The Guinness Pro14 is set to resume on August 22 after a five month hiatus. A board meeting on Tuesday determined that the league, along with professional medical guidance, would restart with derby games.
August 22 restart
Saturday August 22 is officially the date that the Guinness Pro14 plans to resume action with two rounds of derby games to kick us back off.
Those games will count towards the final standings, therefore cutting the regular season to 15 games, down from 21. Any games previously postponed will be deemed as 0-0 draws.
Zebre vs Ospreys and Benetton vs Ulster both saw postponements and will be calculated as such, adding two points to their current tally.
Derbies in Italy, Scotland and South Africa will be played back to back, whilst Welsh and Irish fixtures are yet to be confirmed.
The season will conclude on September 12, with the top two teams from each conference qualifying for semi-finals. No decision has yet been made on possible venues.
EPCR qualifying setup confirmed
The qualification for the Champions Cup will be taken from when the season stopped, including the the draws aforementioned.
EPCR has yet to confirm its position on how next season’s competitions will look, but there are reports of a 24-team competition, which would see the Dragons take up a spot from the Guinness Pro14.
2020-21 season
Looking ahead, a provisional date of October 3 has been set as a starting point for the round one fixtures.
“Main photo credit”
Pictured at today’s ticket announcement is WRU CEO Martyn Phillips and Guinness PRO14 CEO Martin Anayi
(Photo Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
