Guinness PRO14 rugby union will return to Premier Sports and S4C in August as the 2019/20 season resumes, with fixtures and kick-times now been confirmed.
The restart of the PRO14 season on 21 August, after a five-month lay-off due to the coronavirus pandemic, sees an abbreviated schedule which cuts the regular season down from 21 matches to 15 matches.
The final two rounds will feature back-to-back weekends of local derby games in each territory counting towards the final league positions, followed by semi-finals and the PRO14 final in September.
Premier Sports will once again be broadcasting every single game live across its channels, with round 14 kicking off in Italy on Friday, 21 August with Benetton welcoming Zebre to Treviso, before a action-packed Saturday schedule delivers a feast of derby action in the UK and Ireland.
In Wales, Scarlets face Cardiff Blues in Llanelli, and that game will be followed by Edinburgh’s clash with Glasgow Warriors in the Scottish capital, while the final game on Saturday sees Munster visit Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Leinster are looking to extend their record unbeaten run of 14 games in the PRO14.
The opening weekend rounds off on Sunday with Ospreys taking on Dragons in Swansea and Connacht facing Ulster in Dublin.
Round 15 will again feature derbies across the UK, Ireland and Italy across 28-30 August, but at this point, no dates have been fixed for the PRO14 derby games between the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings, as 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.
Commenting on the return of PRO14, David Jordan, tournament director, said:
“So far we have been encouraged by the developments that have allowed all of our teams to return to training. 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.”
Premier Sports will produce its live coverage in-house for the remainder of its three-year deal to show PRO14 matches, after terminating its contract with sports production specialists Sunset+Vine, who had been in charge of its output since the start of the 2018/19 season.
The decision comes as the broadcaster looks to save money, with revenues having been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Premier has signalled that it wants to continue working with the PRO14 beyond the length of their current deal, despite cancelling its ties with Sunset+Vine.
Richard Webb, Premier Sports’ director of channel operations, said:
“We are pleased to now have confirmed fixture dates and times for what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the Guinness PRO14.
“Premier Sports will once again be broadcasting every single game live and we look forward to bringing rugby fans all the action with tightly contested derbies and a highly anticipated Final series.”
In addition to Premier Sports’ live matches, delayed coverage of all four remaining derby matches featuring the Welsh regions will be shown free-to-air on S4C later the same day at peak broadcast times.
The Guinness PRO14 semi-finals will be held on Saturday, 5 September, with the final taking place the following week on Saturday, 12 September.
For a full list of all forthcoming major rugby union matches on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated rugby union TV listings page.
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FRIDAY 21st AUGUST
Benetton v Zebre
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19:00 |
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SATURDAY 22nd AUGUST
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues
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15:00 |
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Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
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17:15 |
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Leinster v Munster
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19:35 |
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Scarlets v Cardiff Blues
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SUNDAY 23rd AUGUST
Ospreys v Dragons
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14:15 |
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Connacht v Ulster
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16:30 |
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Ospreys v Dragons
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FRIDAY 28th AUGUST
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
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19:35 |
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SATURDAY 29th AUGUST
Dragons v Scarlets
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17:15 |
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Ulster v Leinster
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19:35 |
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Dragons v Scarlets
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SUNDAY 30th AUGUST
Munster v Connacht
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15:00 |
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Cardiff Blues v Ospreys
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17:00 |
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Zebre v Benetton
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19:00 |
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Cardiff Blues v Ospreys
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4-6 SEPTEMBER
Guinness PRO14
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SATURDAY 12th SEPTEMBER
Guinness PRO14 Final
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