2009–10 Celtic League

2009–10 Celtic League
Countries	Ireland  Scotland  Wales
Date	4 September 2009 – 29 May 2010
Champions	Ospreys (3rd title)
Runners-up	Leinster
Matches played	93
Attendance	818,181 (average 8,798 per match)
Tries scored	333 (average 3.581 per match)
Top point scorer	Dan Parks (Glasgow) (216 points)[1]
Top try scorer	Tim Visser (Edinburgh) (10 tries)[2]
Official website
www.rabodirectpro12.com
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

The 2009–10 Celtic League (known as the 2009–10 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league now known as Pro12 and the fourth with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2009 and ended with the Grand Final on 29 May 2010. Ten teams played each other on a home-and-away basis, with teams earning four points for a win, two points for a draw and a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match. The losing team may also earn a bonus point if they lose by seven points or less.

The ten teams competing consisted of the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

This season saw the introduction of a play-off structure similar to the English Premiership in order to determine the overall winner.^[3][4] The Ospreys won the final, defeating Leinster 17–12 in Dublin.^[5]

Teams

Team	Coach	Captain	Stadium	Capacity
Cardiff Blues	Dai Young	Paul Tito	Cardiff City Stadium	26,828
Connacht	Michael Bradley	John Muldoon	Galway Sportsgrounds	7,000
Edinburgh	Rob Moffat	Mike Blair	Murrayfield Stadium	12,464[lower-alpha 1]
Glasgow Warriors	Sean Lineen	Alastair Kellock	Firhill Stadium	10,887
Leinster	Michael Cheika	Leo Cullen	RDS Arena	18,500
Munster	Tony McGahan	Paul O'Connell	Thomond Park Musgrave Park	26,500 (15,100 seated) 8,300
Newport Gwent Dragons	Paul Turner	Tom Willis	Rodney Parade	11,700
Ospreys	Scott Johnson	Ryan Jones	Liberty Stadium	20,520
Scarlets	Nigel Davies	Mark Jones	Parc y Scarlets	14,870
Ulster	Brian McLaughlin	Rory Best	Ravenhill	12,125

Table

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Leinster	18	13	0	5	359	295	+64	27	29	1	2	55
2	Ospreys	18	11	1	6	384	298	+86	37	26	3	3	52
3	Glasgow Warriors	18	11	2	5	390	321	+69	31	24	2	1	51
4	Munster	18	9	0	9	319	282	+37	33	20	3	6	45
5	Cardiff Blues	18	10	0	8	349	315	+34	33	28	2	2	44
6	Edinburgh	18	8	0	10	385	391	−6	40	40	4	5	41
7	Newport Gwent Dragons	18	8	1	9	333	378	−45	32	37	3	2	39
8	Ulster	18	7	1	10	357	370	−13	39	35	4	2	36
9	Scarlets	18	5	0	13	361	382	−21	35	35	1	8	29
10	Connacht	18	5	1	12	254	459	−205	20	53	0	4	26
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)
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places. Source: RaboDirect PRO12

Regular season results

Round 1

4 September 2009 19:00

Connacht	12 – 19	Ospreys
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,982 Referee: Graham Knox

4 September 2009 19:05

Cardiff Blues	21 – 22	Edinburgh
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 8,124 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

4 September 2009 20:00

Glasgow Warriors	22 – 9	Munster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,694 Referee: James Jones

5 September 2009 18:30

Scarlets	18 – 16	Leinster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,075 Referee: Neil Paterson

6 September 2009 14:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	23 – 6	Ulster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,561 Referee: Carlo Damasco

Round 2

11 September 2009 19:05

Munster	24 – 13	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 19,752 Referee: Peter Allan

11 September 2009 19:30

Edinburgh	62 – 13	Connacht
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 3,042 Referee: James Jones

12 September 2009 18:30

Ospreys	16 – 20	Ulster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,072 Referee: Alan Lewis

12 September 2009 19:00

Leinster	23 – 14	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,145 Referee: Graham Knox

13 September 2009 17:05

Glasgow Warriors	19 – 11	Scarlets
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,582 Referee: John Lacey

Round 3

18 September 2009 19:00

Connacht	18 – 16	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,425 Referee: Neil Paterson

18 September 2009 19:05

Ospreys	11 – 18	Leinster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,182 Referee: Peter Allan

18 September 2009 19:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	30 – 19	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,219 Referee: Dudley Phillips

18 September 2009 20:00

Ulster	13 – 16	Edinburgh
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,899 Referee: Nigel Owens

19 September 2009 18:30

Scarlets	20 – 22	Munster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,313 Referee: Alain Rolland

Round 4

25 September 2009 19:05

Glasgow Warriors	16 – 26	Ospreys
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,108 Referee: Simon McDowell

25 September 2009 20:00

Connacht	6 – 30	Ulster
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 2,435 Referee: George Clancy

26 September 2009 18:30

Cardiff Blues	19 – 15	Scarlets
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 12,198 Referee: Andrew Small

26 September 2009 18:30

Edinburgh	19 – 21	Leinster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 5,761 Referee: Tim Hayes

