
13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 204 | 498 | –294 | 23 | 75 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||||
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order -[31]
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams that compete in the Pro14 play-offs, and also earn a place in the 2020–21 European Champions Cup Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the 2020–21 European Champions Cup | |||||||||||||||||
- Cardiff Blues will also play a home game at Rodney Parade.
- Connacht will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
- 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.
- Glasgow Warriors will also play a home game at Murrayfield.
- Munster will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
- Thomond Park's official capacity is 25,600 but can be expanded up to 26,276 with temporary seating.
- Osprey's would also play several games at the 6,000 capacity The Gnoll in Neath.
- Ulster will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
- Zebre would also play a game at the 5,000 capacity Stadio Giovanni Mari in Legnano.
- Ulster defucted 1 point for administration error regarding Ian Madigan. [30]
Conference Rounds 1 to 13
All times are local.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
- Postponed due to bad weather. Game to be rescheduled for 6 March 2020.[32]
Round 12
Round 13
- Postponed due to coronavirus fears. Awarded as a 0–0 draw
- Postponed due to coronavirus fears. Awarded as a 0–0 draw
Additional Derby Rounds
1872 Cup 3rd round
Round 15
Judgement Day
Play-offs
In a change to the normal format, the top two sides from each of the two conferences met in the two semi-finals to determine the finalists. The quarter-finals featuring the second and third teams in each conference were scrapped for the 2019–20 season.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 4 September 2020 | ||||||
| Leinster (A1) | 13 | |||||
| 12 September 2020 | ||||||
| Munster (B2) | 3 | |||||
| Leinster | 27 | |||||
| 5 September 2020 | ||||||
| Ulster | 5 | |||||
| Edinburgh (B1) | 19 | |||||
| Ulster (A2) | 22 | |||||
Semi-finals
4 September 2020 19:35 |
| Leinster |
13–3 | Munster |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Kelleher 27' c Con: Sexton (1/1) 28' Pen: Sexton (2/3) 40', 67' |
Report | Pen: Hanrahan (1/3) 5' |
Attendances by club
- Includes quarter-finals and semi-finals – the final is not included as it is held at a neutral venue. Due to the Conference A & B structure of 21 rounds in the Pro14, some teams played 10 league home games during the league stage, while others played 11. Does not include European Champions Cup play-off game.
| Club | Home games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benetton | 6 | 24,863 | 4,144 | 5,000 | 3,676 | 62% |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 46,202 | 7,700 | 12,125 | 5,190 | 64% |
| Cheetahs | 4 | 21,756 | 5,439 | 7,832 | 4,528 | 12% |
| Connacht | 6 | 35,700 | 5,950 | 8,129 | 4,512 | 73% |
| Dragons | 7 | 28,159 | 4,023 | 6,421 | 1,857 | 46% |
| Edinburgh | 7 | 58,529 | 8,361 | 27,437 | 4,221 | 12% |
| Glasgow Warriors | 7 | 47,991 | 6,856 | 7,351 | 6,203 | 93% |
| Leinster | 7 | 90,431 | 12,919 | 18,300 | 7,967 | 70% |
| Munster | 7 | 86,880 | 12,411 | 26,267 | 6,854 | 75% |
| Ospreys | 7 | 34,679 | 4,954 | 6,664 | 2,347 | 33% |
| Scarlets | 7 | 50,613 | 7,230 | 13,682 | 5,639 | 49% |
| Southern Kings | 5 | 13,815 | 2,763 | 4,316 | 1,500 | 6% |
| Ulster | 7 | 96,725 | 13,818 | 17,483 | 10,975 | 76% |
| Zebre | 6 | 16,100 | 2,683 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 54% |
Highest attendances
| Date | Game | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 December 2019 | Edinburgh (H) v Glasgow Warriors | Murrayfield Stadium | 27,437 |
| 28 December 2019 | Munster (H) v Leinster | Thomond Park | 26,267 |
| 4 January 2020 | Leinster (H) v Connacht | RDS Arena | 18,300 |
| 27 December 2019 | Ulster (H) v Connacht | Kingspan Stadium | 17,483 |
| 4 January 2020 | Ulster (H) v Munster | Kingspan Stadium | 17,461 |
| 20 December 2019 | Leinster (H) v Ulster | RDS Arena | 16,375 |
| 9 November 2019 | Munster (H) v Ulster | Thomond Park | 14,436 |
| 22 February 2020 | Ulster (H) v Cheetahs | Kingspan Stadium | 13,829 |
| 26 December 2019 | Scarlets (H) v Ospreys | Parc y Scarlets | 13,682 |
| 29 February 2020 | Munster (H) v Scarlets | Thomond Park | 13,554 |
End of Season Awards
PRO14 Dream Team
The 2019–20 Pro14 Dream Team is:[33]
| Pos | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FB | 15 | Blair Kinghorn | Edinburgh |
| RW | 14 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Monty Ioane | Benetton |
| OC | 13 |  Rey Lee-Lo | Cardiff Blues |
