The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
League expansion ‘great day for Scottish rugby’
Introduction of two South African sides hailed as a significant step
The introduction of new South African opposition for Glasgow and Edinburgh has been billed as a “great day for Scottish rugby”.
The Scottish Rugby Union says it was “instrumental” in bringing Southern Kings and Cheetahs into an expanded Guinness PRO14 set-up.
Each conference will be made up of two Welsh and two Irish teams, with one representative each from Scotland, Italy and South Africa, where teams will play each other twice.
Teams will also face the opposition from the other conference once each and there will be two additional derbies.
That means Glasgow and Edinburgh will face each other at least three times over the 21-game regular season, with the top three in each section going on to the new finals series.
An SRU statement read: “The ambition is to create the world’s top club competition and today’s announcement is a significant step in that direction.”
Chief operating officer Dominic McKay added in a video interview: “We have got the derbies between Glasgow and Edinburgh and they are retained. That rivalry will be continued and I think expanded.
“But we have also got access to a really important and vibrant market in South Africa.
“With the growth of television and sponsorship, we see that being very beneficial for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.
“There’s no doubt both clubs will want to capitalise on those commercial opportunities, which then means they can filter that growth of revenues back into the playing side and hopefully attract and retain, as we have done in recent years, the best talent.
“So it’s a great day for Scottish rugby, which has been at the forefront of leading this expansion, but more importantly we think it’s a great opportunity for our fans, existing sponsors and broadcasters to be really excited about two southern hemisphere teams joining an exciting competition.”
The groups have been based on last season’s results, with the Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, Munster, Connacht, Glasgow, Zebre and the Cheetahs in Conference A.
Last season’s champions Scarlets, Dragons, Leinster, Ulster, Edinburgh, Treviso and the Southern Kings will line up in Conference B.
Teams will play each other home and away in their own section and face sides out of their own conference once.
The 21-game season will be completed by two additional rounds of matches, ensuring Welsh and Irish teams retain their current six derbies each.
The full fixture list will be issued by Guinness PRO14 in the near future.