27 September 2009 17:05

Munster	27 – 3	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Musgrave Park, Cork Attendance: 8,685 Referee: Neil Paterson

Round 5

2 October 2009 19:05

Ulster	45 – 24	Scarlets
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,141 Referee: Peter Allan

3 October 2009 16:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	23 – 10	Connacht
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,331 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

3 October 2009 18:30

Cardiff Blues	5 – 21	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 9,185 Referee: George Clancy

3 October 2009 18:30

Leinster	30 – 0	Munster
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Simon McDowell

4 October 2009 16:00

Ospreys	31 – 10	Edinburgh
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,033 Referee: John Lacey

Round 6

23 October 2009 19:05

Scarlets	18 – 3	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,464 Referee: Peter Allan

23 October 2009 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	34 – 20	Connacht
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,887 Referee: Tim Hayes

23 October 2009 20:00

Edinburgh	12 – 7	Munster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 5,426 Referee: Gwyn Morris

24 October 2009 18:00

Ulster	16 – 14	Leinster
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 11,523 Referee: Andrew Small

24 October 2009 18:30

Cardiff Blues	20 – 12	Ospreys
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 16,341 Referee: Nigel Owens

Round 7

30 October 2009 18:30

Connacht	16 – 10	Scarlets
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,756 Referee: Graham Knox

30 October 2009 19:05

Ospreys	9 – 9	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 6,661 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

31 October 2009 17:00

Munster	24 – 10	Ulster
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 23,298 Referee: Alain Rolland

31 October 2009 18:30

Leinster	23 – 6	Cardiff Blues
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,910 Referee: James Jones

1 November 2009 17:05

Edinburgh	8 – 9	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,066 Referee: Alan Lewis

Round 8

4 December 2009 19:05

Scarlets	16 – 17	Edinburgh
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,540 Referee: Carlo Damasco

4 December 2009 20:00

Ulster	13 – 25	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,761 Referee: James Jones

5 December 2009 18:30

Ospreys	19 – 14	Munster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 8,077 Referee: Neil Paterson

6 December 2009 15:00

Cardiff Blues	21 – 9	Connacht
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,105 Referee: Andy Macpherson

6 December 2009 17:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	30 – 14	Leinster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,437 Referee: Simon McDowell

Round 9

26 December 2009 14:05

Scarlets	14 – 21	Ospreys
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 14,739 Referee: Nigel Owens

26 December 2009 17:30

Leinster	15 – 3	Ulster
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 18,140 Referee: George Clancy

26 December 2009 19:30

Munster	35 – 3	Connacht
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,291 Referee: Alain Rolland

27 December 2009 15:05

Glasgow Warriors	25 – 12	Edinburgh
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 8,830 Referee: Neil Paterson

27 December 2009 18:00

Cardiff Blues	42 – 13	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 15,210 Referee: James Jones

Round 10

31 December 2009 14:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	9 – 14	Scarlets
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,429 Referee: Nigel Owens

1 January 2010 17:15

Ospreys	26 – 0	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 14,476 Referee: James Jones

2 January 2010 15:05

Edinburgh	15 – 22	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 11,785 Referee: Peter Allan

2 January 2010 16:00

Connacht	P – P	Leinster

Sportsgrounds Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

2 January 2010 18:00

Ulster	15 – 10	Munster
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 11,800 Referee: Dudley Phillips

Round 11

8 January 2010 18:30

Connacht	P – P	Newport Gwent Dragons

Sportsgrounds Referee: Andy Macpherson

8 January 2010 19:05

Ulster	P – P	Ospreys

Ravenhill Referee: Nigel Owens

8 January 2010 20:00

Leinster	P – P	Glasgow Warriors

RDS Arena Referee: James Jones

9 January 2010 18:30

Edinburgh	21 – 12	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 1,569 Referee: John Lacey

10 January 2010 17:00

Munster	P – P	Scarlets

Musgrave Park Referee: Neil Paterson

Round 12

19 February 2010 19:05

Ulster	22 – 22	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,909 Referee: Peter Allan

19 February 2010 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	7 – 30	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,754 Referee: Dudley Phillips

19 February 2010 20:00

Munster	19 – 12	Edinburgh
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Tim Hayes

20 February 2010 18:30

Leinster	27 – 14	Scarlets
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 13,890 Referee: Andy Macpherson

21 February 2010 17:00

Ospreys	19 – 17	Connacht
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,053 Referee: Neil Patterson

Round 13

5 March 2010 19:05

Scarlets	25 – 8	Ulster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,266 Referee: Peter Allan

5 March 2010 20:00

Connacht	19 – 19	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,412 Referee: James Jones

6 March 2010 18:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	31 – 22	Munster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,137 Referee: Dudley Phillips

7 March 2010 14:00

Edinburgh	33 – 17	Ospreys
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,329 Referee: George Clancy

7 March 2010 16:00

Cardiff Blues	20 – 29	Leinster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 9,384 Referee: Andy McPherson

Rearranged fixtures

17 March 2010 18:30

Connacht	16 – 3	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,485 Referee: Andy Macpherson

18 March 2010 19:30

Leinster	20 – 14	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 11,840 Referee: Nigel Owens

