The new Rugby Season gets underway this evening with the first round of matches in the Guinness PRO14.
Leinster travel to Cardiff and eir Sport are kicking off their first season as the TV station with every game by opening up for Freeview to everyone on Saorview, Sky or via mobile. The only viewers who won’t get to see Leo Cullen’s Boys in Blue begin the defence of their title are those on Virgin Media’s platform.
This is a big year for the tournament that began life as the Celtic League and moved to the PRO12 before expanding last year to a PRO14 and the welcoming of South African teams.
In rugby terms, it had a magical year. PRO14 teams won both the European Champions and Challenge Cups. There were 297 international players involved over the course of the campaign and as a testing ground for young players, it hit every mark with no fewer than 76 players making test match debuts.
It was entertaining with 861 tries scored and it was increasingly popular with attendance figures up ten per cent to an overall 1,307,949.
What was once the tournament that provided matches in between the big European Weekends has grown up into being a real player.
This season has seen a ramping up of revenue coming into the clubs through increased commercial revenue and a significant uplift in the value of broadcast rights.
Premier Sport have taken on rights in Britain while eir Sport, the new self-styled ‘Home of Rugby’ will show every minute of every game throughout the season. Almost all of it will be live and exclusive, apart from 28 games that will be shown on TG4.
Coverage now moves from a general three games in each round being televised to all seven.
The deal with SuperSport in South Africa puts the tournament on the same footing as Super Rugby, while the Premiership in England, under new sponsorship from Gallagher, a US Based insurance Group, is beginning to look nervously over its collective shoulder.
Other international deals have also raised the income and the interest, and there is a real confidence in the steps being taken by CEO Martin Anayi and Commercial and Marketing Director Dermot Rigley.
This years final will take place at the Glasgow Celtic home ground of Parkhead. The last two have been held in Dublin and attracted crowds of over 40,000. Last years could have been a case of an afterthought coming hot on the heels of Leinster’s European Champions Cup win but that didn’t filter through to either players or fans.
Without a doubt, there is a greater level of anticipation around this season than ever before. That’s felt by those who are managing each of Ireland’s provinces as well as by clubs across Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa.
It seems like it has been a short summer, packed with other sporting highs, and yes, this weekend will most likely belong to the GAA but the PRO14 will be around after the strains of Molly Malone have died down around Croke Park, and it is growing stronger with every passing season.
This article was first published online by the Sunday Business Post, where Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business is a regular contributor.
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