| Countries: | Ireland ItalyScotland South Africa Wales |
| Date: | 27 September 2019 – 12 September 2020 |
| Champions: | Leinster |
| Count: | 7 |
| Runnersup: | Ulster |
| Matches: | 89 |
| Highest Attendance: | 27,437 Edinburgh v Glasgow (28 December 2019) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,500 Southern Kings v Connacht (1 March 2020) |
| Top Point Scorer: | JJ Hanrahan (Munster) 101 points |
| Top Try Scorer: | Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs) 10 tries |
| Website: | www.pro14rugby.org |
| Prevseason: | 2018–19 |
| Nextseason: | 2020–21 |
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]
| Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams: | Location of Italian teams:Location of South African teams: | |||
| mark=Disc Plain yellow dark.svg | Conference A; Conference B. | |||
| Team | Coach / Director of Rugby | Captain | Stadium/Stadia | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso | |||||
| Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | ||||
| | Free State Stadium | 48,000 | |||
| Galway Sportsgrounds | |||||
| Rodney Parade | |||||
| Murrayfield Stadium | 67,144 | ||||
| Scotstoun Stadium | |||||
| RDS Arena Aviva Stadium | 18,500 51,700 | ||||
| Thomond Park Irish Independent Park | 25,600 8,008 | ||||
| Liberty Stadium | 20,827 | ||||
| | Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 | |||
| (interim) | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 48,459 | |||
| Kingspan Stadium | 18,196 | ||||
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | 5,000 |
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]
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.
See also: List of 2019–20 Pro14 transfers.
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]
All times are local.
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See main article: Judgement Day (rugby union).
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.
See main article: 2020 Pro14 Grand Final.
| Club | Home games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benetton | 6 | 24,863 | 4,144 | 5,000 | 3,676 | 62% | |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 46,202 | 7,700 | 12,125 | 5,190 | 64% | |
| Cheetahs | 4 | 21,756 | 5,439 | 7,832 | 4,528 | 12% | |
| Connacht | 6 | 35,700 | 5,950 | 8,129 | 4,512 | 73% | |
| Dragons | 7 | 28,159 | 4,023 | 6,421 | 1,857 | 46% | |
| Edinburgh | 7 | 58,529 | 8,361 | 27,437 | 4,221 | 12% | |
| Glasgow Warriors | 7 | 47,991 | 6,856 | 7,351 | 6,203 | 93% | |
| Leinster | 7 | 90,431 | 12,919 | 18,300 | 7,967 | 70% | |
| Munster | 7 | 86,880 | 12,411 | 26,267 | 6,854 | 75% | |
| Ospreys | 7 | 34,679 | 4,954 | 6,664 | 2,347 | 33% | |
| Scarlets | 7 | 50,613 | 7,230 | 13,682 | 5,639 | 49% | |
| Southern Kings | 5 | 13,815 | 2,763 | 4,316 | 1,500 | 6% | |
| Ulster | 7 | 96,725 | 13,818 | 17,483 | 10,975 | 76% | |
| Zebre | 6 | 16,100 | 2,683 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 54% |
| Date | Game | Stadium | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 December 2019 | Edinburgh (H) v Glasgow Warriors | 27,437 | ||
| 28 December 2019 | Munster (H) v Leinster | 26,267 | ||
| 4 January 2020 | Leinster (H) v Connacht | 18,300 | ||
| 27 December 2019 | Ulster (H) v Connacht | 17,483 | ||
| 4 January 2020 | Ulster (H) v Munster | 17,461 | ||
| 20 December 2019 | Leinster (H) v Ulster | 16,375 | ||
| 9 November 2019 | Munster (H) v Ulster | 14,436 | ||
| 22 February 2020 | Ulster (H) v Cheetahs | 13,829 | ||
| 26 December 2019 | Scarlets (H) v Ospreys | 13,682 | ||
| 29 February 2020 | Munster (H) v Scarlets | 13,554 |
The 2019–20 Pro14 Dream Team is:[32]
| Pos | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB | 15 | Edinburgh | ||
| RW | 14 | Benetton | ||
| OC | 13 | Cardiff Blues | ||
| IC | 12 | |||
| LW | 11 | Edinburgh | ||
| FH | 10 | Edinburgh | ||
| SH | 9 | Ulster | ||
| N8 | 8 | Edinburgh | ||
| OF | 7 | Leinster | ||
| BF | 6 | Leinster | ||
| RL | 5 | Edinburgh | ||
| LL | 4 | Leinster | ||
| TP | 3 | Dragons | ||
| HK | 2 | Cheetahs | ||
| LP | 1 | Edinburgh |
The 2019–20 Pro14 season award winners are:[33]
| Award | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Season | Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) | |
| Young Player of the Season | Caelan Doris (Leinster) | |
| Coach of the Season | Richard Cockerill (Edinburgh) | |
| Golden Boot | JJ Hanrahan (Munster) | |
| Top Try Scorer | Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs) | |
| Tackle Machine | Paul Boyle (Connacht) | |
| Turnover King | Josh Macleod (Scarlets) | |
| Iron Man | 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.
| Rank | Player | Club | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 124 | |||
| 2 | 105 | |||
| 3 | 94 | |||
| 4 | 93 | |||
| 5 | 86 | |||
| 6 | 82 | |||
| 7 | 74 | |||
| 8 | 73 | |||
| 9 | 72 | |||
| 10 | 65 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | ||
| 2 | 9 | ||
| 9 | |||
| 4 | 8 | ||
| 5 | 7 | ||
| 7 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 9 | 6 | ||
| 6 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 6 |