18 March 2010 19:10

Munster	23 – 17	Scarlets
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,200 Referee: Neil Paterson

19 March 2010 18:10

Ulster	P – P	Ospreys

Ravenhill

Round 14

26 March 2010 19:05

Cardiff Blues	19 – 9	Ulster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,532 Referee: Neil Patterson

26 March 2010 19:30

Edinburgh	24 – 20	Scarlets
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,762 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

26 March 2010 20:00

Munster	27 – 19	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 23,814 Referee: James Jones

27 March 2010 16:30

Leinster	17 – 14	Connacht
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 13,835 Referee: Jérôme Garces

27 March 2010 19:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	28 – 20	Ospreys
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 7,121 Referee: Nigel Owens

Round 15

2 April 2010 18:00

Connacht	22 – 21	Edinburgh
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 1,460 Referee: Leighton Hodges

2 April 2010 19:05

Ospreys	27 – 19	Scarlets
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 13,913 Referee: Christophe Berdos

2 April 2010 20:05

Munster	15 – 16	Leinster
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,623 Referee: Romain Poite

3 April 2010 19:30

Ulster	24 – 33	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,334 Referee: Andy Macpherson

4 April 2010 15:05

Glasgow Warriors	27 – 19	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,621 Referee: Alan Lewis

Rearranged fixture

13 April 2010 19:30

Ulster	27 – 38	Ospreys
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,649 Referee: Neil Paterson

Round 16

16 April 2010 19:05

Glasgow Warriors	25 – 18	Ulster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,766 Referee: Tim Hayes

16 April 2010 19:05

Leinster	20 – 16	Ospreys
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,836 Referee: Peter Allan

17 April 2010 18:30

Scarlets	16 – 39	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 10,171 Referee: Nigel Owens

18 April 2010 17:05

Connacht	12 – 18	Munster
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,125 Referee: Alain Rolland

18 April 2010 17:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	49 – 28	Edinburgh
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 7,142 Referee: James Jones

Rearranged fixture

21 April 2010 19:45

Connacht	27 – 13	Leinster
	Report

Sportsgrounds Attendance: 3,250 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

Round 17

23 April 2010 19:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	14 – 20	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 8,108 Referee: Peter Allan

23 April 2010 20:00

Glasgow Warriors	30 – 6	Leinster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 4,638 Referee: James Jones

24 April 2010 18:30

Munster	11 – 15	Ospreys
	Report

Thomond Park Attendance: 24,112 Referee: Neil Paterson

25 April 2010 14:05

Scarlets	58 – 10	Connacht
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,023 Referee: Andy Macpherson

25 April 2010 16:05

Edinburgh	25 – 37	Ulster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 3,759 Referee: Nigel Owens

Round 18

7 May 2010 19:05

Ospreys	42 – 10	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 8,004 Referee: Nigel Owens

7 May 2010 19:05

Scarlets	32 – 37	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,630 Referee: James Jones

7 May 2010 19:30

Ulster	41 – 10	Connacht
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,755 Referee: Dudley Phillips

9 May 2010 18:15

Cardiff Blues	13 – 12	Munster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 12,602 Referee: Peter Allan

9 May 2010 18:15

Leinster	37 – 28	Edinburgh
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 11,836 Referee: James Jones

Playoffs

Semi-finals

14 May 2010 19:05

Ospreys	20 – 5	Glasgow Warriors
Try: Williams 9' c Hook 54' c Con: Biggar (2/2) Pen: Biggar (2) 51', 79'	Report	Try: Thomson 42' m

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,079 Referee: George Clancy

15 May 2010 20:00

Leinster	16 – 6	Munster
Try: Kearney 44' c Con: Sexton Pen: Sexton (3) 18', 50', 58'	Report	Pen: O'Gara 29' Drop: O'Gara 41'

RDS Arena Attendance: 19,750 Referee: Nigel Owens

Grand Final

29 May 2010 18:30

Leinster	12 – 17	Ospreys
Pen: Sexton (4) 23', 45', 62' ,71'	Report	Try: Bowe 20' c Byrne 35' c Con: Biggar (2/2) Pen: Biggar 48'

RDS Arena Attendance: 19,500 Referee: Chris White

Leading scorers

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.

Top points scorers Rank Player Club Points[1] 1 Dan Parks Glasgow Warriors 216 2 Dan Biggar Ospreys 205 3 Ben Blair Cardiff Blues 150 4 Ian Keatley Connacht 138 5 Jonathan Sexton Leinster 136

Top try scorers Rank Player Club Tries[2] 1 Tim Visser Edinburgh 10 2 Tommy Bowe Ospreys 8 Simon Danielli Ulster 4 Fionn Carr Connacht 7 5 Aled Brew Newport Gwent Dragons 6

Notes

1. Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,800, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.

References

1. "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
2. "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
3. Webb, Nick (19 May 2009). "Leinster coach eyes Welsh revival". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
4. "Magners set to bring in play-offs". BBC Sport. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
5. Petrie, Richard (29 May 2010). "Leinster 12–17 Ospreys". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2010.

External links

• Magners Celtic League 2009/10 at BBC