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2001–02 Celtic League

The 2001–02 Celtic League was the inaugural season of the Celtic League. The first season would see fifteen teams compete: the four Irish provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow; and all nine Welsh Premier Division teams: Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea.

2001–02 Celtic League
Countries
  • Ireland (4 teams)
  • Scotland (2 teams)
  • Wales (9 teams)
Number of teams15
Champions Leinster (1st title)
Runners-up Munster
Matches played56
Attendance252,213
(average 4,504 per match)
Tries scored271
(average 4.8 per match)
Top point scorerDavid Humphreys (Ulster), 122 points[1]
Top try scorer
Official website
www.rabodirectpro12.com

Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of 8 and 7) and played a series of round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the knock-out phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the 2001–02 Welsh-Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.

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 final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners. Leinster's 10–0 debut 'perfect season' is one of only two in the history of the competition in its various forms. The other, a 17–0 record, was also achieved by Leinster was in 2020.

Background

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Wales and Scotland had joined forces for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, with the expansion of the Welsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh and Glasgow to form the Welsh-Scottish League.

In 2001, an agreement was made between the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League.

Teams and personnel

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Overview

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Country Team Stadia information Coach
Stadia Capacity Location
  Ireland Connacht The Sportsground 6,129 Galway, County Galway   Steph Nel
Leinster Donnybrook Stadium 6,000 Donnybrook, County Dublin   Matt Williams
Munster Thomond Park 25,600 Limerick, County Limerick   Declan Kidney
Musgrave Park 8,008 Ballyphehane, County Cork
Ulster Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 Belfast, Northern Ireland   Alan Solomons
  Scotland Edinburgh Myreside Stadium 13,799 Edinburgh, Lothian   Frank Hadden
Glasgow Hughenden 6,000 Hyndland, Strathclyde   Richie Dixon
  Wales Bridgend Brewery Field 8,000 Bridgend, Bridgend County Borough   Dennis John
Caerphilly Virginia Park 6,000 Caerphilly, Caerphilly County Borough   Gareth Nicholas
Cardiff Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Cardiff   Rudy Joubert
Ebbw Vale Eugene Cross Park 8,000 Blaenau Gwent   Mike Ruddock
Llanelli Stradey Park 10,800 Llanelli, Carmarthenshire   Gareth Jenkins
Neath The Gnoll 6,000 Neath, Neath Port Talbot   Lyn Jones
Newport Rodney Parade 8,700 Newport   Ian McIntosh
Pontypridd Sardis Road 7,861 Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf   Lynn Howells
Swansea St Helen's 4,500 Brynmill, Swansea   John Plumtree

Locations

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Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams:
2001–02 Celtic League (the United Kingdom and Ireland)
 Location of Welsh teams:
2001–02 Celtic League (Wales)

Pool stage

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The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin; each team played the other teams in its pool once only.

Pool A

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Pool A standings

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   Leinster (C) 7 7 0 0 281 114 +167 21 Advance to knockout stage
2   Ulster 7 4 1 2 194 157 +37 13
3   Glasgow 7 4 1 2 204 172 +32 13
4   Llanelli 7 4 0 3 175 123 +52 12
5   Swansea 7 3 0 4 124 158 −34 9
6   Bridgend 7 3 0 4 161 208 −47 9
7   Pontypridd 7 1 0 6 111 207 −96 3
8   Ebbw Vale 7 1 0 6 134 245 −111 3
Source: globalrugbyresults.com
(C) Champion

Pool A results

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17 August
19:15
Bridgend  19–27  Pontypridd
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)
17 August
19:30
Ulster  30–13  Swansea
Report
Ravenhill Stadium
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Chris White (England)
17 August
19:35
Leinster  39–11  Glasgow
Report
Donnybrook Stadium
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
18 August
18:00
Llanelli  46–16  Ebbw Vale
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
24 August
19:05
Llanelli  17–19  Leinster
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
24 August
19:30
Ebbw Vale  18–13  Pontypridd
Report
Eugene Cross Park
Attendance: 3,000
24 August
19:30
Glasgow  25–25  Ulster
Report
Hughenden Stadium
Attendance: 6,095
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
25 August
18:00
Swansea  16–25  Bridgend
Report
St Helen's
Attendance: 3,250[3]
28 August
19:00
Leinster  55–13  Ebbw Vale
Report
Donnybrook Stadium
Attendance: 3,200
Referee: John Barnard (England)
28 August
19:00
Ulster  26–27  Llanelli
Report
Ravenhill Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
28 August
19:15
Pontypridd  6–11  Swansea
Report
Sardis Road
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
29 August
19:00
Bridgend  50–15  Glasgow
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 4,300
31 August
19:30
Glasgow  59–14  Pontypridd
Report
Hughenden Stadium
Attendance: 4,110
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
31 August
19:35
Leinster  31–9  Ulster
Report
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
1 September
14:30
Ebbw Vale  21–26  Swansea
Report
Eugene Cross Park
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: David Davies (Wales)
1 September
14:30
Llanelli  36–3  Bridgend
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 3,000
7 September
19:05
Ebbw Vale  27–29  Ulster
Report
Eugene Cross Park
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
8 September
14:30
Pontypridd  17–19  Llanelli
Report
Sardis Road
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
8 September
14:30
Swansea  13–21  Glasgow
Report
St Helen's
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
8 September
19:30
Bridgend  32–51  Leinster
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 2,650
Referee: Steve Lander (England)
11 September
19:00
Leinster  52–14  Pontypridd
Report
Donnybrook Stadium
Attendance: 3,056
Referee: Rob Dixon (England)
11 September
19:05
Llanelli  21–27  Swansea
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)
11 September
19:30
Glasgow  58–22  Ebbw Vale
Report
Hughenden Stadium
Attendance: 2,179
Referee: Olan Trevor (Ireland)
12 September
19:30
Ulster  46–14  Bridgend
Report
Ravenhill Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
14 September
19:30
Glasgow  15–9  Llanelli
Report
Hughenden Stadium
Attendance: 5,375
Referee: David Tyndall (Ireland)
15 September
14:30
Ebbw Vale  17–18  Bridgend
Report
Eugene Cross Park
Attendance: 2,800
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
15 September
14:30
Pontypridd  20–29  Ulster
Report
Sardis Road
Attendance: 3,200
Referee: Chris White (England)
15 September
14:30
Swansea  18–34  Leinster
Report
St Helen's
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Pool B standings

