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2019–20 Pro14
CountriesIreland Ireland
Italy Italy
Scotland Scotland
South Africa South Africa
Wales Wales
Date27 September 2019 – 12 September 2020
ChampionsLeinster (7th title)
Runners-upUlster
Matches played89
Attendance652,443
(average 7,331 per match)
Highest attendance27,437
Edinburgh v Glasgow (28 December 2019)
Lowest attendance1,500
Southern Kings v Connacht (1 March 2020)
Top point scorerIreland JJ Hanrahan
(Munster)
101 points
Top try scorerSouth Africa Rhyno Smith
(Cheetahs)
10 tries
Official website
www.pro14rugby.org

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]

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, and the second occasion on which they had achieved a Perfect season by winning every match - a feat achieved by no other team in the competition's history.[4] [5]

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium/

Stadia

Capacity
Italy Benetton New Zealand Kieran Crowley Italy Dean Budd Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso 6,700
Wales Cardiff Blues Australia John Mulvihill Wales Ellis Jenkins Cardiff Arms Park[a] 12,125
South Africa Cheetahs South Africa Franco Smith
South Africa Hawies Fourie 		South Africa Tian Meyer Free State Stadium 48,000
Ireland Connacht Australia Andy Friend Australia Jarrad Butler Galway Sportsgrounds[b] 8,129
Wales Dragons England Dean Ryan Wales Cory Hill Rodney Parade 8,700
Scotland Edinburgh England Richard Cockerill Scotland Stuart McInally Murrayfield Stadium 67,144[c]
Scotland Glasgow Warriors New Zealand Dave Rennie New Zealand Callum Gibbins
Scotland Ryan Wilson 		Scotstoun Stadium[d] 7,351
Ireland Leinster Ireland Leo Cullen Ireland Johnny Sexton RDS Arena
Aviva Stadium 		18,500
51,700
Ireland Munster South Africa Johann van Graan Ireland Peter O'Mahony Thomond Park
Irish Independent Park[e] 		25,600[f]
8,008
Wales Ospreys Ireland Allen Clarke Wales Justin Tipuric Liberty Stadium[g] 20,827
Wales Scarlets New Zealand Brad Mooar
New Zealand Glenn Delaney 		Wales Ken Owens Parc y Scarlets 14,870
South Africa Southern Kings South Africa Robbi Kempson (interim) South Africa JC Astle Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 48,459
Ireland Ulster England Dan McFarland Ireland Iain Henderson Kingspan Stadium[h] 18,196
Italy Zebre Ireland Michael Bradley Italy Tommaso Castello Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi[i] 5,000
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.[6] To ensure a competitive balance, the teams are distributed approximately evenly between the conferences based upon their performance in the previous season.[7]

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[8][9]

  • 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

[edit]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

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.

Connacht underwent a rebranding during the off-season, updating their team crest in the process.[13] During the course of the season, the planned redevelopment of the Sportsground was boosted by the commitment of €20 million from the Irish government.[14]

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.[15] With captain Johnny Sexton and vice-captain Rhys Ruddock missing the start of the season due to the World Cup,[16] Scott Fardy served as team captain in the opening rounds.[17]

Munster's backs coach Felix Jones and forwards coach Jerry Flannery left the province when their contracts expired in June 2019.[18] Former attack coach for the Australian national team, Stephen Larkham, was signed by the province as a senior coach ahead of the season,[19] while Graham Rowntree joined as their new forwards coach after the completion of his duties with Georgia at the World Cup.[20] The team's regular captain, Peter O'Mahony, missed the opening rounds of the tournament due to the World Cup,[16] during which time Billy Holland captained the side.[21]

Long-serving Ulster captain Rory Best announced in April 2019 that he would retire from rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[22] Iain Henderson replaced Best as captain.[23] With Henderson unavailable in the opening rounds due to the World Cup,[16] the side was captained by Rob Herring.[24] Herring was later called up to the World Cup as an injury replacement,[25] and the captaincy went to Billy Burns.[26]

Cheetahs announced in June 2019 that Hawies Fourie had replaced Franco Smith as their head coach.[27]

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.[28] 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.[29]

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.[30]

