Game on... Irish dates for as PRO14 unveil fixtures

THE long-awaited Guinness PRO14 fixtures for next season have been released with exact dates and times provided for the first 17 rounds of matches.

There will be no derby matches on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day across the league, with all four Welsh teams playing on December 22, the day after Black Friday.

The other Welsh December derbies will be on the 29th and 30th.

Today’s announcement confirms the news that the Cardiff Blues will welcome defending champions Leinster to the Welsh capital on the opening evening, with the Ospreys hosting Edinburgh.

The Scarlets will face two former Llanelli rugby favourites Simon Easterby and Dwayne Peel in the opposing coaching box when they travel to face Ulster and the Dragons face Benetton at Rodney Parade.

Dragons v Cardiff Blues and Scarlets v Ospreys will be the first Welsh derbies of the season on the first weekend of October.

The season will end with the Cardiff Blues facing the Ospreys and the Dragons facing the Scarlets on the weekend of April 26.

Only two Wales internationals will be played on the same day as a Welsh region plays in the PRO14 next season, though kick off times do not clash.

Wales v Scotland is on the same days as the Dragons’ trip to Connacht on November 3 and the Six Nations match between England and Wales is on the same day as the Dragons and Cardiff Blues’ trips to Benetton and Edinburgh respectively.

Rodney Parade won’t see any Fright night action next year, with Bernard Jackman’s side only playing their home games on Saturday or Sunday.

It has also been confirmed that the conferences will remain exactly as they were last season, the only difference being that teams who only played each other once last year will see their fixtures reversed.

This is to ensure a total balance of fixtures over a two year period.

The Ospreys have three home games where kick off times are yet to be confirmed as a result of Swansea City’s TV schedule/fixture list not being set in stone.

These will be nailed down no later than six weeks before the date.

Every game will be shown live on Premier Sports and free-to-air Welsh language channel S4C will show 17 games live next season and a further four on a delay.