2006–07 Celtic League

The 2006–07 Celtic League (known as the 2006–07 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth Celtic League season and the first with Magners as title sponsor. The season commenced on 1 September and was completed on 12 May.

2006–07 Celtic League
A scrum between Cardiff Blues and Munster
CountriesIreland Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
ChampionsWales Ospreys (2nd title)
Runners-upWales Cardiff Blues
Matches played110
Attendance661,163
(average 6,011 per match)
Tries scored453
(average 4.1 per match)
Top point scorerDan Parks (Glasgow)
(197 points)[1]
Top try scorerDarren Daniel (Llanelli Scarlets)
Barry Davies (Llanelli Scarlets)
Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ulster)
(7 tries)[2]
Official website
www.rabodirectpro12.com
UlstEdinRavenh

The teams competing remained the same as the previous season with four Irish provinces; Munster, Leinster, Connacht and 2005–06 champions Ulster, three Scottish regions; Edinburgh, Border Reivers and Glasgow Warriors and four Welsh regions; Llanelli Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons.

The league was won for the second time in three seasons by the Ospreys, with a final-day win over the Borders, playing their last match, as the Scottish Rugby Union had announced that the Borders would not exist in the following season.[3] Cardiff Blues finished second, making this the only season of the tournament (as of 2021) in which no Irish team made the top two of the United Rugby Championship and predecessor tournaments.[4]

Teams

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Location of 2006–07 Celtic League teams in Great Britain and Ireland.
  Winners;   2nd–4th place;   Other teams.
Team Stadium Capacity City, Area
  Border Reivers Netherdale 6,000 Galashiels, Scotland
  Cardiff Blues Cardiff Arms Park 12,500 Cardiff, Wales
  Connacht Galway Sportsgrounds 5,500 Galway, Republic of Ireland
  Edinburgh Murrayfield Stadium 67,144[a] Edinburgh, Scotland
  Glasgow Warriors Hughenden Stadium 6,000 Glasgow, Scotland
  Leinster Donnybrook Stadium[b] 6,500 Dublin, Republic of Ireland
  Llanelli Scarlets Stradey Park 10,800 Llanelli, Wales
  Munster Thomond Park
Musgrave Park
13,200
8,300
Limerick, Republic of Ireland
Cork, Republic of Ireland
  Newport Gwent Dragons Rodney Parade 12,000 Newport, Wales
  Ospreys Liberty Stadium 20,500 Swansea, Wales
  Ulster Ravenhill 12,800 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Pre-season

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Ulster began the season as the reigning champions whilst Munster are Heineken Cup champions of the 2005–06 season. Prior to the season commencing it was announced by the Irish Rugby Football Union that some of their internationals were to be rested during part of the season as the Rugby World Cup takes place at the end. This would include the first four matches of the season, to allow for recovery from the June internationals. Those who did not play much during the internationals may return sooner.[5] Major signings during the off-season include Justin Marshall for the Ospreys[6] and Stephen Jones for the Scarlets.[7] The free weekend scheme, where each team that did not compete in a match on a weekend due to the odd number of teams in the league would receive 4 points, was scrapped.[8]

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts
1   Ospreys 20 14 0 6 461 374 +87 49 32 4 4 64
2   Cardiff Blues 20 13 1 6 447 327 +120 53 33 6 3 63
3   Leinster 20 12 1 7 472 376 +96 54 37 7 4 61
4   Llanelli Scarlets 20 12 0 8 490 417 +73 61 41 9 0 57
5   Ulster 20 11 1 8 423 310 +113 45 31 4 5 55
6   Munster 20 12 0 8 379 294 +85 37 31 3 3 54
7   Glasgow Warriors 20 11 0 9 434 419 +15 42 49 3 2 49
8   Edinburgh 20 8 1 11 335 423 −88 31 45 2 6 42
9   Newport Gwent Dragons 20 8 0 12 353 362 −9 36 43 1 6 39
10   Connacht 20 4 2 14 326 474 −148 30 48 2 4 26
11   Border Reivers 20 2 0 18 201 545 −344 16 64 0 4 12
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus)
  • 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus)
Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 3 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Results

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Round 1

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1 September 2006
19:10
Cardiff Blues  22 – 13  Munster
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 8,687
1 September 2006
19:30
Border Reivers  15 – 29  Connacht
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,303
1 September 2006
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  23 – 24  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 1,653
2 September 2006
17:30
Ospreys  17 – 11  Edinburgh
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 7,067
2 September 2006
19:30
Ulster  31 – 16  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,265

Round 2

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8 September 2006
18:30
Connacht  15 – 10  Ospreys
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,587
8 September 2006
19:10
Llanelli Scarlets  31 – 17  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 6,366
8 September 2006
19:30
Edinburgh  20 – 14  Leinster
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,479
9 September 2006
17:30
Newport Gwent Dragons  25 – 32  Ulster
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,114
9 September 2006
19:30
Munster  9 – 8  Border Reivers
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 6,138

