Pro14 Rainbow Cup
| Pro14 Rainbow Cup | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Italy Scotland Wales South Africa |
| Date | 24 April 2021 – 19 June 2021 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The Pro14 Rainbow Cup (also known as the Guinness Pro14 Rainbow Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an upcoming professional rugby union end-of-season cup competition.
Background
The 2020–21 Pro14 was reduced to twelve teams as the two South African teams - the Cheetahs and Southern Kings - were not allowed to travel internationally in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In September 2020, the Southern Kings ceased operations and the South African Rugby Union council began exploring the possibility of the four South African Super Rugby teams - the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers - joining the Pro14.[1]
PRO14 Rugby announced in December 2020 that the 2020–21 Pro14 regular season would conclude after 16 rounds, and the top team from each conference would advance to a final in March 2021. The Pro14 Rainbow Cup will then commence in April and will introduce the four new South African teams.[2]
With South Africa hosting the British & Irish Lions tour in July–August 2021, the tournament will also serve as a warm-up event for the British, Irish and South African players hoping to be involved in the tour.[2]
Format
The tournament will commence on 24 April 2021 with three rounds of local derbies. For the purposes of the competition, fixtures between Scottish and Italian clubs are considered derbies. A total of six rounds will take place, with the teams being ranked in a single table. Rounds four to six will see the South African teams travel to Europe for their away games; this format means that no European team will travel to South Africa for a fixture. The top two teams will play each other in a final on 19 June.[3]
Teams
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Location of 21 Pro14 Rainbow Cup teams in Italy Location of 21 Pro14 Rainbow Cup teams in South Africa |
Table
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| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benetton |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 78 | +47 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 22** | ||||
| 2 | Munster |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 75 | +95 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 20 | ||||
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 121 | 117 | +4 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 19 | ||||
| 4 | Leinster |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 87 | +37 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 15 | ||||
| 5 | Cardiff Blues |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 123 | +1 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 15 | ||||
| 6 | Connacht |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 133 | –24 | 15 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 14 | ||||
| 7 | Scarlets |
5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 110 | 115 | –5 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 13* | ||||
| 8 | Ospreys |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 103 | 88 | +15 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 11** | ||||
| 9 | Edinburgh |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 126 | 140 | –14 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||
| 10 | Ulster |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 85 | 116 | –31 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 8* | ||||
| 11 | Dragons |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 117 | 156 | –39 | 14 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| 12 | Zebre |
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 88 | 174 | -86 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| * Cancelled fixture: Scarlets awarded four match points. ** Cancelled fixture: Benetton awarded four match points. | |||||||||||||||||
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[4]
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| Green background (row 1) is the play-off places and earn a place in the final against the 1st placed Rainbow Cup SA team.
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Fixtures
League stage
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
References
- ^ "Guinness PRO14 & Rainbow Cup - Questions & Answers". GuinnessPro14. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Guinness PRO14 to Conclude in March Ahead of Rainbow Cup with South Africa's Super Teams". GuinnessPro14. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Guinness Pro14 Rainbow Cup 2021: New competition to start with derby games". BBC Sport. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ Competition Rule 3.1.4 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro14. Retrieved 4 April 2021.