Scarlets Kick Off Celtic League Defence At Borders

There will be a double dose of derby delight for Welsh rugby fans when the Celtic League kicks-off in September with the second and third round of fixtures featuring all-Welsh clashes. Welsh giants Llanelli Scarlets will launch the defence of their title away from home at The Borders on Friday, 3 September, while The Dragons will get a free weekend at the start. The Ospreys are the only Welsh team at home in the first round, hosting mighty Munster, while Cardiff Blues have to travel to Dublin to face Leinster.
‘It’s going to be a bigger challenge to try to retain the title than it was winning it last season,’ said Scarlets coach Nigel Davies. ‘We have put ourselves up there to be shot at and no doubt everyone will raise their game a couple of levels when we meet them.
‘It won’t be easy starting at The Borders – we believe they have significantly strengthened their squad and it is always hard to judge the likely strengths of any side in the first game when there has been so much movement in the summer. The Borders let themselves down last season and will be looking for a big improvement and, obviously, a winning start against us.’ New Dragons coach Chris Anderson, the former Australian rugby league Test player and coach, couldn’t have asked for a bigger game to kick-off his new job in rugby union as he will have to take his team to Cardiff Arms Park to face the Blues. At least his players will get an extra week to prepare as they are the team given a bye on the first weekend.
‘It’s a really exciting way to start the season and it shows what a credible tournament the Celtic League is. Not only are we playing against a top side at a great venue, but we are also engaging our biggest rivals,’ said Dragons chief executive Andy Marinos.
‘Chris has already done his research on the history of Welsh rugby and knows that teams from Newport and Cardiff have been slugging it out since the year dot. That rivalry remains even though we have changed our names and it will be great for our fans to have the Blues coming to Rodney Parade over the Christmas period.
‘We were very proud to finish in third place in the Celtic League last season and even prouder to have gone through the season without suffering a home defeat. That is something to build on for Chris and our new squad, but we all know that the standard and stature of this tournament is growing and growing.
‘It was hard for everyone last season with the World Cup in the middle of the season, and games going head to head with international call ups for the Six Nations games, but with those pressures taken away I’m sure we are going to see an even stronger challenge from the Irish sides with the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Ronan O’Gara and Peter Stringer taking centre stage for their provinces far more frequently.’
The second and third weekends of the Celtic League have been turned into domestic affairs with some mouth-watering local derbies scheduled to whet the appetites of the fans. In Wales, The Scarlets will host arch-rivals The Ospreys and The Blues will battle against The Dragons on week two, while the following weekend The Dragons will entertain the Scarlets and The Ospreys will entertain The Blues.
In Ireland, Ulster’s home record will come under threat from Leinster and Munster will receive Connacht in round two, while Ulster will travel to Connacht and Munster to Leinster in round three. The Scottish supporters meanwhile, will have the big ‘Inter-City’ derby between Glasgow and Edinburgh to savour on week two and then The Borders against Glasgow the next weekend.
Edinburgh Rugby will have revenge on their minds when the Celtic League kicks-off on the first weekend of September with reigning Celtic Cup holders Ulster returning to the Scottish capital to face the side they beat to take that trophy at Murrayfield last season.
Ulster’s 27-21 triumph ensured one of Celtic Rugby’s top trophies went to Ireland for the third successive season. Leinster and Munster were the first two winners of the three nation tournament. While new Ulster coach Mark McCall will start his campaign against Frank Hadden’s Edinburgh side at Meadowbank on Saturday, 4 September,
Edinburgh’s task will be to overturn three defeats by Ulster in the league and cup last season when they host them again. Ulster were 41-3 victors in the equivalent League fixture at Meadowbank last season and they won the return home tie at Ravenhill comfortably enough 37-0.
‘It’s great to kick-off the season with a home game and the fact we will be playing Ulster makes it all the more interesting,’ said Edinburgh coach Frank Hadden.
‘As they demonstrated in the Celtic Cup final at Murrayfield, they have some fantastic supporters and they always travel in big numbers to Scotland. It should be a cracking game and it will be a fantastic way for some of my fledgling players to test themselves against one of the top teams in the tournament.
‘We had 19 players who played for the Scottish senior side last season and we were delighted with the progress we made as a team in both of the Celtic tournaments and the Heineken Cup. The challenge now is to build on that progress and become an even better side.
‘The Celtic League is the life blood of professional rugby in the three Celtic nations and we want to ensure that Scotland provides the strongest possible challenge for the top domestic honours.’
Tournament Director Keith Grainger is full of optimism about the future of Celtic Rugby. ‘This will be the second full season of home and away fixtures in the Celtic League and all the signs are that the tournament is set to continue it’s tremendous growth and appeal. The fact it will provide the ranking for the Scottish and Welsh clubs for Heineken Cup qualification once again is another key factor and the addition of a play off place on offer for another Celtic side will keep the lower end of the table bubbling right until the final whistle,’ said Tournament Director, Keith Grainger.
‘The Celtic League has now got broadcast partnerships with four main partners; BBC Wales and S4C in Wales and Setanta in Ireland. We also hope to be in a position to confirm details of a new LIVE match broadcast partner in Scotland’.
The top eight teams in the Celtic League will qualify for a revamped Celtic Cup competition that will be played over three weekends in April and May.