2001–02 Celtic League

The2001–02 Celtic Leaguewas the inaugural season of theCeltic League.The first season would see fifteen teams compete: thefour Irish provinces:Connacht,Leinster,MunsterandUlster;two Scottish teams:Edinburgh ReiversandGlasgow;and all nineWelsh Premier Divisionteams:Bridgend,Caerphilly,Cardiff,Ebbw Vale,Llanelli,Neath,Newport,PontypriddandSwansea.

2001–02 Celtic League
Countries	Ireland (4 teams) Scotland (2 teams) Wales (9 teams)
Number of teams	15
Champions	Leinster(1st title)
Runners-up	Munster
Matches played	56
Attendance	252,213 (average 4,504 per match)
Tries scored	271 (average 4.8 per match)
Top point scorer	David Humphreys(Ulster), 122 points
Top try scorer	Girvan Dempsey(Leinster), 7 Denis Hickie(Leinster), 7
Official website
www.rabodirectpro12.com

Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of 8 and 7) and played a series ofround-robinmatches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into theknock-outphase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the2001–02 Welsh-Scottish Leaguealso counted towards the new competition.

The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners. Leinster's 10–0 debut 'perfect season' is one of only two in the history of the competition in its various forms. The other, a 17–0 record, was also achieved byLeinsterwas in 2020.

Background

Wales and Scotland had joined forces for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, with the expansion of theWelsh Premier Divisionto includeEdinburghandGlasgowto form theWelsh-Scottish League.

In 2001, an agreement was made between theIrish Rugby Football Union(IRFU),Scottish Rugby Union(SRU) andWelsh Rugby Union(WRU) to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of theCeltic League.

Teams and personnel

Overview

Country	Team	Stadia information			Coach
		Stadia	Capacity	Location
Ireland	Connacht	The Sportsground	6,129	Galway,County Galway	Steph Nel
	Leinster	Donnybrook Stadium	6,000	Donnybrook,County Dublin	Matt Williams
	Munster	Thomond Park	25,600	Limerick,County Limerick	Declan Kidney
		Musgrave Park	8,008	Ballyphehane,County Cork
	Ulster	Ravenhill Stadium	18,196	Belfast,Northern Ireland	Alan Solomons
Scotland	Edinburgh	Myreside Stadium	13,799	Edinburgh,Lothian	Frank Hadden
	Glasgow	Hughenden	6,000	Hyndland,Strathclyde	Richie Dixon
Wales	Bridgend	Brewery Field	8,000	Bridgend,Bridgend County Borough	Dennis John
	Caerphilly	Virginia Park	6,000	Caerphilly,Caerphilly County Borough	Gareth Nicholas
	Cardiff	Cardiff Arms Park	12,125	Cardiff	Rudy Joubert
	Ebbw Vale	Eugene Cross Park	8,000	Blaenau Gwent	Mike Ruddock
	Llanelli	Stradey Park	10,800	Llanelli,Carmarthenshire	Gareth Jenkins
	Neath	The Gnoll	6,000	Neath,Neath Port Talbot	Lyn Jones
	Newport	Rodney Parade	8,700	Newport	Ian McIntosh
	Pontypridd	Sardis Road	7,861	Pontypridd,Rhondda Cynon Taf	Lynn Howells
	Swansea	St Helen's	4,500	Brynmill,Swansea	John Plumtree

Locations

Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams: Ulster Connacht Leinster Munster Glasgow Edinburgh Welsh teams 2001–02 Celtic League (the United Kingdom and Ireland)

Location of Welsh teams: Bridgend Caerphilly Cardiff Ebbw Vale Llanelli Neath Newport Pontypridd Swansea 2001–02 Celtic League (Wales)

Pool stage

The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin; each team played the other teams in its pool once only.

Pool A

Pool A standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leinster(C)	7	7	0	0	281	114	+167	21	Advance toknockout stage
2	Ulster	7	4	1	2	194	157	+37	13
3	Glasgow	7	4	1	2	204	172	+32	13
4	Llanelli	7	4	0	3	175	123	+52	12
5	Swansea	7	3	0	4	124	158	−34	9
6	Bridgend	7	3	0	4	161	208	−47	9
7	Pontypridd	7	1	0	6	111	207	−96	3
8	Ebbw Vale	7	1	0	6	134	245	−111	3

Source:globalrugbyresults.com
(C)Champion

Pool A results

17 August 19:15

Bridgend	19–27	Pontypridd
	Report

Brewery Field Attendance: 3,500 Referee:David McHugh(Ireland)

