Celtic Cup (rugby union)

Last updated

Celtic Cup
Sport Rugby union
Instituted2003
Inaugural season2003–04
Ceased2004–05
Number of teams12 (2003–04), 8 (2004–05)
Nations IRFU flag.svg Ireland
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Holders Munster (2004–05)
Most titlesMunster
Ulster (1 title)
Broadcast partner BBC
Related competition Celtic League

The Celtic Cup was a rugby union cup competition featuring regional and provincial teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales that ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. The first edition of the competition was won by Ulster and the second by Munster, both from Ireland. After the Welsh teams agreed to join the English Premiership clubs to form the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the 2005–06 season, the Celtic Cup was discontinued. A separate competition under the same name was inaugurated in 2018 for Welsh and Irish development sides.

Contents

Formation

Following the inception of Welsh regional rugby ahead of the 2003–04 season, the format of the Celtic League tournament was changed so that each team would play each other twice, home and away, with the side that accumulated the most points during the season winning the title. This was a change from previous seasons, which culminated in a knock-out format competition leading to a final. In a bid to attract broadcasters, sponsors and the public by having a "showpiece" final, the Irish, Scottish and Welsh unions agreed to launch a new knock-out cup competition, naming it the Celtic Cup. [1]

2003–04 season

In the inaugural season, the competition was contested by all 12 Celtic League sides and ran concurrently with the league on four weekends between September and December 2003. The tournament was a knock-out format, played over one leg with the first team drawn in each fixture hosting the match. Due to the number of teams competing, eight teams contested the first round in mid-September, while four teams (Edinburgh, Munster, Ulster and Cardiff Blues) were given byes to the quarter-finals, where they would meet the winners from the first round. [2] The winning teams from the first round were Connacht, Glasgow, Leinster and the Llanelli Scarlets.

The quarter-finals took place on the first weekend of October, with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Connacht winning their games. Ulster and Leinster drew their game 23–23 after extra time, but Ulster progressed having scored three tries to Leinster's two. [3] The semi-finals took place in mid-November and saw both the away teams win, as Ulster beat Glasgow and Edinburgh beat Connacht. The final was played at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on 20 December 2003, and saw Ulster beat Edinburgh 27–21 to win the Celtic Cup. [4]

 
Preliminary roundQuarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
20 September – Llanelli
 
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets 40
 
3 October – Llanelli
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg NG Dragons 6
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets 12
 
19 September – Galway
 
 IRFU flag.svg Connacht 14
 
 IRFU flag.svg Connacht 26
 
15 November – Galway
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Borders 21
 
 IRFU flag.svg Connacht 25
 
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Edinburgh 26
 
 
3 October – Edinburgh
 
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Edinburgh 33
 
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cardiff Blues 16
 
 
20 December – Edinburgh
 
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Edinburgh 21
 
20 September – Bridgend
 
 IRFU flag.svg Ulster 27
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Celtic Warriors 9
 
3 October – Glasgow
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Glasgow 19
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Glasgow 18
 
 
 IRFU flag.svg Munster 14
 
 
15 November – Glasgow
 
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Glasgow 13
 
 
 IRFU flag.svg Ulster 20
 
 
3 October – Belfast
 
 
 IRFU flag.svg Ulster 23 (3t)
 
20 September – Dublin
 
 IRFU flag.svg Leinster 23 (2t)
 
 IRFU flag.svg Leinster 35
 
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Ospreys 21
 

Final

20 December 2003
14:30 GMT
Edinburgh Flag of Scotland.svg 21–27 IRFU flag.svg Ulster
Try: Webster
Lee
Blair
Con: Paterson (3/3)		 Report Try: Best
Frost
Con: Humphreys (1/2)
Pen: Humphreys (5)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 17,174
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)

2004–05 season

The format of the competition was changed for the 2004–05 season. It was moved to April and May to run after the conclusion of the Celtic League competition, and only the top eight teams from the league took part, again in a straight knockout format. The quarter-final fixtures were based on the teams' finishing positions in the Celtic League, with the league winners Neath-Swansea Ospreys hosting the eighth-placed side Ulster, second-placed Munster hosting seventh-placed Edinburgh, third-placed Leinster hosting sixth-placed Glasgow and fourth-placed Newport Gwent Dragons hosting fifth-placed Llanelli Scarlets. In this way, the tournament was similar to a play-off system, although the Celtic League and Celtic Cup remained trophies in their own right.

