Glasgow and Leinster together in re-jigged PRO14 conferences
General view of Celtic Park during the Guinness PRO14 Final match between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster Rugby at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom on May 25, 2019 (Photo by Andrew Surma/ Sipa USA).
The conferences for the next two PRO14 campaigns have been outlined with the finalists from last season, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster, being drawn together in Conference A.
It is based upon the finishing positions during the regular season table, resulting in six teams swapping divisions.
That means Munster, who ended on 77 points, are seeded higher than their arch rivals from Dublin, despite Leo Cullen’s men going on to lift the trophy.
Using the tables completed after Round 21 of the 2018/19 PRO14 season, sides were ordered from one to 14 based upon their final points totals and then ranked within their union.
The criteria for placing teams in each conference relies on competitiveness and ensuring an equal spread of teams from each union are present in both divisions.
As a result, the layout for the next two seasons are as follows:
Conference A
Glasgow Warriors (SCO 1)
Leinster (IRE 2)
Ulster (IRE 3)
Ospreys (WAL 1)
Dragons (WAL 4)
Zebre (ITA 2)
Cheetahs (SA 1)
Conference B
Edinburgh (SCO 2)
Munster (IRE 1)
Connacht (IRE 4)
Cardiff Blues (WAL 2)
Scarlets (WAL 3)
Benetton Rugby (ITA 1)
Southern Kings (SA 2)