17 August 19:30

Ulster	30–13	Swansea
	Report

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee:Chris White(England)

17 August 19:35

Leinster	39–11	Glasgow
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee:Paul Adams(Wales)

18 August 18:00

Llanelli	46–16	Ebbw Vale
	Report

Stradey Park Attendance: 3,000 Referee:Alain Rolland(Ireland)

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24 August 19:05

Llanelli	17–19	Leinster
	Report

Stradey Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee:Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)

24 August 19:30

Ebbw Vale	18–13	Pontypridd
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 3,000

24 August 19:30

Glasgow	25–25	Ulster
	Report

Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 6,095 Referee:Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)

25 August 18:00

Swansea	16–25	Bridgend
	Report

St Helen's Attendance: 3,250

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28 August 19:00

Leinster	55–13	Ebbw Vale
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 3,200 Referee:John Barnard(England)

28 August 19:00

Ulster	26–27	Llanelli
	Report

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee:Rob Dickson(Scotland)

28 August 19:15

Pontypridd	6–11	Swansea
	Report

Sardis Road Attendance: 4,000 Referee:Alan Lewis(Ireland)

29 August 19:00

Bridgend	50–15	Glasgow
	Report

Brewery Field Attendance: 4,300

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31 August 19:30

Glasgow	59–14	Pontypridd
	Report

Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 4,110 Referee:Alain Rolland(Ireland)

31 August 19:35

Leinster	31–9	Ulster
	Report

Referee:Nigel Williams(Wales)

1 September 14:30

Ebbw Vale	21–26	Swansea
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 3,500 Referee:David Davies(Wales)

1 September 14:30

Llanelli	36–3	Bridgend
	Report

Stradey Park Attendance: 3,000

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7 September 19:05

Ebbw Vale	27–29	Ulster
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee:Tony Spreadbury(England)

8 September 14:30

Pontypridd	17–19	Llanelli
	Report

Sardis Road Attendance: 5,000 Referee:Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)

8 September 14:30

Swansea	13–21	Glasgow
	Report

St Helen's Attendance: 2,500 Referee:Donal Courtney(Ireland)

8 September 19:30

Bridgend	32–51	Leinster
	Report

Brewery Field Attendance: 2,650 Referee:Steve Lander(England)

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11 September 19:00

Leinster	52–14	Pontypridd
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 3,056 Referee:Rob Dixon(England)

11 September 19:05

Llanelli	21–27	Swansea
	Report

Stradey Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee:David McHugh(Ireland)

11 September 19:30

Glasgow	58–22	Ebbw Vale
	Report

Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 2,179 Referee:Olan Trevor(Ireland)

12 September 19:30

Ulster	46–14	Bridgend
	Report

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee:Alain Rolland(Ireland)

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14 September 19:30

Glasgow	15–9	Llanelli
	Report

Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 5,375 Referee:David Tyndall(Ireland)

15 September 14:30

Ebbw Vale	17–18	Bridgend
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 2,800 Referee:Nigel Williams(Wales)

15 September 14:30

Pontypridd	20–29	Ulster
	Report

Sardis Road Attendance: 3,200 Referee:Chris White(England)

15 September 14:30

Swansea	18–34	Leinster
	Report

St Helen's Attendance: 4,000 Referee:Iain Ramage(Scotland)

Pool B standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Munster	6	5	0	1	228	120	+108	15	Advance toknockout stage
2	Connacht	6	4	0	2	152	97	+55	12
3	Neath	6	4	0	2	151	116	+35	12
4	Newport	6	3	0	3	147	109	+38	9
5	Cardiff	6	3	0	3	128	135	−7	9
6	Edinburgh	6	2	0	4	134	159	−25	6
7	Caerphilly	6	0	0	6	88	292	−204	0

Source:globalrugbyresults.com

Pool B results

17 August 19:30

Edinburgh	22–25	Munster
	Report

Myreside Attendance: 5,410 Referee:Nigel Williams(Wales)

18 August 14:30

Caerphilly	13–43	Neath
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 3,500 Referee:Tony Spreadbury(England)

18 August 14:30

Cardiff	3–6	Connacht
	Report

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee:Rob Dickson(Scotland)

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24 August 18:15

Connacht	21–30	Edinburgh
	Report

The Sportsground Attendance: 1,800

24 August 19:00

Neath	25–14	Cardiff
	Report

The Gnoll Attendance: 5,000

25 August 14:30

Newport	50–22	Caerphilly
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,260

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28 August 19:30

Edinburgh	20–32	Neath
	Report

Myreside Attendance: 3,075 Referee:Donal Courtney(Ireland)

