| 2018–19 Celtic Cup | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland  Wales |
| Date | 7 September 2018–21 October 2018 |
| Champions | Leinster A (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Scarlets A |
| Matches played | 25/25 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The 2018 Celtic Cup is the inaugural edition of the Celtic Cup rugby union competition, which features development regional and provincial teams from Ireland and Wales. It ran for six weeks from September 2018 until October 2018. Leinster A won the inaugural edition, beating Scarlets A in the final.
The Irish Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union created a new development competition, the Celtic Cup, for the emerging professional players from the four Irish provinces and four Welsh regions, announcing the tournament in August 2018.
The tournament, which features development squads from Pro14 teams Connacht, Leinster, Munster, Ulster, Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, aims to provide a learning environment for development players, coaches and referees by recreating the week-to-week challenges presented by senior professional rugby. [1]
The first season of the Celtic Cup ran over seven consecutive weeks in 2018. The eight teams were divided into two conferences of four Welsh regions and four Irish provinces. Each Irish province played each of the Welsh regions and against two Irish provinces. Similarly, the Welsh regions played each of the Irish provinces and two of their Welsh counterparts, giving each team three home and three away fixtures. Derby matches were held on the opening and closing weekends of the pools stage, with the four inter-conference rounds in a block from rounds 2 to 5. The top-ranked province from the Irish conference then played the top-ranked region from the Welsh conference in the Celtic Cup Final. [2]
| Ireland Conference | ||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster A (Q) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 263 | 109 | +154 | 38 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| Munster A | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 208 | 147 | +61 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Ulster Ravens | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 141 | +24 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Connacht Eagles | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 119 | 214 | -95 | 17 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| (Q)= qualified for final Updated: 19 September 2018 Source: Irish Rugby | ||||||||||||
| Wales Conference | ||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlets A (Q) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 213 | 143 | +70 | 29 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| Cardiff Blues A | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 150 | 147 | +3 | 21 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
| Ospreys Development | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 118 | 244 | -126 | 17 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Dragons U23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 151 | 242 | -91 | 23 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| (Q)= qualified for final Updated: 21 October 2018 Source: Welsh Rugby | ||||||||||||
| 7 September 2018 17:30 |
| Munster A | 24–16 | Connacht Eagles |
| Try: Coombes 17' m Hart 40' c Con: Johnston (1/2) 40' Pen: Johnston (4/4) 50', 52', 68', 74' | Report [3] | Try: de Buitléar 24' c Con: Fitzgerald (1/1) 25' Pen: Fitzgerald (3/3) 6', 39', 42' |
| Irish Independent Park Referee: Jonny Erskine (IRFU) |
| 7 September 2018 17:00 |
| (1 BP) Ulster Ravens | 28–43 | Leinster A (1 BP) |
| Try: Hume (2) 15' c, 67' c Rea ?' c Sexton ?' c Con: McPhillips (4/4) 16', ?', ?', 68' | Report [4] | Try: Byrne 24' c Penny 30' c O'Brien 33' c Kelleher 40' c Silvester 51' m Sheehan 76' c Con: Byrne (5/6) 25', 31', 34', 40'+1,77' Pen: Byrne (1/1) 61' |
| Gibson Park Referee: Joy Neville (IRFU) |
| 7 September 2018 19:15 |
| Dragons U23 | 21–37 | Cardiff Blues A (1 BP) |
| Try: Lawrence 32' c Basham 68' c Rosser 74' c Con: Botica (3/3) 32', 68', 74' | Report [6] | Try: Fish (2) 10' c, 36' m T. Williams (2) 24' m, 42' m Summerhill 45' c Con: Shingler (2/5) 10', 45' Pen: Shingler (2/2) 3', 7' |
| Rodney Parade |
| 14 September 2018 19:00 |
| Ulster Ravens | 15–45 | Scarlets A (1 BP) |
| Try: Luney 54' c Hall 65' m Con: Houston (1/2) 55' Pen: Houston (1/1) 7' | Report [7] | Try: Baldwin 25' c Lewis 28' c Williams 34' c Hardy 43' c Ellis-Jones 47' c Conbeer 62' c Con: O'Brien (6/6) 26', 29', 35', 44', 48', 63' Pen: O'Brien (1/1) 10' |
| Shaw's Bridge |
| 15 September 2018 13:00 |
| (1 BP) Leinster A | 57–10 | Cardiff Blues A |
| Try: Patterson (2) 16' c, 33' c Foley (2) 24' c, 42' c Kelleher 29' c A. Byrne 46' c Dowling 71' c Con: H. Byrne (5/5) 17', 25', 30', 43', 47' Patterson (1/1) 34' Hawkshaw (1/1) 72' Pen: H. Byrne (1/1) 9' | Report [8] | Try: Bennett 65' m T. Williams 76' m |
| Energia Park Referee: Rob O'Sullivan (IRFU) |
| 22 September 2018 14:30 |
| (1BP) Cardiff Blues A | 3-7 | Ulster Ravens |
| Pen: Jones | Report [11] | Try: Sexton 20' Con: Lowry 21' |
| Cardiff Arms Park |
| 28 September 2018 19:30 |
| (1BP) Leinster A | 53-7 | Ospreys Development |
| Try: Penny 3 B Byrne 2 O'Brien Foley A Byrne Con: Frawley 4 Hawkshaw Pen: Frawley | Report [12] | Try: Morgan-Williams Con: J Thomas |
| Energia Park Referee: Jonny Erskine  |
| 29 September 2018 14:30 |
| Ulster Ravens | 27-19 | Dragons U23 |
| Try: Sexton (2) Con: McPhillips Pen: McPhillips (5) | Report [14] | Try: Smith Gasson Benjamin Con: Botica (2) |
| Eaton Park |
| 5 October 2018 19:00 |
| Ospreys Development | 19 – 39 | Ulster Ravens |
| Try: Morgan-Williams Cross Morris Con: Evans Thomas | Report [15] | Try: Cooper Stewart Marcus Rea Ah You Sexton Con: Houston (4) Pen: Houston Drop: Houston |
| St. Helen's |
| 14 October 2018 TBC |
| Connacht Eagles | 12 – 49 | (1 BP) Ulster Ravens |
| Try: Kelly Lane Con: Mitchell | Report [16] [17] | Try: Sexton (2) Baloucoune (2) Cooper O'Toole Montgomer Con: Houston (6) Stewart |
| The Sportsground |
| TBC 19:15 |
| Leinster A Irish champions | 15 – 8 | Scarlets A Welsh champions |
| Try: R Kelleher (2) Con: C Frawley Pen: C Frawley | Report | Try: J Sebastian Pen: J Wilson |
| Parc y Scarlets |