| IC | 12 | Stuart McCloskey | Ulster |
| LW | 11 | Duhan van der Merwe | Edinburgh |
| FH | 10 | Jaco van der Walt | Edinburgh |
| SH | 9 | John Cooney | Ulster |
| N8 | 8 |  Viliame Mata | Edinburgh |
| OF | 7 | Will Connors | Leinster |
| BF | 6 | Max Deegan | Leinster |
| RL | 5 | Grant Gilchrist | Edinburgh |
| LL | 4 | Scott Fardy | Leinster |
| TP | 3 | Leon Brown | Dragons |
| HK | 2 | Joseph Dweba | Cheetahs |
| LP | 1 | Pierre Schoeman | Edinburgh |
Award winners
The 2019–20 Pro14 season award winners are:[34]
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Season | Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) |
| Young Player of the Season | Caelan Doris (Leinster) |
| Coach of the Season |  Richard Cockerill (Edinburgh) |
| Golden Boot | JJ Hanrahan (Munster) |
| Top Try Scorer | Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs) |
| Tackle Machine | Paul Boyle (Connacht) |
| Turnover King | Josh Macleod (Scarlets) |
| Iron Man | Matthew Screech (Dragons) |
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
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.
- "Coronavirus: Guinness PRO14 season suspended until further notice". Sky Sports. Sky UK. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- "Pro14 final: Leinster beat Ulster 27-5 to win third straight title". BBC Sport. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- "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.
- Lloyd, Matt; Griffiths, Gareth (30 June 2017). "South African sides Cheetahs and Southern Kings set to join Pro12". BBC Sport Wales. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- Cummiskey, Gavin (7 July 2017). "Pro12 will be expanded to include two South African teams". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- "Pro14 to return in August with derbies". BBC Sport. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- "Statement: Southern Kings". www.pro14.rugby. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- "Explained: how the 2017/18 Guinness Pro14 championship will actually work". Irish Independent. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- "Connacht launch new club crest and jersey for 2019/20 season". The42. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Sportsground redevelopment awarded €20 million in government funding". Galway Daily. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Ireland back row Sean O'Brien to join London Irish after World Cup". The42. 11 February 2019.
- "Ireland's Rugby World Cup Squad Is Announced". irishrugby.ie. Irish Rugby Football Union. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- "Three Changes as Cullen Names 23 to Face Edinburgh". Leinster Rugby. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Coaching Duo To Leave The Province". Munster Rugby. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- "Stephen Larkham To Join Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "Graham Rowntree To Join Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- "All You Need To Know | Munster v Dragons". Munster Rugby. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Ireland captain Rory Best to retire from rugby after the World Cup". The42. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- "Henderson announced as Ulster captain". Ulster Rugby. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Jack McGrath one of three debutants selected for Ulster's Pro14 opener". The42. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Herring set to join Ireland's World Cup squad as Cronin suffers injury". The42. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- "Match Day Guide: Ulster v Cardiff". Ulster Rugby. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Hawies Fourie named new Cheetahs coach". Sport24. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- "Brad Mooar: Scarlets name Crusaders assistant as next head coach". BBC Sport. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- "Glenn Delaney: New Zealander named as Scarlets defence coach". BBC Sport. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- "Dean Ryan departs RFU to take up DOR role with Dragons". The42. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- "Ulster docked point over Madigan mishap". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro14. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- "BENETTON GUINNESS PRO14 FIXTURE POSTPONED". Dragons Rugby. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- "Awards 2020: Guinness 19/20 Dream Team". GuinessPro14. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- "Edinburgh Scoop Double in Guinness PRO14 Awards". GuinnessPro14. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- "Players". Pro14. 14 September 2020.