Pro14 bosses reveal fixtures as 2019-20 season prepares to resume
- Published
Leinster beat Glasgow in the 2018-19 Pro14 final at Celtic Park
Reigning Pro14 champions Leinster will meet Munster on Saturday 22 August when the competition resumes following a five-month delay.
Ulster will play Connacht at the Aviva Stadium a day later, with the northern province needing two points to book their place in the semi-finals.
The following weekend will see Leinster play Ulster with Munster meeting Connacht.
The season will be completed over four weeks, with the final on 12 September.
The semi-finals will be at Dublin's Aviva Stadium or Murrayfield on 4/5/6 of September.
All matches are set to be behind closed doors unless respective government advice changes.
Two weeks of derbies on the last two weekends in August will take place in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy, although the South African dates have not been finalised.
Irish games will be held in Dublin, while Edinburgh and Glasgow will play two matches at Murrayfield.
Three provinces eyeing semi-finals
Those finishing in the top-two places in Conference A and B will contest the semi-finals.
Leinster are already guaranteed to finish top of Conference A as they currently hold an unassailable 18-point lead, with Ulster in second holding a nine-point advantage over third-placed Glasgow.
In Conference B, Munster will be confident of booking a spot in the last four and could still top their half as they trail current leaders Edinburgh by two points.
Scarlets are the only Welsh side still in contention to make the semi-finals but sitting eight points behind Munster, their hopes hang by a thread.
Ulster and Munster are not scheduled to play each other, but could still meet in the Pro14 semi-finals
European qualification will be based on finishing positions after round 13, which has already been finalised, with the unplayed games deemed draws as the Champions Cup looks set to expand to 24 teams for the 2020-21 tournament.
The top four sides from each section are in line to book their place in next season's competition, but that does not include South African sides Cheetahs or Southern Kings who are ineligible for European tournaments.
"So far we have been encouraged by the developments that have allowed all of our teams to return to training," tournament director David Jordan said.
"Thanks to the great efforts of our clubs and unions, the willingness of governments and the support of our broadcasters we know have a fixture list to look forward to.
"Everyone who makes our games possible has had to adapt to a new way of working under the restrictions of the pandemic, and the response of all our key stakeholders has been very impressive.
"With these fixtures now confirmed we are all geared to safe delivery of these games and to the welcome return of rugby after such a long period without the sport."
Derby dates
Edinburgh and Glasgow will play each other in the space of six days at Murrayfield- on Saturday 22 August at 17:15 BST and Friday 28 August at 19:35 BST - while Ireland's four provinces will face each other in a quartet of matches in Dublin.
The Welsh regions will play each other at their home grounds with the exception of Cardiff Blues, who will switch their game to Rodney Parade in Newport because the Arms Park is currently acting as part of the temporary Dragon's Heart Hospital at the Principality Stadium.
Scarlets face Cardiff Blues, with Ospreys hosting Dragons on the opening weekend.
There will be a Rodney Parade double-header with Dragons hosting Scarlets on 29 August before Blues face Ospreys the following day.
Zebre and Benetton will start and finish their campaigns with fixtures on 21 and 30 August.
At this point, no dates have been fixed for the derby games between Cheetahs and Southern Kings and due to the current conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, both teams have only been allowed to return to non-contact training this week.
The Pro14 says it is in constant dialogue with South African Rugby and the clubs and aims to identify appropriate dates for the two derbies when possible.
Pro14 2019-20 fixtures
Friday, 21 August
Benetton v Zebre, Stadio Monigo, 19:00 BST
Saturday, 22 August
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues, Parc y Scarlets, 15:00 BST
Edinburgh v Glasgow, Murrayfield, 17:15 BST
Leinster v Munster, Aviva Stadium, 19:35 BST
Sunday, 23 August
Ospreys v Dragons, Liberty Stadium, 14:15 BST
Connacht v Ulster, Aviva Stadium, 16:30 BST
Friday, 28 August
Glasgow v Edinburgh, Murrayfield, 19:35 BST
Saturday, 29 August
Dragons v Scarlets, Rodney Parade, 17:15 BST
Ulster v Leinster, Aviva Stadium, 19:35 BST
Sunday, 30 August
Munster v Connacht, Aviva Stadium, 15:00 BST
Cardiff Blues v Ospreys, Rodney Parade, 17:00 BST
Zebre v Benetton, Stadio Lanfranchi, 19:00 BST.