It’s official – Cheetahs and Kings to play PRO14 in Europe

The Southern Kings

JOHANNESBURG — An anticipated announcement has finally been made – the two South African franchises dropped from Super Rugby are officially back in international competition. Months after the story first made the British media, the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings have been named as the newest members of European rugby’s PRO14 competition. But are they up to the challenge after shedding players once their Super Rugby season was over? At least five Cheetahs players, including two of their main stars Raymond Rhule and Sergeal Petersen, are reportedly heading for the Stormers while another, Boom Prinsloo, has joined the Bulls. The Kings have also been losing players with Louis Schreuder and Tyler Paul signing for the Sharks, and Wilhelm van der Sluys heading to Exeter. Have the franchises retained enough players of experience and substance to be competitive in PRO14? And how will they be able to meet their Currie Cup commitments as the PRO14 runs from September to May 2018 and the Currie Cup finishes at the end of October? PRO14 will provide much-needed international exposure for the Cheetahs and the Kings, but they might find they are hugely stretched by the demands of the competition and the Currie Cup. – David O’Sullivan

From Sport24

The Cheetahs and Southern Kings will kick off a new adventure for South African rugby in five weeks’ time when they become the newest members of the new-look PRO14 competition.

The tournament – featuring the leading clubs of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy – has been expanded to incorporate two South African teams in a ground-breaking move into cross-hemisphere rugby.

The two South African franchises – which voluntarily withdrew from Super Rugby participation in July – will play a schedule of 21 matches from September to the final on May 26, 2018.

“The arrival of the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings marks a bold and exciting new chapter for the PRO14 as a global rugby championship,” Anayi said via a press statement. “As a country, South Africa is a rugby powerhouse of over 55 million people. These teams already operate to the high standards demanded by Super Rugby and they will add to the quality of our tournament.

“Our unions and World Rugby are committed to broadening the game and this move is evidence of our ambition to lead the way in growing the club game beyond our own borders, which in turn will unlock the true potential of this tournament. Expansion is in the DNA of the Championship and ever since the Celtic League kicked off in 2001 Cross Border competition has thrived.

“Being based across some of the most renowned hotbeds of rugby, the Championship has always been rife with international talent and last season we saw 270 internationals appear in the PRO12. Since then another 25 made their Test debuts in June while 27 of our players were on duty with the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand.

“This is a natural evolution for the Championship and not only will the calibre of the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings grow audiences, interest and the commercial base for the tournament and our clubs, it is a move that also lays the foundations for years to come. The appeal of professional club rugby has never been greater and we aim to be at the forefront of the game’s growth around the world.

Toyota Free State Cheetahs

“These are bold steps but the encouragement from our shareholder unions, our sponsors, our broadcasters and World Rugby – has shown that there is an appetite for innovation, fresh stories and new rivalries. The new tournament structure will also provide more teams with the opportunity to reach the PRO14 final series and that is fantastic news for our players, coaches and fans.

“To achieve this within three months is an astonishing achievement by everyone involved. I would like to thank Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, and his colleagues in South Africa for their hard work and vision. For everyone involved this is a golden opportunity to do something unique within the game of rugby and it is fantastic that they share the same ambitions as our unions and teams.

“Last season’s figures showed that we are the home of positive play and now the PRO14 will be one of the most unique and diverse rugby tournaments in the world.”

New Format

The addition of the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings will require the Championship to introduce a new conference format as a league format is not suited to a 14-team cross-border tournament.

The PRO14 will adopt a two-conference model which will allows for the new clubs to be added into the Championship without need to add extra rounds in 2017/18.

Conference A

Munster (IRFU), Ospreys (WRU), Glasgow Warriors (SRU), Cardiff Blues (WRU), Connacht (IRFU), Zebre Rugby Club (FIR), Cheetahs (SA Rugby)

Conference B

Scarlets (WRU), Leinster (IRFU), Ulster (IRFU), Edinburgh (SRU), Benetton Rugby (FIR), Dragons (WRU), Southern Kings (SA Rugby)

  • Each conference will contain 7 teams with an equal split of teams from each union
  • Every team plays 21 regular season games
  • Every team to play each other at least once
  • All home & away Derby fixtures will remain in place
  • Italian, Scottish and South African teams will play an additional Derby fixture to even out the schedule (e.g. Edinburgh will play Glasgow Warriors three times)
  • The PRO14 final series will now include quarter-finals allowing six clubs to reach the knock-out stages (teams 1-3 from each Conference)
  • The top 3 clubs from each conference will qualify for the Champions Cup while the team with the highest points total outside of those six teams across both conferences will claim the final Champions Cup place

South African franchises will not be eligible to qualify for EPCR tournaments at present.

The Conferences need to fulfil two criteria.

First, there must be an equal number of teams from each union in both conferences. Secondly, there must be a competitive balance based upon the previous season’s final placings that feed into union rankings.

To create an equal number of teams per union each conference will contain:

  • –  2 Irish teams; 2 Welsh; 1 Italian; 1 Scottish, 1 South African

Additionally, for the entrance of the South African teams their Super Rugby final placings were used for ranking.

Note: To maintain competitive balance the Conferences will be reset each season based upon rankings from the previous campaign.

Fixtures

The regular season will consist of 21 rounds, which is one game less than the previous format. These rounds will be made up from a combination of:

– 12 home & away games in your team’s conference
– 7 home OR away games against each team from the other conference
–  An additional 2 rounds to ensure all derby fixtures are played home & away (this means Scottish, Italian, South African clubs play three derbies)

The fixture list has been drafted for all 21 rounds, this will be confirmed next week (commencing August 7) after the Championship’s broadcast partners have made their selections for live television broadcasts and the clubs have been consulted.

Source: http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/pro14-ceo-cheetahs-kings-will-add-quality-20170801

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