Welsh Round 1

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  • All-Welsh Round 5 matches played early to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
12 September 2006
19:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  22 – 23  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,574
13 September 2006
19:35
Ospreys  18 – 16  Cardiff Blues
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 10,020

Round 3

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15 September 2006
18:30
Connacht  15 – 37  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,765
15 September 2006
19:10
Ospreys  30 – 13  Border Reivers
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 5,507
15 September 2006
19:30
Edinburgh  20 – 15  Ulster
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,129
15 September 2006
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  24 – 13  Munster
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 2,295
16 September 2006
19:30
Leinster  16 – 9  Cardiff Blues
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 5,200

Round 4

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22 September 2006
18:30
Connacht  22 – 22  Edinburgh
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,065
22 September 2006
18:40
Cardiff Blues  27 – 9  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 6,326
22 September 2006
19:30
Border Reivers  8 – 20  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,088
22 September 2006
19:30
Ulster  43 – 7  Ospreys
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 10,804
23 September 2006
17:30
Llanelli Scarlets  33 – 21  Leinster
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 6,721

Round 5

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29 September 2006
18:30
Connacht  16 – 31  Leinster
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 3,678
29 September 2006
19:30
Edinburgh  14 – 9  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 4,342
30 September 2006
19:30
Munster  21 – 13  Ulster
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 8,000

Round 6

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6 October 2006
18:30
Connacht  17 – 24  Ulster
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,687
6 October 2006
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  25 – 0  Border Reivers
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 1,967
6 October 2006
19:30
Leinster  27 – 20  Munster
Report
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 27,252

Round 7

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13 October 2006
18:30
Connacht  16 – 9  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,356
13 October 2006
19:10
Ospreys  26 – 9  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 6,288
13 October 2006
19:30
Border Reivers  22 – 19  Leinster
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,661
13 October 2006
19:30
Munster  10 – 21  Edinburgh
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 8,000
14 October 2006
17:30
Ulster  32 – 12  Cardiff Blues
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 9,979

Round 8

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3 November 2006
19:10
Edinburgh  13 – 23  Cardiff Blues
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,083
3 November 2006
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  39 – 34  Connacht
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 1,574
3 November 2006
19:30
Ulster  32 – 8  Border Reivers
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 10,452
4 November 2006
19:30
Leinster  35 – 13  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 4,790
5 November 2006
17:30
Llanelli Scarlets  25 – 12  Munster
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 5,563

Round 9

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10 November 2006
19:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  17 – 10  Edinburgh
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 3,846
10 November 2006
19:30
Border Reivers  13 – 19  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,103
10 November 2006
19:30
Leinster  38 – 23  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 3,750
18 November 2006
17:30
Cardiff Blues  15 – 13  Connacht
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 4,309
25 November 2006
19:30
Munster  25 – 20  Ospreys
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 6,254

Round 10

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1 December 2006
19:30
Edinburgh  17 – 3  Border Reivers
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,133
2 December 2006
19:30
Ulster  6 – 6  Leinster
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 12,800
3 December 2006
17:00
Munster  13 – 0  Connacht
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 5,300

Round 11

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22 December 2006
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  34 – 27  Edinburgh
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 2,613
23 December 2006
17:30
Cardiff Blues  30 – 24  Ospreys
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 11,976
  • This match was postponed from Round 6 to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
26 December 2006
16:10
Ospreys  50 – 24  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 20,520
26 December 2006
17:30
Ulster  20 – 10  Connacht
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 12,143
27 December 2006
15:00
Munster  25 – 11  Leinster
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 13,200
27 December 2006
15:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  14 – 13  Cardiff Blues
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 10,000

Round 12

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29 December 2006
19:30
Border Reivers  19 – 20  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,542
31 December 2006
14:00
Leinster  20 – 12  Ulster
Report
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 48,000
31 December 2006
14:10
Ospreys  12 – 6  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 8,304
31 December 2006
16:00
Connacht  8 – 14  Munster
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 4,560
1 January 2007
16:10
Cardiff Blues  29 – 10  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 10,480

Round 13

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5 January 2007
19:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  19 – 12  Munster
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,352
5 January 2007
19:30
Edinburgh  24 – 14  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,137
6 January 2007
17:30
Cardiff Blues  36 – 15  Border Reivers
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 5,169
6 January 2007
17:30
Glasgow Warriors  8 – 19  Ulster
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 2,799
6 January 2007
19:30
Leinster  45 – 22  Ospreys
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 6,000

Round 14

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26 January 2007
19:30
Edinburgh  49 – 31  Connacht
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 1,824
26 January 2007
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  22 – 3  Cardiff Blues
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 1,562
26 January 2007
19:30
Newport Gwent Dragons  48 – 0  Border Reivers
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,986
26 January 2007
19:40
Leinster  44 – 34  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 5,890
27 January 2007
17:30
Ospreys  29 – 22  Ulster
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 6,077