2019–20 Pro14 table view · watch · edit · discuss
Conference A
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP PTS
1 Ireland Leinster (CH) 15 15 0 0 531 216 +315 74 28 9 0 69
2 Ireland Ulster (RU) 15 8 1 6 385 306 +79 50 40 7 3 44[j]
3 Scotland Glasgow Warriors 15 8 0 7 364 329 +35 53 42 5 1 38
4 South Africa Cheetahs 13 6 0 7 342 280 +62 48 32 5 2 32
5 Wales Dragons 15 5 1 9 283 415 –132 32 49 1 1 24
6 Italy Zebre 15 3 1 11 230 399 –169 29 56 4 3 21
7 Wales 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 Scotland Edinburgh (SF) 15 11 0 4 391 225 +166 47 27 5 2 51
2 Ireland Munster (SF) 15 10 0 5 426 255 +171 53 26 8 3 51
3 Wales Scarlets 15 10 0 5 354 274 +80 46 34 5 2 47
4 Ireland Connacht 15 8 0 7 302 360 –58 41 48 7 1 40
5 Italy Benetton 15 6 1 8 309 350 –41 35 42 5 5 36
6 Wales Cardiff Blues 15 7 0 8 283 327 –44 30 38 3 2 33
7 South Africa 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 -[32]
  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 red cards received
  7. the fewest yellow cards received
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
Red background indicates teams ineligible for European cup tournaments
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
(CH) Champions. (RU) Runners-up. (SF) Losing semi-finalists. (Q) Qualified for Pro14 play-off semi-finals. (e) Cannot reach play-offs.

  1. ^ Cardiff Blues will also play a home game at Rodney Parade.
  2. ^ Connacht will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Glasgow Warriors will also play a home game at Murrayfield.
  5. ^ Munster will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
  6. ^ Thomond Park's official capacity is 25,600 but can be expanded up to 26,276 with temporary seating.
  7. ^ Osprey's would also play several games at the 6,000 capacity The Gnoll in Neath.
  8. ^ Ulster will also play a home game at the Aviva Stadium
  9. ^ Zebre would also play a game at the 5,000 capacity Stadio Giovanni Mari in Legnano.
  10. ^ Ulster deducted 1 point for administration error regarding Ian Madigan. [31]

Conference Rounds 1 to 13

[edit]

All times are local.

RDS Arena
Attendance: 11,259
Referee: Stuart Berry

RDS Arena
Attendance: 12,712
Referee: Ben Whitehouse

RDS Arena
Attendance: 10,568
Referee: Andrewa Piardi

RDS Arena
Attendance: 16,375
Referee: George Clancy

RDS Arena
Attendance: 18,300
Referee: Mike Adamson

Round 8 (South Africa)

[edit]

Round 9 (South Africa)

[edit]

RDS Arena
Attendance: 7,967
Referee: Ben Whitehouse

  • Postponed due to bad weather. Game to be rescheduled for 6 March 2020.[33]

RDS Arena
Attendance: 13,250
Referee: Nigel Owens

  • Postponed due to coronavirus fears. Awarded as a 0–0 draw
  • Postponed due to coronavirus fears. Awarded as a 0–0 draw

Round 11 (rescheduled game)

[edit]

  • Rescheduled from 15 February 2020.

Additional Derby Rounds

[edit]

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-finalsFinal
      
4 September 2020
Ireland Leinster (A1)13
12 September 2020
Ireland Munster (B2)3
Ireland Leinster27
5 September 2020
Ireland Ulster5
Scotland Edinburgh (B1)19
Ireland Ulster (A2) 22

Attendances by club

[edit]

  • 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
Italy Benetton 6 24,863 4,144 5,000 3,676 62%
Wales Cardiff Blues 6 46,202 7,700 12,125 5,190 64%
South Africa Cheetahs 4 21,756 5,439 7,832 4,528 12%
Ireland Connacht 6 35,700 5,950 8,129 4,512 73%
Wales Dragons 7 28,159 4,023 6,421 1,857 46%
Scotland Edinburgh 7 58,529 8,361 27,437 4,221 12%
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 7 47,991 6,856 7,351 6,203 93%
Ireland Leinster 7 90,431 12,919 18,300 7,967 70%
Ireland Munster 7 86,880 12,411 26,267 6,854 75%
Wales Ospreys 7 34,679 4,954 6,664 2,347 33%
Wales Scarlets 7 50,613 7,230 13,682 5,639 49%
South Africa Southern Kings 5 13,815 2,763 4,316 1,500 6%
Ireland Ulster 7 96,725 13,818 17,483 10,975 76%
Italy Zebre 6 16,100 2,683 4,000 2,000 54%

