2007–08 Celtic League
Dragons vs Leinster Welsh try Celtic League 9 May 2008
The 2007–08 Celtic League (known as the 2007–08 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh Celtic League season and the second with Magners as title sponsor. The season began on 31 August 2007 and finished on the weekend beginning 10 May 2008. Some disruption to fixtures occurred as a result of the 2007 Rugby World Cup , which took place during September and October 2007.
The teams competing were the same as the previous season with one exception; only two Scottish teams participated, as the Scottish Rugby Union scrapped the Border Reivers region at the end of the 2006–07 season.[ 3] As in previous seasons, the league was played on a home and away basis, with teams earning four points for a win, 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 losing bonus point system is intended to ensure that both teams compete fully in all matches.[citation needed ]
The ten teams competing were the four Irish provinces: Munster , Leinster , Connacht and Ulster ; two Scottish regions: Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors ; and four Welsh regions: Llanelli Scarlets , Cardiff Blues , Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons .
Teams
Team
Stadium
Capacity
City, Area
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Arms Park
12,500
Cardiff , Wales
Connacht
Galway Sportsgrounds
5,500
Galway , Republic of Ireland
Edinburgh
Murrayfield Stadium
12,464[ a]
Edinburgh , Scotland
Glasgow Warriors
Firhill Stadium
10,887
Glasgow , Scotland
Leinster
RDS Arena
18,500
Dublin , Republic of Ireland
Llanelli Scarlets
Stradey Park
10,800
Llanelli , Wales
Munster
Musgrave Park
8,300
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
Following the end of the 2006–07 Celtic League season, a number of controversial events occurred in Celtic rugby. Mike Phillips moved from the Cardiff Blues to the Ospreys, in a move that would earn him £180,000 a year. The Border Reivers was officially closed as a rugby club, and Edinburgh Rugby were almost expelled from the competition, because of a row with the Scottish Rugby Union.
As a result of increased revenue from governing bodies and TV rights, most clubs were able to expand their squads with the signing of several new players.
Table
Results
A provisional fixture list was released on 23 July 2007, with the opening game featuring Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys.
Welsh Round 1
All-Welsh Round 5 matches played early to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup .
Cardiff Blues 17–15 OspreysReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 9,187
Llanelli Scarlets 23–30 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 5,923
Welsh Round 2
All-Welsh Round 6 matches played early to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup .
Newport Gwent Dragons 13–40 Cardiff BluesReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,673
Ospreys 9–14 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 10,143
Round 1
Connacht 22–7 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Sportsground Attendance: 1,141
Cardiff Blues 32–16 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 5,425
Ravenhill Attendance: 8,142
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 9,630
Munster 26–16 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Musgrave Park Attendance: 3,400
Round 2
Newport Gwent Dragons 16–26 MunsterReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,537
Llanelli Scarlets 34–11 ConnachtReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 6,560
Cardiff Blues 19–30 LeinsterReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 5,991
Murrayfield Attendance: 1,389
Ospreys 37–23 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,417
Round 3
Leinster 23–52 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 9,439
Murrayfield Attendance: 1,326
Glasgow Warriors 16–15 ConnachtReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,226
Munster 17–19 Cardiff BluesReport
Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,075
Newport Gwent Dragons 31–11 UlsterReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,139
Round 4
Llanelli Scarlets 32–8 UlsterReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 6,480
Cardiff Blues 30–16 ConnachtReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 6,921
Edinburgh 13–19 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Murrayfield Attendance: 1,412
Glasgow Warriors 21–17 LeinsterReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,580
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,740
Round 5
Connacht 14–14 EdinburghReport
Sportsground Attendance: 1,690
Glasgow Warriors 11–11 MunsterReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,829
Ravenhill Attendance: 13,132
Round 6
Glasgow Warriors 25–6 UlsterReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,631
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 16,753
Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,300
Round 7
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 6,097
Sportsground Attendance: 2,541
Glasgow Warriors 17–5 Cardiff BluesReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,638
Munster 45–19 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,250
Edinburgh 27–17 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Murrayfield Attendance: 1,638
Round 8
Connacht 10–6 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Sportsground Attendance: 1,145
Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,300
Ravenhill Attendance: 9,750
Round 9
Cardiff Blues 11–6 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 12,532
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 18,230
Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,125
Llanelli Scarlets 17–12 OspreysReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 10,739
1872 Cup 1st round
Edinburgh 35–31 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Murrayfield Attendance: 6,225
Welsh Round 3
All-Welsh Round 8 matches rescheduled to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup .
Ospreys 22–3 Cardiff BluesReport
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 16,509
Newport Gwent Dragons 15–13 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,782
Round 10
Connacht 20–18 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Sportsground Attendance: 1,681
Cardiff Blues 10–11 EdinburghReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 6,125
Glasgow Warriors 16–18 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,798
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 13,385
Round 11
Llanelli Scarlets 30–7 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 6,190
Murrayfield Attendance: 4,100
Ulster 38–13 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Ravenhill Attendance: 9,246
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,396
Leinster 24–17 Cardiff BluesReport
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 14,322
Round 12
Newport Gwent Dragons 10–10 EdinburghReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,734
Sportsground Attendance: 3,851
Glasgow Warriors 9–6 OspreysReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,058
Ulster 20–8 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Ravenhill Attendance: 8,869
Cardiff Blues 25–22 MunsterReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 11,269
Round 13
Llanelli Scarlets 35–17 Cardiff BluesReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 8,045
Murrayfield Attendance: 2,506
Leinster 34–18 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 11,730
Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,500
Round 14
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 9,087
Sportsground Attendance: 5,368
Edinburgh 0–20 Cardiff BluesReport
Murrayfield Attendance: 2,395
Llanelli Scarlets 10–24 LeinsterReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 7,407
Newport Gwent Dragons 14–20 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,949
Round 15
Ravenhill Attendance: 9,248
Cardiff Blues 35–26 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 10,216
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 18,500
1872 Cup 2nd round
Glasgow Warriors 23–14 EdinburghReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 4,731
Round 16
Newport Gwent Dragons 11–13 ConnachtReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,748
Edinburgh 15–13 LeinsterReport
Murrayfield Attendance: 3,138
Glasgow Warriors 25–23 Llanelli ScarletsReport
Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,012
Cardiff Blues 30–17 UlsterReport
Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 6,500
Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,500
Rearranged fixtures
Ospreys 16–3 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 9,166
Round 10 match postponed from 4 January because of adverse weather conditions at Ravenhill.
Ravenhill Attendance: 12,300
Round 17
Connacht 11–39 Cardiff BluesReport
Sportsground Attendance: 1,463
Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,625
Llanelli Scarlets 23–24 MunsterReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 7,020
Ulster 24–35 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Ravenhill Attendance: 6,592
Leinster 41–8 Newport Gwent DragonsReport
Royal Dublin Society Attendance: 17,260
Rearranged fixture
Round 15 match postponed from 12 April because of the Ospreys' participation in the Anglo-Welsh Cup final .
Newport Gwent Dragons 18–10 OspreysReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,308
Round 18
Sportsground Attendance: 1,463
Newport Gwent Dragons 31–26 LeinsterReport
Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,112
Ulster 17–26 Cardiff BluesReport
Ravenhill Attendance: 9,672
Munster 18–21 Glasgow WarriorsReport
Musgrave Park Attendance: 5,360
Llanelli Scarlets 12–29 EdinburghReport
Stradey Park Attendance: 7,338
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
Top try scorers
Broadcast rights
Television rights for the league were split between three broadcasters: BBC Wales , S4C and Setanta Sports . BBC Wales and S4C continued to cover the Celtic League until the end of the 2009–10 season.[ 4]
Notes
^ 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
Seasons
Celtic League Pro12 Pro14 United Rugby Championship
Teams
Grounds Grand Finals Player movements