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   Munster 6 5 0 1 228 120 +108 15 Advance to knockout stage
2   Connacht 6 4 0 2 152 97 +55 12
3   Neath 6 4 0 2 151 116 +35 12
4   Newport 6 3 0 3 147 109 +38 9
5   Cardiff 6 3 0 3 128 135 −7 9
6   Edinburgh 6 2 0 4 134 159 −25 6
7   Caerphilly 6 0 0 6 88 292 −204 0
Source: globalrugbyresults.com

Pool B results

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17 August
19:30
Edinburgh  22–25  Munster
Report
Myreside
Attendance: 5,410
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
18 August
14:30
Caerphilly  13–43  Neath
Report
Virginia Park
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
18 August
14:30
Cardiff  3–6  Connacht
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
24 August
18:15
Connacht  21–30  Edinburgh
Report
The Sportsground
Attendance: 1,800
24 August
19:00
Neath  25–14  Cardiff
Report
The Gnoll
Attendance: 5,000
25 August
14:30
Newport  50–22  Caerphilly
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 6,260
28 August
19:30
Edinburgh  20–32  Neath
Report
Myreside
Attendance: 3,075
Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
28 August
19:35
Munster  40–19  Connacht
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
29 August
19:00
Cardiff  20–14  Newport
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Steve Lander (England)
31 August
19:05
Neath  30–22  Munster
Report
The Gnoll
Attendance: 2,250
1 September
14:30
Caerphilly  15–49  Cardiff
Report
Virginia Park
Attendance: 1,900
Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
1 September
14:30
Newport  29–11  Edinburgh
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 6,164
Referee: Olan Trevor (Ireland)
7 September
18:15
Connacht  28–10  Neath
Report
The Sportsground
Attendance: 550
Referee: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
7 September
19:30
Edinburgh  27–20  Caerphilly
Report
Myreside
Attendance: 2,648
7 September
19:35
Munster  29–21  Newport
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 4,560
Referee: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
11 September
19:15
Caerphilly  18–61  Munster
Report
Virginia Park
Attendance: 1,500
11 September
19:15
Cardiff  32–24  Edinburgh
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
11 September
19:30
Newport  14–16  Connacht
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,821
15 September
13:30
Munster  51–10  Cardiff
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 6,055
Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
15 September
17:30
Neath  11–19  Newport
Report
The Gnoll
Attendance: 3,625[3]
Referee: Gareth Simmons (Wales)
16 September
15:00
Connacht  62–0  Caerphilly
Report
The Sportsground
Attendance: 455
Referee: Steve Leyshon (England)

Knockout stage

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Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
30 November – Dublin
 
 
  Leinster34
 
7 December – Dublin
 
  Newport22
 
  Leinster35
 
1 December – Galway
 
  Glasgow13
 
  Connacht29
 
15 December – Dublin
 
  Glasgow34
 
  Leinster24
 
1 December – Limerick
 
  Munster20
 
  Munster13
 
8 December – Dublin
 
  Llanelli6
 
  Munster15
 
30 November – Belfast
 
  Ulster9
 
  Ulster38
 
 
  Neath29
 

Quarter-finals

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30 November
19:05
Ulster  38–29  Neath
Report
Ravenhill Stadium
Attendance: 12,000
30 November
19:35
Leinster  34–22  Newport
Report
Donnybrook Stadium
Attendance: 7,300
1 December
14:00
Connacht  29–34  Glasgow
Report
The Sportsground
1 December
17:30
Munster  13–6  Llanelli
Report
Thomond Park

Semi-finals

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7 December
19:30
Leinster  35–13  Glasgow
Report
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 5,500
8 December
15:00
Munster  15–9  Ulster
Report
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 12,500

Final

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15 December
15:00
Leinster  24–20  Munster
Report
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
15 Girvan Dempsey
14 Denis Hickie
13 Brian O'Driscoll
12 Shane Horgan
11 Gordon D'Arcy
10 Nathan Spooner
9 Brian O'Meara
8 Victor Costello
7 Keith Gleeson
6 Eric Miller Red card 
5 Malcolm O'Kelly
4 Leo Cullen
3 Paul Wallace
2 Shane Byrne
1 Reggie Corrigan (c)
Replacements:
16 Peter Coyle
17 Gavin Hickie
18 Bob Casey
19 Trevor Brennan
20 Ben Willis
21 Peter McKenna
Coach:
Matt Williams
15 Dominic Crotty
14 Anthony Horgan
13 John Kelly
12 Rob Henderson
11 John O'Neill
10 Ronan O'Gara
9 Mike Prendergast
8 Anthony Foley
7 Alan Quinlan
6 Jim Williams
5 Paul O'Connell
4 Mick Galwey (c)
3 Peter Clohessy
2 Frankie Sheahan
1 Marcus Horan
Replacements:
16 Martin Cahill
18 Mick O'Driscoll
19 Colm McMahon
21 Jason Holland
22 Mike Mullins
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Leading scorers

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Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Attendances". Rugby Network. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
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