On the 22nd of July a press conference was held in the luxurious confines of Carton House in Co. Kildare. The news, announced with much aplomb, was that the Celtic League finally had a sponsor with the kind of pull needed to propel the league into the forefront of rugby fans imaginations.


Guinness, the creamy divine Porter concoction that has been synonymous with all things Irish since 1759, had taken the [English] Premiership under the well plumed Toucan’s wing and the league reaped the rewards.


The Dutch brewing behemoth Heineken lent its considerable muscle to the Heineken Cup and made it into the most prestigious and exciting tournament in Europe. All the while, the Celtic League must have felt like a mule amongst thoroughbreds. The announcement made in Kildare last month could radically change all that.


The mule might be ready to come out of the shadows cast by the nobler steeds and do his best Pegasus impersonation.


Irish brewing powerhouse Magners or Bulmers if you prefer (both amber nectars are one and the same), the renowned makers of the divine cider that was consumed by the glorious flagonfull while headbanging to Metallica with clowns of the same musical bent in a park in the West of Ireland by yours truly, had decided to give the Celtic League the shot in the arm it so badly needed.


The best clubs from Scotland, Wales and Ireland will now do battle far more enthusiastically and fans of cauliflower eared mayhem are in for a higher calibre treat. Chairman of Celtic Rugby John Hussey was ebullient,

“It’s been a long search but well worth the wait. We couldn’t have secured a better partner. The league experienced a great season last year and some of the best players in Europe are playing in our competition.
“Next year the standard should be even higher, up with any league in Europe and, perhaps, the world.”

Follow up:

The mutual admiration society was cemented by Maurice Breen, Marketing Director of Magners when he added,

“One of the great joys of being a part of Magners is that occasionally we can put together a win-win situation. I truly believe that both Magners and Celtic Rugby have well established positions and are really great products with Magner’s bringing a new vitality to the Magners league.”

Skipper of defending champs Ulster, Simon Best, had this to say,

“The league has improved year on year and all of the players agree that it has the potential of being one of the best rugby competitions in the world.” When badgered about the Red Hand defense of the crown he added, “It will be very tough. All the teams have gotten stronger but we’ll give it a good shot. Going into a World Cup year should see a really strong competition.”

Brian O’Driscoll, the golden boy of Irish rugby, was equally enthusiastic.

“The involvement of Magners is a huge boost for the league. I expect the competition to go from strength to strength and the profile will increase immensely with the attraction of a major title sponsor.”

Obviously the former Blackrock star payed ample attention in economics class.


Magners already have some footing in top flight Rugby providing sponsorship to London Wasps and the Edinburgh Gunners so it wasn’t a total crapshoot for them. Many speculate that the reason they took the big leap/financial risk now was the phenomenal success Irish rugby basked in last season. The top three teams in the then Celtic League were Irish, the brave and faithful blew us all away in Cardiff and the National side won the Triple crown (not to mention the fact that Ireland gave the All Blacks and Wallabies a right good run for their money recently). All in all it seems to auger well for Magners and, for now, the Rugby gods are beaming down.


So who are the contenders for the newly named competition that kicks off on the 1st of September?



Reigning champs Ulster are in with a shout but have already been thrown off their rhythm by scheduling issues. Friday night rugby at Ravenhill had become an institution and the Red Hand faithful were gutted to learn that most of their matches will be played on Saturday this time around. A club spokesman issued the following statement:

“As well as potentially having serious implications on crowd figures and gate income at Ravenhill, it is anticipated that our amateur clubs will also suffer (due to scheduling conflicts).”

Cardiff Blues have been heavily tipped to win it. Despite the loss of the most amazing specimen to ever grace a rugby pitch, the one and only Jonah Lomu, after an agonizing ankle break against Reivers which effectively ended the Kiwi’s crack at a comeback, Cardiff still have a chance. Lomu is now back in New Zealand attempting to play for North Harbour. His dream is to get back into the Super 14 and then do his best Phoenix impression tearing down the wing again in France. (If there ever was a more appropriate time for ACDC anthem ‘Back in Black’ to blast out I’d like to hear about it) It would be a sportswriter’s dream. The void left by the bullet fast behemoth will be filled by greased lightning Fijian Mosese Luveitasau. Blues coach Dai Young is excited about the new addition:

“Mosese has got a lot of pace, is very abrasive and an out and out finisher. I think he can make a big impression.”

He certainly has very large shoes to fill. Cardiff had some of the highest attendances in the Celtic league last season amassing an astounding 37,000 after only three matches. With the addition of ‘snakebit’ (injury prone) Shanklin, who tore the cartilage in his knee against Ulster last season, Cardiff will be a handful for anyone.


Munster are always dangerous and their formidable pack will have a real go at this competition if it lives up to its billing. Unfortunately, fiery hooker Jerry Flannery is on the injured list and will miss the first fortnight of the season. The 27 year old hurt his shoulder on the Irish tour down under.

“I need to get the situation clarified and I have gone to the best medical team in the business-people who have dealt with Brian O’Driscoll, David Wallace and Mike Prendergast. It is a worrying time. I’m not sure what the damage is but it’s not right”

said Flannery. The replacement hooker, Frankie Sheehan, suffered a neck injury and is on honeymoon at present. Flannery feels him nipping at his heels. “There’s an opportunity for people to make their claim.

“We will have to take our chances with the injury. So we sit down, we look at the situation and we take it from there.”

Newport Gwent Dragons have just added Welsh International flanker Colin Charvis to their line up.

“Colin brings a wealth of experience. He is, by far, the most experienced player at the Dragons. He’s still a quality player, has performed well and I’m sure he’ll do a good job for us. He will give balance to the back row and that bit of edge. You need characters like that”

said Coach Paul Turner.


Glasgow Warriors faced a degree of uncertainty over where they’d be playing this season. Thankfully, a deal was reached as was explained by Chief Executive Gordon McKie, “Confirming a home ground for our Glasgow team has been a complicated process that has taken longer than we would have liked.

“We were also very determined to listen to our supporters and the clear message was that Hughenden is their preferred venue. So we hope today’s decision (Hughenden was given to them by the SRFU) will prove popular with the rugby community in the city. With this news we can finalize our arrangements to launch our season’s tickets during the course of next week.”

Connacht got off to a promising pre-season warm up, giving Rotherham a 49-0 shellacking at the Galway showgrounds, and Bradley’s lads will strive to emerge on a par with the big three in Ireland.


Speaking of which, Leinster’s backline is still the best in the business.
Argentine flyhalf Felipe Contepomi was top scorer in the Celtic League last year with 276 points. D’Arcy and O’Driscoll are regarded as the best centre tandem on turf and will give defenders fits. Leinster will be one of the favourites without a shadow of a doubt.


This year, the Magners league will be the red headed step child of rugby competitions no longer and as fans we should be delighted.


The first week of fixtures kicking off on the 1st are:

And on the 2nd:

Leinster have the 1st week off.


Source: Barry Hanley for Setanta Sport