28 August 19:35

Munster	40–19	Connacht
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 6,000 Referee:Paul Adams(Wales)

29 August 19:00

Cardiff	20–14	Newport
	Report

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 7,500 Referee:Steve Lander(England)

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31 August 19:05

Neath	30–22	Munster
	Report

The Gnoll Attendance: 2,250

1 September 14:30

Caerphilly	15–49	Cardiff
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 1,900 Referee:Paul Adams(Wales)

1 September 14:30

Newport	29–11	Edinburgh
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,164 Referee:Olan Trevor(Ireland)

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7 September 18:15

Connacht	28–10	Neath
	Report

The Sportsground Attendance: 550 Referee:Jim Yuille(Scotland)

7 September 19:30

Edinburgh	27–20	Caerphilly
	Report

Myreside Attendance: 2,648

7 September 19:35

Munster	29–21	Newport
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 4,560 Referee:Iain Ramage(Scotland)

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11 September 19:15

Caerphilly	18–61	Munster
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 1,500

11 September 19:15

Cardiff	32–24	Edinburgh
	Report

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee:Tony Spreadbury(England)

11 September 19:30

Newport	14–16	Connacht
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,821

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15 September 13:30

Munster	51–10	Cardiff
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,055 Referee:Rob Dickson(Scotland)

15 September 17:30

Neath	11–19	Newport
	Report

The Gnoll Attendance: 3,625 Referee:Gareth Simmons(Wales)

16 September 15:00

Connacht	62–0	Caerphilly
	Report

The Sportsground Attendance: 455 Referee:Steve Leyshon(England)

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	30 November –Dublin
	Leinster	34
					7 December –Dublin
	Newport	22
					Leinster	35
	1 December –Galway
					Glasgow	13
	Connacht	29
									15 December –Dublin
	Glasgow	34
									Leinster	24
	1 December –Limerick
									Munster	20
	Munster	13
					8 December –Dublin
	Llanelli	6
					Munster	15
	30 November –Belfast
					Ulster	9
	Ulster	38
	Neath	29

Quarter-finals

30 November 19:05

Ulster	38–29	Neath
	Report

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 12,000

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30 November 19:35

Leinster	34–22	Newport
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 7,300

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1 December 14:00

Connacht	29–34	Glasgow
	Report

The Sportsground

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1 December 17:30

Munster	13–6	Llanelli
	Report

Thomond Park

Semi-finals

7 December 19:30

Leinster	35–13	Glasgow
	Report

Lansdowne Road Attendance: 5,500

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8 December 15:00

Munster	15–9	Ulster
	Report

Lansdowne Road Attendance: 12,500

Final

15 December 15:00

Leinster	24–20	Munster
	Report

Lansdowne Road Attendance: 30,000 Referee:Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)

15 Girvan Dempsey 14 Denis Hickie 13 Brian O'Driscoll 12 Shane Horgan 11 Gordon D'Arcy 10 Nathan Spooner 9 Brian O'Meara 8 Victor Costello 7 Keith Gleeson 6 Eric Miller 5 Malcolm O'Kelly 4 Leo Cullen 3 Paul Wallace 2 Shane Byrne 1 Reggie Corrigan(c) Replacements: 16 Peter Coyle 17 Gavin Hickie 18 Bob Casey 19 Trevor Brennan 20 Ben Willis 21 Peter McKenna Coach: Matt Williams

15 Dominic Crotty 14 Anthony Horgan 13 John Kelly 12 Rob Henderson 11 John O'Neill 10 Ronan O'Gara 9 Mike Prendergast 8 Anthony Foley 7 Alan Quinlan 6 Jim Williams 5 Paul O'Connell 4 Mick Galwey(c) 3 Peter Clohessy 2 Frankie Sheahan 1 Marcus Horan Replacements: 16 Martin Cahill 18 Mick O'Driscoll 19 Colm McMahon 21 Jason Holland 22 Mike Mullins Coach: Declan Kidney

Leading scorers

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

Top points scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Points
1	David Humphreys	Ulster	122
2	Tommy Hayes	Glasgow	111
3	Lee Jarvis	Neath	100
4	Nathan Spooner	Leinster	97
5	Stephen Jones	Llanelli	89

Top try scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Tries
1	Girvan Dempsey	Leinster	7
	Denis Hickie	Leinster
3	Craig Hudson	Cardiff	6
	Wayne Munn	Connacht
5	Mike Mullins	Munster	5

External links

• Official Web site
  • Tables
  • Fixtures and results
• Season Archive at BBC