The final of the Guinness PRO14 takes place tomorrow with Munster and Leinster battling it out at the RDS for the first major trophy of the season.
The game will be shown live on TG4 and on eirSport, perhaps the last to be so as the rights are now up for renewal and eir seems unlikely to remain in the sporting arena.
They will be though for the follow up Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup, the details of which are published this morning in full for the first time.
Sport is always about forward movement and the trophy will barely have been lifted before the team behind the event will be gearing up to welcome South African teams into an expanded tournament that will bridge the gap to a larger format for the 2021/22 season proper in the autumn.
The action will kick-off on the weekend of April 24 with fixtures for the first three rounds now confirmed.
Three weekends of derby action will be followed by cross-hemisphere fixtures where the existing Guinness PRO14 teams will face the Vodacom Bulls, the Emirates Lions, Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers for the very first time.
Ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, these games should help to ignite the rivalries that will play out in the summer when the Lions and the reigning World Champion Springboks go head-to-head.
Changes to scheduling and format of the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup have been made to limit travel where possible with the opening three rounds accounting for derby fixtures across Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
Rounds 4 to 6 will see the four South African ‘Super’ franchises play their away games in Europe and those fixtures will be confirmed once all appropriate travel approvals have been confirmed by the relevant authorities and governments. This format means that no teams from Europe will travel to South Africa for Guinness Rainbow Cup games.
A total of six rounds, with eight games per round, will take place with all teams ranked in a single league table.
The top two teams will then play each other in the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup Final on June 19.
Discussions are taking place with broadcast partners about the scheduling of the Final in particular which will take place in the second week of the Euro 2020 Football Championships.
Those partners are the same as for the current deal with TG4 and eir Sport in Ireland, premier Sports, DAZN, S4C and Super Sport in other jurisdictions.
“Everyone is glad that we can now put some certainty into the rugby calendar in what has been an unpredictable period,” said tournament director David Jordan.
“Planning for a cross-hemisphere competition where the situation has been so fluid has provided many challenges, but we believe we have found a solution that is practical and safe to deliver a unique competition that supporters can get excited about.”
“Throughout the Guinness PRO14 season, we have liaised with our unions and their governments to ensure we are meeting the conditions set out for elite sport to operate. We are very grateful for that support, without which a cross-border competition such as ours could not have taken place.”
GUINNESS PRO14 RAINBOW CUP FIXTURES
R1 – Weekend of April 24, 2021
Ulster v Connacht
Leinster v Munster
Benetton v Glasgow Warriors
Edinburgh v Zebre Rugby Club
Ospreys v Cardiff Blues
Dragons v Scarlets
Vodacom Bulls v Emirates Lions
DHL Stormers v Cell C Sharks
R2 – Weekend of May 1, 2021 (EPCR Semi-Final Weekend)
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls
Cell C Sharks v Emirates Lions
R2 – Weekend of May 8, 2021
Connacht v Leinster
Munster v Ulster
Zebre v Benetton
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
Cardiff Blues v Dragons
Scarlets v Ospreys
R3 – Weekend of May 8, 2021
Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks
Emirates Lions v DHL Stormers
R3 – Weekend of May 15, 2021
Munster v Connacht
Leinster v Ulster
Benetton v Zebre
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues
Dragons v Ospreys
Round 4: Weekend of May 29.
Round 5: Weekend of June 5.
Round 6: Weekend of June 12.
Final: Weekend of June 19.
Sport for Business Partners