Round 15

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16 February 2007
19:10
Ulster  14 – 7  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 9,237
16 February 2007
19:30
Border Reivers  0 – 36  Munster
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,485
16 February 2007
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  30 – 14  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 1,825
16 February 2007
19:30
Leinster  13 – 6  Edinburgh
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 5,340
17 February 2007
17:30
Ospreys  31 – 10  Connacht
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 6,499

Round 16

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2 March 2007
18:30
Connacht  20 – 17  Border Reivers
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,240
2 March 2007
19:30
Edinburgh  12 – 30  Ospreys
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,335
2 March 2007
19:30
Newport Gwent Dragons  13 – 3  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,656
2 March 2007
19:40
Munster  12 – 19  Cardiff Blues
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 8,000
3 March 2007
17:30
Llanelli Scarlets  17 – 11  Ulster
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 5,641

Round 17

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23 March 2007
19:10
Llanelli Scarlets  35 – 11  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 6,320
23 March 2007
19:30
Border Reivers  10 – 3  Edinburgh
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,444
23 March 2007
19:30
Ulster  21 – 24  Munster
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 12,900
24 March 2007
17:15
Leinster  30 – 21  Connacht
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 6,500

Round 18

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6 April 2007
19:10
Llanelli Scarlets  53 – 11  Border Reivers
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 5,437
6 April 2007
19:30
Edinburgh  30 – 20  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,261
6 April 2007
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  26 – 20  Leinster
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 2,121
7 April 2007
17:30
Ospreys  20 – 12  Munster
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 9,295
7 April 2007
18:30
Connacht  16 – 16  Cardiff Blues
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,536

Round 19

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13 April 2007
18:30
Connacht  23 – 40  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Sportsground
Attendance: 1,331
13 April 2007
19:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  22 – 23  Leinster
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,442
13 April 2007
19:30
Border Reivers  9 – 33  Ulster
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 3,252
14 April 2007
16:10
Cardiff Blues  48 – 0  Edinburgh
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 4,527
14 April 2007
19:30
Munster  20 – 0  Llanelli Scarlets
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 6,500

Rescheduled matches

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20 April 2007
19:10
Cardiff Blues  20 – 17  Ulster
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 6,354
24 April 2007
19:35
Llanelli Scarlets  6 – 19  Ospreys
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 10,102

Round 20

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27 April 2007
19:10
Ospreys  19 – 17  Leinster
Report
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 10,702
27 April 2007
19:30
Border Reivers  14 – 41  Cardiff Blues
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,238
27 April 2007
19:30
Ulster  10 – 24  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,056
28 April 2007
17:00
Munster  15 – 7  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 4,517
29 April 2007
16:10
Llanelli Scarlets  42 – 17  Edinburgh
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 5,108

Rescheduled Match

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  • All-Welsh match rescheduled to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
1 May 2007
19:10
Cardiff Blues  31 – 20  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 9,326

Round 21

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4 May 2007
19:10
Newport Gwent Dragons  23 – 0  Connacht
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,322
4 May 2007
19:30
Edinburgh  9 – 35  Munster
Report
Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,129
4 May 2007
19:30
Glasgow Warriors  29 – 26  Ospreys
Report
Hughenden
Attendance: 2,486
5 May 2007
17:30
Llanelli Scarlets  38 – 10  Cardiff Blues
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 7,506
5 May 2007
19:30
Leinster  31 – 0  Border Reivers
Report
Donnybrook
Attendance: 6,200

Rescheduled Match

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  • All-Welsh match rescheduled to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
8 May 2007
19:35
Newport Gwent Dragons  13 – 27  Ospreys
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 6,438

Round 22

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11 May 2007
19:10
Cardiff Blues  27 – 11  Leinster
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 10,320
11 May 2007
19:10
Llanelli Scarlets  19 – 10  Connacht
Report
Stradey Park
Attendance: 5,204
11 May 2007
19:30
Ulster  16 – 10  Edinburgh
Report
Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,429
12 May 2007
17:30
Border Reivers  16 – 24  Ospreys
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,837
12 May 2007
17:30
Munster  38 – 20  Glasgow Warriors
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 3,311

Leading scorers

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Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.

Broadcast rights

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Television rights for the league are split between three broadcasters, BBC Wales, S4C and Setanta Sports. At the start of the season it was announced that the BBC Wales and S4C had extended their contract to show Celtic League until the end of the 2009/10 season.[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
  2. ^ Leinster played two of their games at Lansdowne Road, those against Munster and Ulster. The latter was billed as The Last Stand and was the final match played in Lansdowne Road before its demolition and replacement by the Aviva Stadium.
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Scottish union axes Borders team". 27 March 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ Team, The42 (20 June 2020). "Quiz: How much do you remember about Celtic League finals?". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Irish stars could be back sooner". BBC. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
  6. ^ "Marshall completes Ospreys switch". BBC. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
  7. ^ "Jones secures return to Scarlets". BBC. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
  8. ^ "Points changes for Magners League". BBC. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
  9. ^ "Welsh rugby contract". BBC. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2006.