Leinster face tough Celtic League opener

Leinster will open their defence of the Celtic League title with a home tie against Welsh Cup winners Pontypridd on the weekend of 30/31 August. Reggie Corrigan's side lifted the inaugural title last December when they beat arch-rivals Munster 24-20 in front of a 30,000-strong Lansdowne Road crowd.

Leinster will also face Bridgend, Cardiff, Connacht, Glasgow Rugby, Newport and the newly formed Scottish Borders in Pool B. The Scottish side, who have recently recruited Gregor Townsend, Gary Armstrong, Doddie Weir and George Graham, are a new addition to the tournament. Their addition makes it 16-strong for 2002/2003 as opposed to the 15 teams who lined-up last season. Munster are in Pool A alongside Caerphilly, Ebbw Vale, Edinburgh Rugby, Llanelli, Neath, Swansea and Ulster and will open their bid away against Welsh champions Llanelli.

Another change to the format will see the semi-finals and final being played in the new year, with the final being staged two weeks before the start of the Six Nations Championship.

2002 Celtic League:

Pool A: Caerphilly, Ebbw Vale, Edinburgh Rugby, Llanelli, Munster, Neath, Swansea, Ulster

Pool B: Bridgend, Cardiff, Connacht, Glasgow Rugby, Leinster, Newport, Pontypridd, Scottish Borders

Fixtures:

30th/31st August:

Edinburgh v Swansea , Leinster v Pontypridd

Ebbw Vale v Ulster, Cardiff v Glasgow

Llanelli v Munster, Newport v Bridgend

Neath v Caerphilly, Borders v Connacht

6th/7th September:

Ulster v Edinburgh, Connacht v Cardiff

Caerphilly v Llanelli, Glasgow v Leinster

Munster v Ebbw Vale, Pontypridd v Newport

Swansea v Neath, Bridgend v Borders

13th/14th September:

Swansea v Ulster, Bridgend v Pontypridd

Edinburgh v Munster, Newport v Glasgow

Ebbw Vale v Caerphilly, Leinster v Connacht

Neath v Llanelli, Borders v Cardiff

20th/21st September:

Caerphilly v Edinburgh, Cardiff v Leinster

Munster v Swansea, Connacht v Newport

Llanelli v Ebbw Vale, Glasgow v Bridgend

Ulster v Neath, Pontypridd v Borders

27th/28th September:

Ulster v Munster, Pontypridd v Glasgow

Swansea v Caerphilly, Bridgend v Connacht

Edinburgh v Llanelli, Newport v Cardiff

Neath v Ebbw vale, Borders v Leinster

4th/5th October:

Ebbw Vale v Edinburgh, Connacht v Pontypridd

Llanelli v Swansea, Leinster v Newport

Caerphilly v Ulster, Cardiff v Bridgend

Neath v Munster, Borders v Glasgow

25th/26th October:

Munster v Caerphilly, Glasgow v Connacht

Ulster v Llanelli, Pontypridd v Cardiff

Swansea v Ebbw Vale, Bridgend v Leinster

Edinburgh v Neath, Newport v Borders

Quarter-finals: Weekend of 30th November 2002

Semi-finals: Weekend of 4th January 2003

Final: Weekend of 1st February 2003

Filed by Sinéad Kissane