South Africans confirmed for tournament
THE four Welsh regions will compete in a newly expanded 16-team tournament called the United Rugby Championship from next season, alongside South Africa’s top four sides.
The 12 existing teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy will be joined by former Super Rugby sides Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls.
The inclusion of those four South African sides - who have competed in the Rainbow Cup - had been heavily trailed and now it has beem confirmed.
They replace the Cheetahs and Southern Kings who had previously taken part in the Guinness PRO14.
It’s understood the doubling of the South African contingent will see their participation fee rise from £6m to around £10m.
While there will be more teams in the tournament, there will actually be fewer regular season fixtures - down from 21 to 18.
That will mean fewer matches having to be staged on international weekends, addressing the issue of so many games being played out between depleted sides.
Each team will be play the other 15 either home or away, while there will also be three return derby matches.
There will be an expanded knockout series, with quarter-finals and semi-finals culminating in a Grand Final played in a destination venue.
The old two conference system will be replaced by a single table to rank the teams who will reach the knockout stages and compete to win the title.
There will also be four regional pools:
IRISH POOL: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, Ulster
WELSH POOL: Dragons, Cardiff Rugby, Ospreys, Scarlets
SOUTH AFRICAN POOL: Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls
ITALIAN & SCOTTISH POOL: Benetton Rugby, Edinburgh,
Glasgow Warriors, Zebre Rugby Club
All points won during the URC season will contribute to rankings in the regional pools and the highest-ranking team in each of the four pools will earn a place in the Heineken Champions Cup for the following season.
The remaining four places in the Champions Cup will be awarded to the four highest-ranked teams from the single-standing league table who have not already qualified through the four regional pools.