Guinness PRO14 fixtures released for the 2019/20 season
South Africa will raise the curtain on the new Guinness PRO14 campaign when the Cheetahs host 2015 champions Glasgow Warriors in Bloemfontein on September 27.
All five unions within the PRO14 will host a game in round one with Ulster facing Ospreys in Belfast also on opening night.
Munster v Dragons, Kings v Cardiff, Benetton v Leinster, Scarlets v Connacht and Edinburgh v Zebre complete the slate of opening-round fixtures on Saturday.
For the first time ever, fans can plan their weekends right up until round 20 with all kick-off times and dates laid out right to the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
The Cheetahs-Glasgow fixture kicks off a mammoth 152 games schedule that will culminate in a run-in where rivals will set their sights on lifting the PRO14 trophy won by Leinster last May.
Presenting to you the #GuinnessPRO14 Season Fixtures for 2019/20https://t.co/OtmxXW5sW2 pic.twitter.com/suvaZH4Ak9
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) July 17, 2019
The derby games that sit at the heart of PRO14’s rivalries are spread across eight rounds. This season, the calendar has allowed for the Welsh derby games to return to their traditional Boxing Day slot with Cardiff facing Dragons and Scarlets hosting Ospreys.
Kick-off times for round 21 will be set in early 2020 with a full round of derby matches providing added intrigue to the final day of the regular season.
The first five rounds of the campaign will take place during the World Cup to help avoid a clash with the Guinness Six Nations which has led to only one weekend in a direct overlap with Test matches throughout the season (round 12).
Confirmed! ?
The 2019/20 #GuinnessPRO14 schedule has been announced: https://t.co/AO3ZKcsvuy
The title defence starts now. ??#LeinsterRugby #JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/fiUHf9pr2P
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) July 17, 2019
The number of traditional 15:00 kick-off times in the UK and Ireland has increased by 75 per cent from the 2018/19 season and sees 30 games scheduled for that time slot in the new campaign.
The location, date and kick-off time of the 2020 Guinness PRO14 final will also be confirmed in the near future.
Tournament director David Jordan said: “After two years the Cheetahs and Southern Kings have begun to establish themselves in the Guinness PRO14 and with each side starting with three home games there is a real opportunity for both of them to become a greater threat.
They’ve landed! Here are our Guinness @PRO14Official 2019/20 fixtures. We host our first home game on Saturday 12th October against @BenettonRugby and will close out the regular season against old rivals @scarlets_rugby at the Liberty Stadium at the end of May. pic.twitter.com/CYgl0AFJFi
— Ospreys (@ospreys) July 17, 2019
“We’re also pleased to have increased the number of 3pm kick-off times on Saturdays which works well for fans with families and for the broadcast audience.
“It’s also going to be one of the toughest schedules we have put together and thanks to the new global season we have a run-in that barely pauses for breath over the final nine weeks of the regular season.”
WATCH: RugbyPass goes behind the scenes at the 2018 Guinness PRO14 final between Leinster and Scarlets in Dublin
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments