2020–21 Pro14

Due to the delays experienced during the 2019–20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later than usual on 2 October 2020.[4] Leinster were the defending champions, having defeated Ulster 27–5 in the 2019–20 final to defend their title and complete a hat-trick of title wins.^[5]

It was won by Leinster who defeated Munster in the final on 27 March, it was their fourth consecutive Pro14 title and 8th overall.^[6][7]

On 23 December 2020 it was announced that the 2020-21 PRO14 season would conclude on 27 March 2021 after 16 rounds, and will be followed by the

Teams

Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams: Ulster Connacht Leinster Munster Glasgow Warriors Edinburgh Scarlets Ospreys Dragons Cardiff	Location of Italian teams: Benetton Zebre Parma
Conference A; Conference B

Team	Coach / Director of Rugby	Captain	Stadium/ Stadia	Capacity
Benetton	Kieran Crowley	Dewaldt Duvenage	Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso	6,700
Cardiff Blues	Dai Young (interim)	Ellis Jenkins	Cardiff Arms Park	12,125
Connacht	Andy Friend	Jarrad Butler	Galway Sportsgrounds	8,129
Dragons	Dean Ryan	Rhodri Williams	Rodney Parade	8,700
Edinburgh	Richard Cockerill	Stuart McInally	Murrayfield Stadium	67,144[a]
Glasgow Warriors	Danny Wilson	Fraser Brown Ryan Wilson	Scotstoun Stadium	7,351
Leinster	Leo Cullen	Johnny Sexton	RDS Arena Aviva Stadium	18,500 51,700
Munster	Johann van Graan	Peter O'Mahony	Thomond Park Irish Independent Park	25,600[b] 8,008
Ospreys	Toby Booth	Justin Tipuric	Liberty Stadium	20,827
Scarlets	Glenn Delaney	Ken Owens	Parc y Scarlets	14,870
Ulster	Dan McFarland	Iain Henderson	Kingspan Stadium	18,196
Zebre	Michael Bradley	Tommaso Castello	Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi	5,000

Competition format

League Stage

The twelve teams were split into two conferences of six teams, with each conference featuring two teams from Ireland and Wales plus one team from Italy and Scotland.[9] To ensure a competitive balance, the teams were distributed approximately evenly between the conferences based upon their performance in the previous season.^[10]

The regular season consisted of 16 rounds, a home-and-away double round robin with same conference opponents (10 matches), and a home or away tie against each team in the other conference (6 matches). This represented a reduction from previous years, due to a delayed start and in order to make space for the PRO14 Rainbow Cup to be played following the conclusion of the season, which will introduce former Super Rugby teams into the Pro14 competitions.^[8]

Final

The top-ranked team in each conference met in the final on 27 March 2021.

Champions Cup Qualification

The organiser of the European Rugby Champions Cup, EPCR, has not yet confirmed the format for the 2021–22 tournament. If the usual qualification rules apply, at least seven PRO14 teams would qualify. The top three teams in each conference would qualify automatically. Previously, the winner of a playoff match between the fourth-ranked eligible teams in each conference became the seventh qualifying team. However, the organiser has confirmed that no play-off game will be used for European qualification this season and that rankings after round 16 will be used to determine which teams will qualify.^[11] The seventh qualifying team would be the fourth-ranked team which accumulated the most match points.

It is unclear if there will be any further qualifiers as it will influenced by the format of the 2021-22 tournament and, potentially, the final placings in the 2020-21 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. In April 2021 EPCR confirmed a 24 team tournament featuring the top 8 teams.^[12]

Team changes

Ireland

Italy

Scotland

South Africa

The future of the Cheetahs is in doubt and they will likely be withdrawn from the PRO14.

Wales

Table

2020–21 Pro14 table view · watch · edit · discuss
Conference A
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	PTS
1	Leinster (CH)	16	14	0	2	576	285	+291	82	33	14	1	71
2	Ulster	16	14	0	2	469	263	+206	65	34	8	0	64
3	Ospreys	16	8	0	8	301	318	-17	34	39	1	3	36
4	Glasgow Warriors	16	6	0	10	335	377	-42	40	47	2	4	30
5	Dragons	16	6	0	10	215	394	-79	36	50	2	3	29
6	Zebre	16	4	0	12	237	508	-271	22	69	0	1	17
Conference B
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	PTS
1	Munster (RU)	16	14	0	2	413	250	+163	49	26	7	2	64
2	Connacht	16	8	0	8	396	353	+43	53	36	7	6	45
3	Scarlets	16	8	0	8	319	333	-14	36	38	3	4	39
4	Cardiff Blues	16	8	0	8	265	284	-19	30	32	3	1	36
5	Edinburgh	16	5	1	10	247	344	-97	29	43	1	4	29*
6	Benetton	16	0	1	15	252	415	-164	34	53	1	6	7*
* Cancelled fixture: Edinburgh awarded four match points.
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[14] number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received
Green background indicates teams that will compete in the Pro14 Final, and also earn a place in the 2021–22 European Champions Cup Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the 2021–22 European Champions Cup Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2021–22 European Rugby Challenge Cup . (CH) Champions. (RU) Runners-up. (PO) Champions Cup play-off winners.

Match summary

Rounds 1 to 16

Fixtures for the first 11 rounds of matches were announced on 23 September 2020. Several matches were scheduled on Monday nights to avoid clashes with the extended international calendar.[15] The remaining fixtures for rounds 12 to 16 were confirmed on 25 January 2021.^[11]

All times are local.

Round 1

3 October 2020 15:00

(1 BP) Scarlets	27–30	Munster

Parc y Scarlets Referee: Sam Grove-White

3 October 2020 19:35

Edinburgh	10–25	Ospreys

Murrayfield Referee: Andrew Brace

Round 2

10 October 2020 18:15

Benetton	25–37	Leinster (1 BP)

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Referee: Ben Whitehouse

10 October 2020 19:35

Munster	25–23	Edinburgh (1 BP)

Thomond Park Referee: Nigel Owens

10 October 2020 19:35

(1 BP) Cardiff Blues	29–7	Connacht

Rodney Parade Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi

11 October 2020 17:15

Glasgow Warriors	20–7	Scarlets

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Frank Murphy

Round 3

23 October 2020 21:15

(1 BP) Benetton	3–10	Scarlets

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Referee: Andrew Brace

25 October 2020 19:35

(1 BP) Edinburgh	26–37	Connacht (1 BP)

Murrayfield Referee: Adam Jones

Round 4

1 November 2020 14:00

Dragons	16–28	Munster

Rodney Parade Referee: Aled Evans

1 November 2020 18:45

(1 BP) Scarlets	3–6	Edinburgh

Parc y Scarlets Referee: Nigel Owens

2 November 2020 18:00

(1 BP) Cardiff Blues	7–11	Ulster
Try: Lee-Lo 22' c Con: Evans 23'	Report Highlights	Try: Lowry 40+1' Pen: Cooney (2) 16' 64'

Rodney Parade Referee: Adam Jones

2 November 2020 20:15

Zebre	23–17	Ospreys (1 BP)

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi

2 November 2020 20:15

Glasgow Warriors	19–32	Leinster (1 BP)

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Duncan McClement

Round 5

Round 6

15 November 2020 14:45

(1 BP) Munster	38–22	Ospreys

Thomond Park Referee: George Clancy

16 November 2020 19:00

Zebre	14–57	Ulster (1 BP)
Try: Bruno 10' c Casilio 53' c Con: Rizzi 10' Pescetto 54'	Report Highlights	Try: Coetzee (4) 5' c 24' c 35' c 58 Moore 28' Johnston 45' c Marshall 49' c McIlroy 74' Shanahan 79' c Con: Johnston (6) 6' 25' 36' 47' 50' 80'

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Ben Whitehouse

16 November 2020 19:45

Cardiff Blues	22–5	Benetton

Rodney Parade Referee: Frank Murphy

16 November 2020 20:15

(1 BP) Leinster	50–10	Edinburgh

RDS Arena Referee: Craig Evans

Round 7

22 November 2020 15:30

Zebre	12–47	Connacht (1 BP)

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Daniel Jones

23 November 2020 20:15

Glasgow Warriors	13–27	Munster (1 BP)

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Adam Jones

Round 8

29 November 2020 19:35

Cardiff Blues	10–19	Glasgow Warriors

Rodney Parade Referee: Frank Murphy

30 November 2020 20:15

Edinburgh	14–43	Ulster (1 BP)
Try: Blain (2) 32' c 44' c Con: Chamberlain (2) 34' 45'	Report Highlights	Try: Moore 2' c Andrew (3) 18' 72' 80@1' Cooney (2) 23' c 66' c Murphy 59' c Con: Cooney (4) 3' 24' 60' 68'

BT Murrayfield Referee: Craig Evans

Round 4 (rescheduled match)

Round 6 (rescheduled match)

Round 9

26 December 2020 17:15

(1 BP) Ospreys	14–16	Scarlets

Parc y Scarlets[c] Referee: Adam Jones

Round 10

1 January 2021 19:35

Cardiff Blues	3–17	Ospreys

Cardiff City Stadium Referee: Ben Whitehouse

2 January 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Leinster	24–35	Connacht (1 BP)

RDS Arena Referee: Chris Busby

1872 Cup 1st round

2 January 2021 15:00

Edinburgh	10–7	Glasgow Warriors (1 BP)

BT Murrayfield Referee: Sam Grove-White

Round 9 (rescheduled match)

9 January 2021 14:00

Zebre	22–18	Benetton (1 BP)

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Federico Vedovelli

Round 11

8 January 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Leinster	24–12	Ulster
Try: Kearney 22' Cronin 43' c Henshaw 52' Tracy 73' c Con: Sexton 44' Byrne 75'	Report Highlights	Pen: Cooney (4) 14' 34' 40' 69'

RDS Arena Referee: Andrew Brace

9 January 2021 17:15

Dragons	20–28	Ospreys

Rodney Parade Referee: Daniel Jones

9 January 2021 19:35

Cardiff Blues	29–20	Scarlets

Cardiff City Stadium Referee: Craig Evans

Round 9 (rescheduled match)

1872 Cup 2nd round

16 January 2021 17:15

Glasgow Warriors	23–22	Edinburgh (1 BP)

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Mike Adamson

Round 14 (rescheduled match)

Round 11 (rescheduled match)

23 January 2021 14:00

Zebre	10–26	Edinburgh

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi

Round 9 (rescheduled match)

23 January 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Munster	10–13	Leinster

Thomond Park Referee: Andrew Brace

Round 8 (rescheduled match)

Round 5 (rescheduled match)

30 January 2021 18:00

(1 BP) Benetton	16–18	Munster

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Referee: Andrea Piardi

Round 8 (rescheduled match)

30 January 2021 19:35

Scarlets	25–52	Leinster (1 BP)

Parc y Scarlets Referee: Mike Adamson

Round 5 (rescheduled match)

5 February 2021 19:35

Dragons	20–30	Connacht (1 BP)

Rodney Parade Referee: Craig Evans

Round 12

19 February 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	13–19	Ulster
Try: Seiuli 76' c Con: Thompson 77' Pen: Hastings (2) 36' 50'	Report Highlights	Try: Lowry 39' c Gilroy 55' Timoney 62' c Con: Cooney (2) 40' 63'

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Ben Blain

19 February 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Dragons	29–35	Leinster (1 BP)

Rodney Parade Referee: Ben Whitehouse

20 February 2021 15:00

(1 BP) Scarlets	41–17	Benetton

Parc y Scarlets Referee: Daniel Jones

20 February 2021 19:35

Edinburgh	10–22	Munster

Murrayfield Referee: Mike Adamson

Round 13

26 February 2021 17:30

(1 BP) Benetton	17–19	Connacht

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Referee: Marius Mitrea

26 February 2021 20:00

Cardiff Blues	11–20	Munster

Cardiff Arms Park Referee: Adam Jones

27 February 2021 12:00

(1 BP) Edinburgh	25–27	Scarlets

Murrayfield Referee: Ben Blain

28 February 2021 17:30

(1 BP) Leinster	40–21	Glasgow Warriors

RDS Arena Referee: Frank Murphy

Round 14

5 March 2021 19:35

Munster	20–17	Connacht (1 BP)

Thomond Park Referee: Chris Busby

6 March 2021 13:00

Zebre	20–31	Glasgow Warriors (1 BP)

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Andrea Piardi

7 March 2021 15:15

Edinburgh	Cancelled 0–0	Benetton

Murrayfield

• Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Edinburgh were awarded four match points.

Round 15

12 March 2021 17:45

Zebre	31–48	Leinster (1 BP)

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Referee: Marius Mitrea

12 March 2021 20:00

(1 BP) Munster	28–10	Scarlets

Thomond Park Referee: Sean Gallagher

12 March 2021 20:00

Glasgow Warriors	30–25	Ospreys (1 BP)

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Sam Grove-White

13 March 2021 19:35

(1 BP) Dragons	22–26	Ulster (1 BP)
Try: Griffiths 55' c Dyer 73' Holmes 77' c Con: Davies 55' Lewis 77' Pen: Davies 34'	Report Highlights	Try: Mathewson 13' c Moore (2) 20' c 60' c Andrew 49' Con: Lowry (3) 14' 22' 61'

Millennium Stadium[17] Referee: Adam Jones

Round 16

19 March 2021 18:00

(1 BP) Munster	31–17	Benetton

Thomond Park Referee: Hollie Davidson

19 March 2021 20:15

(1 BP) Leinster	19–24	Ospreys

RDS Arena Referee: Chris Busby

21 March 2021 15:00

Dragons	26–17	Glasgow Warriors

Millennium Stadium[17] Referee: Daniel Jones

22 March 2021 20:00

(1 BP) Cardiff Blues	34–15	Edinburgh

Cardiff Arms Park Referee: Nigel Owens

22 March 2021 20:00

(1 BP) Scarlets	41–36	Connacht (2 BP)

Parc y Scarlets Referee: Ben Whitehouse

Round 11 (rescheduled match)

27 March 2021 13:45

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	46–25	Benetton (1 BP)

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Frank Murphy

Round 7 (rescheduled match)

28 March 2021 14:00

Dragons	24–17	Edinburgh (1 BP)

Millennium Stadium[17] Referee: Craig Evans

Play-offs

Final

27 March 2021 17:00

Leinster	16–6	Munster

RDS Arena Referee: Mike Adamson

Referees

Pro14 2018–19 14-man referee elite squad: (number of matches refereed):^[18]

Note: Additional referees are used throughout the season, selected from a select development squad.

Attendances by club

Club	Home games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Benetton	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Cardiff Blues	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Connacht	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Dragons	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Edinburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Glasgow Warriors	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Leinster	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Munster	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Ospreys	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Scarlets	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Ulster	0	0	0	0	0	0%
Zebre	0	0	0	0	0	0%

Highest attendances

End of Season Awards

PRO14 Dream Team

The 2020–21 Pro14 Dream team is:^[19]

Pos		Player	Team
FB	15	Michael Lowry	Ulster
RW	14	Alex Wootton	Connacht
OC	13	Huw Jones	Glasgow Warriors
IC	12	Damian de Allende	Munster
LW	11	Dave Kearney	Leinster
FH	10	Jack Carty	Connacht
SH	9	John Cooney	Ulster
N8	8	Marcell Coetzee	Ulster
OF	7	Scott Penny	Leinster
BF	6	Josh Turnbull	Cardiff Blues
RL	5	Gavin Thornbury	Connacht
LL	4	Billy Holland	Munster
TP	3	Michael Bent	Leinster
HK	2	Kevin O'Byrne	Munster
LP	1	Eric O'Sullivan	Ulster

Award winners

The 2020–21 Pro14 award winners were:^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]}

Award	Winner
Players' Player of the Season	Marcell Coetzee (Ulster)
Next-Gen Star of the Season	Scott Penny (Leinster)
Chairman's Award	Dr. Vincenzo Ieracitano (FIR) Dr. Rod McLoughlin (IRFU) Dr. Michael Dunlop (Edinburgh) Dr. James Robson (SRU) Clint Readhead (SARU) Prav Mathema (WRU)
Golden Boot	Stephen Myler (Ospreys)
Top Try Scorer	Marcell Coetzee (Ulster) Scott Penny (Leinster Rugby) Alex Wootton (Conancht)
Tackle Machine	Dragons )
Turnover King	Chris Cloete (Munster)
Ironman Award	Dragons )

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points As of 28 March 2021[28] Rank Player Club Points 1 John Cooney Ulster 115 2 Sam Davies Dragons 113 3 Jack Carty Connacht 102 4 Jarrod Evans Cardiff Blues 94 Stephen Myler Ospreys 6 Harry Byrne Leinster 91 7 JJ Hanrahan Munster 85 8 Ben Healy Munster 77 9 Antonio Rizzi Zebre 68 10 Jaco van der Walt Edinburgh 66

Most tries As of 28 March 2021[28] Rank Player Club Tries 1 Marcell Coetzee Ulster 9 Scott Penny Leinster Alex Wootton Connacht 4 Gavin Coombes Munster 8 Dave Kearney Leinster 6 John Andrew Ulster 7 Luke McGrath Leinster 8 Dane Blacker Scarlets 6 Jonah Holmes Dragons Cian Kelleher Leinster Stewart Moore Ulster Dan Sheehan Leinster

Notes