Cheetahs make early charge on Thomond Park in new Pro14

Thomond Park will get its first taste of the new South African additions to the Guinness Pro14 when Cheetahs face Munster in Round 2 of the new-look competition.

The expanded championship will kick off on September 1, when the Cheetahs visit Ulster’s Kingspan Stadium, and they will remain in Ireland for the fortnight, where they will be joined by Southern Kings, who face Connacht in Round 2.

Leinster are the first Irish team pencilled in for a trip to the southern hemisphere, with Leo Cullen’s men embarking on a mini-tour in Round 3 and 4, when they will face the Kings and the Cheetahs back to back.

After weeks of discussions with teams and broadcasters, the competition organisers have belatedly revealed the fixtures for the restructured competition that now includes two seven-team conferences.

Fans of the Irish provinces will be pleased by the retention of the existing interprovincial games, with the Christmas/New Year’s fixtures also kept as is.

Pro14 Rugby chief executive Martin Anayi believes the inclusion of former Super Rugby sides Kings and Cheetahs will enhance the competition greatly.

“Our expansion into South Africa has the future of the championship at its heart,” he said.

“More sustainable clubs, attracting the best players, taking on different styles of rugby and entertaining the fans, the release of these fixtures aims to immediately deliver on that.”

The visit of Cheetahs to Ulster in September will be broadcast live across Ireland and Britain, as well as South Africa for the first time.

And southern hemisphere fans will be seeing a lot of Irish clubs as they face every province within the opening month.

In other notable fixtures, Leinster welcome Munster to Aviva Stadium in Round 6, ahead of the first round of Champions Cup games, while Ulster head to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on November 4.

Cheetahs welcome Connacht in early March, while Munster will have their fingers crossed that every player emerges unscathed from the Six Nations before they travel south for back to back games against Kings and Cheetahs in early April.

The remaining derby games will be played in the final round on April 27, promising a tense final day of action before the new look playoffs begin.

“We believe we have created a calendar which will give fans the best experience possible to enjoy all of the positive play the Guinness Pro14 prides itself on,” said Anayi.

“Fans will be able to enjoy the fiercest rivalries, best international players and biggest variety of playing styles on offer in the history of the championship.”

Key Fixtures:

Friday, September 1:

7:35pm Ulster v Cheetahs, Munster v Benetton.

September 2:

7:35pm Connacht v Glasgow, 3:15pm Dragons v Leinster;

September 9:

5:15pm Munster v Cheetahs, 7:35pm Connacht v Southern Kings;

September 16:

2:15pm Southern Kings v Leinster;

September 22:

8pm Cheetahs v Leinster;

October 6:

7:35pm Ulster v Connacht;

October 7:

2pm Leinster v Munster;

October 27:

7:35pm Connacht v Munster;

October 28:

6:15pm Ulster v Leinster;

November 4:

7:35pm Connacht v Cheetahs, 5pm Southern Kings v Ulster;

December 23:

7:35pm Connacht v Ulster;

St Stephen’s Day:

3.15pm Munster v Leinster;

New Year’s Day:

3.15pm Leinster v Connacht, 5:35pm Ulster v Munster;

January 6:

7.45pm Munster v Connacht, 5:35pm Leinster v Ulster;

February 10:

Ulster v Southern Kings;

February 23:

Leinster v Southern Kings;

March 2:

Cheetahs v Connacht;

April 6:

Southern Kings v Munster;

April 13:

Cheetahs v Munster;

April 27:

Munster v Ulster, Connacht v Leinster.