Highest attendances

[edit]

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 Ravenhill Stadium 17,483
4 January 2020 Ulster (H) v Munster Ravenhill 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 Ravenhill 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

[edit]

The 2019–20 Pro14 Dream Team is:[34]

Pos Player Team
FB 15 Scotland Blair Kinghorn Scotland Edinburgh
RW 14 Australia Monty Ioane Italy Benetton
OC 13 Samoa Rey Lee-Lo Wales Cardiff Blues
IC 12 Ireland Stuart McCloskey Ireland Ulster
LW 11 South Africa Duhan van der Merwe Scotland Edinburgh
FH 10 South Africa Jaco van der Walt Scotland Edinburgh
SH 9 Ireland John Cooney Ireland Ulster
N8 8 Fiji Viliame Mata Scotland Edinburgh
OF 7 Ireland Will Connors Ireland Leinster
BF 6 Ireland Max Deegan Ireland Leinster
RL 5 Scotland Grant Gilchrist Scotland Edinburgh
LL 4 Australia Scott Fardy Ireland Leinster
TP 3 Wales Leon Brown Wales Dragons
HK 2 South Africa Joseph Dweba South Africa Cheetahs
LP 1 South Africa Pierre Schoeman Scotland Edinburgh

The 2019–20 Pro14 season award winners are:[35]

Award Winner
Players' Player of the Season South Africa Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh)
Young Player of the Season Ireland Caelan Doris (Leinster)
Coach of the Season England Richard Cockerill (Edinburgh)
Golden Boot Ireland JJ Hanrahan (Munster)
Top Try Scorer South Africa Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs)
Tackle Machine Ireland Paul Boyle (Connacht)
Turnover King Wales Josh Macleod (Scarlets)
Iron Man Wales Matthew Screech (Dragons)

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.

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  2. ^ "Pro12: Guinness named as league's new sponsor". BBC. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Coronavirus: Guinness PRO14 season suspended until further notice". Sky Sports. Sky UK. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Pro14 final: Leinster beat Ulster 27-5 to win third straight title". BBC Sport. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  5. ^ Skippers, David (29 August 2020). "Incredible Leinster complete perfect season in PRO14". PlanetRugby. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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  9. ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (7 July 2017). "Pro12 will be expanded to include two South African teams". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Pro14 to return in August with derbies". BBC Sport. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Statement: Southern Kings". www.pro14.rugby. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Explained: how the 2017/18 Guinness Pro14 championship will actually work". Irish Independent. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Connacht launch new club crest and jersey for 2019/20 season". The42. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Sportsground redevelopment awarded €20 million in government funding". Galway Daily. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Ireland back row Sean O'Brien to join London Irish after World Cup". The42. 11 February 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "Ireland's Rugby World Cup Squad Is Announced". irishrugby.ie. Irish Rugby Football Union. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Three Changes as Cullen Names 23 to Face Edinburgh". Leinster Rugby. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Coaching Duo To Leave The Province". Munster Rugby. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Stephen Larkham To Join Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Graham Rowntree To Join Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  21. ^ "All You Need To Know | Munster v Dragons". Munster Rugby. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Ireland captain Rory Best to retire from rugby after the World Cup". The42. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Henderson announced as Ulster captain". Ulster Rugby. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Jack McGrath one of three debutants selected for Ulster's Pro14 opener". The42. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Herring set to join Ireland's World Cup squad as Cronin suffers injury". The42. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Match Day Guide: Ulster v Cardiff". Ulster Rugby. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Hawies Fourie named new Cheetahs coach". Sport24. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Brad Mooar: Scarlets name Crusaders assistant as next head coach". BBC Sport. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Glenn Delaney: New Zealander named as Scarlets defence coach". BBC Sport. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  30. ^ "Dean Ryan departs RFU to take up DOR role with Dragons". The42. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Ulster docked point over Madigan mishap". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  32. ^ Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro14. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  33. ^ "BENETTON GUINNESS PRO14 FIXTURE POSTPONED". Dragons Rugby. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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  35. ^ "Edinburgh Scoop Double in Guinness PRO14 Awards". GuinnessPro14. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
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