2019–20 Pro14

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2019–20 PRO14 season: quick overview

The PRO14 is a 14-team rugby union competition (formerly the Celtic League), renamed PRO14 with sponsorship. For the 2019–20 season, teams came from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

Season timeline and format
- Dates: 27 September 2019 – 12 September 2020
- The season was paused on 12 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed on 22 August 2020 in a shortened format.
- The Southern Kings withdrew in August 2020, so there were no South African derbies.
- The fourteen teams were split into two conferences of seven. Each conference included two Irish/Welsh teams plus one team from Italy, Scotland and South Africa.
- The regular season planned 21 rounds, with a change for 2019–20: the top two teams from each conference advanced directly to the semi-finals (no quarter-finals). The semi-finals determined the finalists, who then played in the final.
- South African teams did not participate in the Champions Cup; the top four eligible European teams in each conference qualified for the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup.

Results and statistics
- Champions: Leinster (7th title), who also achieved a perfect season by winning every match
- Runners-up: Ulster
- Matches played: 89
- Attendance: 652,443 total (average 7,331 per match)
- Highest attendance: 27,437 (Edinburgh vs Glasgow on 28 December 2019)
- Lowest attendance: 1,500 (Southern Kings vs Connacht on 1 March 2020)
- Top point scorer: JJ Hanrahan (Munster) with 101 points
- Top try scorer: Rhyno Smith (Cheetahs) with 10 tries

Notable notes
- Leinster won their third consecutive PRO14 title and became the first team to record a perfect season in the competition’s history.
- The season featured various team changes and developments off the field, along with rebranding efforts and stadium projects in Irish rugby.