Tough openers for Glasgow, Edinburgh

Scotland’s pro teams hit the road to launch new PR014 campaign

Fans of Glasgow and Edinburgh will have to wait to see their heroes in home turf action when the new season kicks off.

Both of Scotland’s pro teams have been handed away matches on the first weekend of the campaign.

And the capital side face a particularly daunting launch to their title quest as they will also be on the road for the second round of games.

Warriors start their glory bid against Connacht in Galway on Saturday September 1 before squaring up to Munster at Scotstoun seven days later.

Edinburgh, meanwhile, kick off against the Ospreys in Swansea on August 31.

They then make the trip to Belfast to tackle Ulster the following Friday night.

Glasgow make an early doubleheader trip to South Africa. They go head to head with the Toyota Cheetahs on September 15 and encounter the Southern Kings the next weekend.

Champions Leinster will begin the new PRO14 season by tackling Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital on August 31.

The Arms Park encounter pitches together Leinster as European Champions Cup holders and last season’s European Challenge Cup winners the Blues.

Organisers have announced fixtures for the first 17 rounds of league action, which see two seven-team conferences unchanged from last term.

Leinster line up in Conference B, along with the likes of last season’s Champions Cup semi-finalists the Scarlets, with the Welsh region’s opener being a September 1 appointment with Ulster in Belfast.

South African sides Toyota Cheetahs and the Southern Kings launch their second PRO14 campaigns against Munster and Zebre respectively.

The first weekend’s fixtures are completed by Italian side Benetton meeting the Dragons in Newport.

Games will be screened live by a number of broadcasters, including Premier Sports and Free Sports, Welsh channel S4C and Super Sport in South Africa.

The top three teams in each conference will progress to play-offs next May, with the two conference winners having byes into the semi-finals, when they also get home advantage.

The final will take place on May 25, with Celtic Park in Glasgow being speculated upon as a possible venue.