Rather than continuing with the automatic home advantage for the highest-seeded teams remaining in the semi-finals, the fixtures were instead decided by a draw. [5] Munster beat Leinster in Dublin, and the Scarlets won at home to the Ospreys. The final took place on 14 May at Lansdowne Road and saw Munster beat the Scarlets 27–16 to win the second Celtic Cup. [6]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
22 April – Dublin
 
 
 IRFU flag.svg Leinster 33
 
29 April – Dublin
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Glasgow 24
 
 IRFU flag.svg Leinster 17
 
22 April – Limerick
 
 IRFU flag.svg Munster 23
 
 IRFU flag.svg Munster 24
 
6 May – Dublin
 
 Flag of Scotland.svg Edinburgh 14
 
 IRFU flag.svg Munster 27
 
22 April – Newport
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets 16
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg NG Dragons 19
 
29 April – Llanelli
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets 49
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets 23
 
22 April – Swansea
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Ospreys 15
 
 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Ospreys 23
 
 
 IRFU flag.svg Ulster 16
 

Final

14 May 2005
17:30 IST
Munster IRFU flag.svg 27–16 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Scarlets
Try: Horgan 6' c
O'Gara 22' c
Mullins 76' c
Con: O'Gara (3/3)
Pen: O'Gara 39'
Drop: O'Gara 40'		 Report Try: Phillips 34' c
Con: C. Thomas (1/1)
Pen: C. Thomas (3) 12', 42', 59'
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 11,500
Referee: Joel Jutge (France)
FB15 IRFU flag.svg Shaun Payne
RW14 Flag of England.svg Paul Devlin Sub off.svg 64'
OC13 IRFU flag.svg Mike Mullins
IC12 IRFU flag.svg Rob Henderson
LW11 IRFU flag.svg Anthony Horgan
FH10 IRFU flag.svg Ronan O'Gara
SH9 IRFU flag.svg Peter Stringer
N88 IRFU flag.svg Anthony Foley (c)
OF7 IRFU flag.svg David Wallace
BF6 IRFU flag.svg Alan Quinlan
RL5 IRFU flag.svg Paul O'Connell
LL4 IRFU flag.svg Donncha O'Callaghan
TP3 IRFU flag.svg John Hayes
HK2 IRFU flag.svg Frankie Sheahan
LP1 IRFU flag.svg Marcus Horan Sub off.svg 28'
Substitutions:
HK16 IRFU flag.svg Jerry Flannery
PR17 Flag of Scotland.svg Gordon McIlwham Sub on.svg 28'
LK18 IRFU flag.svg Trevor Hogan
FL19 IRFU flag.svg Denis Leamy Sub on.svg 64'
SH20 IRFU flag.svg Mike Prendergast
FH21 IRFU flag.svg Paul Burke
CE22 Flag of England.svg James Storey
Coach:
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Gaffney
Munster vs Scarlets 2005-05-14.svg
FB15 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Barry Davies
RW14 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Garan Evans
OC13 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Matthew Watkins
IC12 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Tal Selley
LW11 Flag of Tonga.svg Aisea Havili Sub off.svg 55'
FH10 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Ceiron Thomas
SH9 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Mike Phillips
N88 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Andy Powell Sub off.svg 55'
OF7 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gavin Thomas
BF6 IRFU flag.svg Simon Easterby (c)
RL5 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Chris Wyatt Sub off.svg 64'
LL4 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Vernon Cooper
TP3 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg John Davies
HK2 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Matthew Rees Sub off.svg 70'
LP1 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Phil John
Substitutions:
PR16 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg David Maddocks
HK17 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Aled Gravelle Sub on.svg 70'
LK18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Adam Jones Sub on.svg 64'
FL19 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gavin Quinnell Sub on.svg 55'
SH20 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Chris McDonald
FH21 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gareth Bowen
WG22 Flag of Tonga.svg Salesi Finau Sub on.svg 55'
Coach:
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gareth Jenkins

Demise

At the end of the 2004–05 season, the Welsh regions signed a deal to join the English Premiership clubs in an Anglo-Welsh Cup competition from the 2005–06 season. With clashing fixtures in the two competitions, the fallout led to the Irish and Scottish sides withdrawing from Celtic competition at the end of May. [7] Talks between the three countries in June led to an agreement to reinstate the Celtic League, but not the Celtic Cup. [8]

For the 2009–10 season, the Celtic League adopted a play-off format similar to that used for the 2004–05 Celtic Cup, but involving the top four teams in the league at the end of the season rather than the top eight. However the Celtic Cup name was not revived and the winners of the play-offs were instead crowned the overall Celtic League champions. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "New Celtic League format agreed". BBC Sport. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Celtic rugby's brave new world". BBC Sport. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ulster earn countback win". BBC Sport. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Ulster hold on for victory". BBC Sport. 20 December 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Cup draw disappoints the Ospreys". BBC Sport. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Munster 27-16 Scarlets". BBC Sport. 14 May 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Celtic League season cancelled". ESPNscrum. ESPN Enterprises. 31 May 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Welsh back in the Celtic fold". ESPNscrum. ESPN Enterprises. 20 June 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Petrie, Richard (29 May 2010). "Leinster 12–17 Ospreys". BBC Sport . Retrieved 31 May 2010.
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