But they have received their punishment in way of relegation, while they have also had to significantly trim their playing roster to conform to the cap, with the likes of Nick Tompkins, Ben Earl, Max Malins, Nick Isiekwe and Jack Singleton all going out on loan, while George Kruis and Rhys Carre have moved on. 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 thrilling final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners. The league has used a play-off structure since the 2009–10 season to determine the champions, similar to that used in the English Premiership. Unlike in the previous season where the 20th tournament spot was decided by a play-off involving teams from the Pro12, France's Top 14 and the English Premiership, due to fixture congestion from the World Cup, the final spot in the tournament was reserved for the winner of the 2015 European Challenge Cup if not already qualified. But the issue there was confusing the leagues and the teams who play in them. In addition, each team plays two further derby fixtures against teams from the same nation, but in the opposite conference. By 2001, an agreement was made with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to bring in the four Irish provinces.

The RaboDirect title sponsor was replaced by Guinness. All four teams showed they were worthy contenders in the next round with Leinster needing to score a late try to beat Ulster 13–9 in Dublin while Glasgow just got past Munster in Scotstoun by one point to win 16–15. The 2008–09 season was decided quite early in the season as Munster claimed the title without playing, as they were preparing for their Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster. [19]

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) may become a shareholder subject to it meeting certain conditions. This will ensure that Ireland and Wales retain their six derby matches for each team they held before. On 31 August 2017, SuperSport announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast matches within South Africa. Please enable Cookies and reload the page. The first full season of a pan-Celtic competition saw 15 teams compete: the four Irish provinces (Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster), two Scottish teams (Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow) and all nine Welsh professional teams (Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea). [67] Some high-profile Welsh players moved to the French Top 14, but other Pro12 teams also benefited with the likes of Casey Laulala going to Munster from Cardiff Blues, Sean Lamont to Glasgow from Scarlets, Dan Parks from Cardiff Blues to Connacht and Tommy Bowe from Ospreys back to Ulster. The full list of record titles can be viewed in our 'Record Application Search'. Compare that with the Men of Gwent’s opponents, Bristol, who have played seven league games in the past five weeks, with the English clubs having generally been far more battle hardened. From 2002 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2014, the higher ranked team in the final were the hosting team.

In contrast, Toulouse have had just two TOP 14 league fixtures following a six-month break from rugby. [47], Champions Leinster failed to make the quarter-final stage in 2003. [44] The Southern Kings entered liquidation in September 2020 and therefore withdrew from the league.