2006–07 Celtic League
The 2006–07 Celtic League (known as the 2006–07 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth Celtic League season and the first with Magners as title sponsor. The season commenced on 1 September and was completed on 12 May.
| 2006–07 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
 A scrum between Cardiff Blues and Munster | |
| Countries |  Ireland Scotland Wales |
| Champions | Ospreys (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Cardiff Blues |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Attendance | 661,163 (average 6,011 per match) |
| Tries scored | 453 (average 4.1 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Dan Parks (Glasgow) (197 points)[1] |
| Top try scorer | Darren Daniel (Llanelli Scarlets) Barry Davies (Llanelli Scarlets) Jamie Heaslip (Leinster) Andrew Trimble (Ulster) (7 tries)[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The teams competing remained the same as the previous season with four Irish provinces; Munster, Leinster, Connacht and 2005–06 champions Ulster, three Scottish regions; Edinburgh, Border Reivers and Glasgow Warriors and four Welsh regions; Llanelli Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons.
The league was won for the second time in three seasons by the Ospreys, with a final-day win over the Borders, playing their last match, as the Scottish Rugby Union had announced that the Borders would not exist in the following season.[3] Cardiff Blues finished second, making this the only season of the tournament (as of 2021) in which no Irish team made the top two of the United Rugby Championship and predecessor tournaments.[4]
Teams
 Winners;  2nd–4th place;  Other teams. | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Border Reivers |
Netherdale | 6,000 | Galashiels, Scotland |
| Cardiff Blues |
Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
| Connacht |
Galway Sportsgrounds | 5,500 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
| Edinburgh |
Murrayfield Stadium | 67,144[lower-alpha 1] | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Glasgow Warriors |
Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leinster |
Donnybrook Stadium[lower-alpha 2] | 6,500 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Llanelli Scarlets |
Stradey Park | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
| Munster |
Thomond Park Musgrave Park |
13,200 8,300 |
Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Newport Gwent Dragons |
Rodney Parade | 12,000 | Newport, Wales |
| Ospreys |
Liberty Stadium | 20,500 | Swansea, Wales |
| Ulster |
Ravenhill | 12,800 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Pre-season
Ulster began the season as the reigning champions whilst Munster are Heineken Cup champions of the 2005–06 season. Prior to the season commencing it was announced by the Irish Rugby Football Union that some of their internationals were to be rested during part of the season as the Rugby World Cup takes place at the end. This would include the first four matches of the season, to allow for recovery from the June internationals. Those who did not play much during the internationals may return sooner.[5] Major signings during the off-season include Justin Marshall for the Ospreys[6] and Stephen Jones for the Scarlets.[7] The free weekend scheme, where each team that did not compete in a match on a weekend due to the odd number of teams in the league would receive 4 points, was scrapped.[8]
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ospreys |
20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 461 | 374 | +87 | 49 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 64 |
| 2 | Cardiff Blues |
20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 447 | 327 | +120 | 53 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 63 |
| 3 | Leinster |
20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 472 | 376 | +96 | 54 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 61 |
| 4 | Llanelli Scarlets |
20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 490 | 417 | +73 | 61 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 57 |
| 5 | Ulster |
20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 423 | 310 | +113 | 45 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 55 |
| 6 | Munster |
20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 379 | 294 | +85 | 37 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | Glasgow Warriors |
20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 434 | 419 | +15 | 42 | 49 | 3 | 2 | 49 |
| 8 | Edinburgh |
20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 335 | 423 | −88 | 31 | 45 | 2 | 6 | 42 |
| 9 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 353 | 362 | −9 | 36 | 43 | 1 | 6 | 39 |
| 10 | Connacht |
20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 326 | 474 | −148 | 30 | 48 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| 11 | Border Reivers |
20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 201 | 545 | −344 | 16 | 64 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
|
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 3 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine | |||||||||||||
Results
Round 1
Round 2
Welsh Round 1
- All-Welsh Round 5 matches played early to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
| 12 September 2006 19:10 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 22 – 23 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,574 |
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
- This match was postponed from Round 6 to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
| 27 December 2006 15:10 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 14 – 13 | Cardiff Blues |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 10,000 |
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
| 23 March 2007 19:10 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 35 – 11 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Report |
| Stradey Park Attendance: 6,320 |
Round 18
Round 19
Rescheduled matches
- These match were rescheduled to allow Cardiff and Ospreys to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals.
Round 20
Rescheduled Match
- All-Welsh match rescheduled to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Round 21
Rescheduled Match
- All-Welsh match rescheduled to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Round 22
Leading scorers
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility 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
|
Top try scorers
|
Broadcast rights
Television rights for the league are split between three broadcasters, BBC Wales, S4C and Setanta Sports. At the start of the season it was announced that the BBC Wales and S4C had extended their contract to show Celtic League until the end of the 2009/10 season.[9]
Notes
- Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
- Leinster played two of their games at Lansdowne Road, those against Munster and Ulster. The latter was billed as The Last Stand and was the final match played in Lansdowne Road before its demolition and replacement by the Aviva Stadium.
External links
References
- "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- "Scottish union axes Borders team". 27 March 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- Team, The42 (20 June 2020). "Quiz: How much do you remember about Celtic League finals?". The42.
- "Irish stars could be back sooner". BBC. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
- "Marshall completes Ospreys switch". BBC. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
- "Jones secures return to Scarlets". BBC. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
- "Points changes for Magners League". BBC. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
- "Welsh rugby contract". BBC. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.