The 2003–04 Celtic League was the third Celtic League season, and the first following the formation of the five regional rugby sides in Wales. The Celtic League, having previously been played as a pool stage followed by knockout rounds was restructured into a typical league system, based on home and away games only. The league was won by the Llanelli Scarlets, with all the other Welsh regions finishing in the top 6. Following this season, the Celtic Warriors were bought-out and disbanded by the Welsh Rugby Union, and in subsequent years, only four Welsh sides have competed.
| 2003–04 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Scotland Wales |
| Champions | Llanelli Scarlets (1st title) |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Attendance | 501,875 (average 3,802 per match) |
| Tries scored | 651 (average 4.9 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Neil Jenkins (Celtic Warriors) (273 points)[1] |
| Top try scorer | Jamie Robinson (Cardiff Blues) (12 tries)[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Teams edit
 Location of 2003–04 Celtic League teams in Great Britain and Ireland. | |
 Winners;  2nd–4th place;  Other teams
| |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borders
|
Netherdale | 6,000 | Galashiels, Scotland |
| Cardiff Blues
|
Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
| Celtic Warriors
|
Brewery Field Sardis Road |
12,000 8,000 |
Bridgend, Wales Pontypridd, Wales |
| Connacht
|
Galway Sportsgrounds[a] | 5,500 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
| Edinburgh
|
Meadowbank Stadium[b] | 7,500 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Glasgow
|
Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leinster
|
Donnybrook Stadium[c] | 6,000 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Llanelli Scarlets
|
Stradey Park[d] | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
| Munster
|
Thomond Park Musgrave Park |
13,200 8,300 |
Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Neath–Swansea Ospreys
|
St Helen's The Gnoll |
4,500 6,000 |
Swansea, Wales Neath, Wales |
| Newport Gwent Dragons
|
Rodney Parade | 12,000 | Newport, Wales |
| Ulster
|
Ravenhill | 12,800 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llanelli Scarlets
|
22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 597 | 385 | +212 | 57 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 76 |
| 2 | Ulster
|
22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 617 | 363 | +254 | 67 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 72 |
| 3 | Newport Gwent Dragons
|
22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 449 | +141 | 59 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 72 |
| 4 | Celtic Warriors
|
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 560 | 451 | +109 | 48 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 65 |
| 5 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys
|
22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 582 | 512 | +70 | 55 | 60 | 5 | 4 | 55 |
| 6 | Cardiff Blues
|
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 570 | 467 | +103 | 73 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | Munster
|
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 422 | 456 | −34 | 45 | 49 | 6 | 5 | 51 |
| 8 | Leinster
|
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 523 | 580 | −57 | 51 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
| 9 | Connacht
|
22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 479 | 550 | −71 | 50 | 59 | 5 | 3 | 44 |
| 10 | Edinburgh
|
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 454 | 622 | −168 | 52 | 69 | 6 | 2 | 44 |
| 11 | Glasgow
|
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 442 | 614 | −172 | 52 | 61 | 3 | 3 | 32 |
| 12 | Borders
|
22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 363 | 750 | −387 | 42 | 88 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
|
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 22 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine | |||||||||||||
Fixtures edit
Round 1 edit
| 6 September 2003 17:30 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 35–11 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Report |
| Stradey Park Attendance: 4,300 |
Round 2 edit
| 12 September 2003 19:05 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 29–19 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,874 |
Round 3 edit
Round 4 edit
Round 5 edit
Round 6 edit
| 25 October 2003 14:30 |
| Cardiff Blues | 43–6 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys |
| Report |
| Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,300 |
Round 7 edit
Round 8 edit
| 7 November 2003 19:05 |
| Cardiff Blues | 13–25 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Report |
| Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,000 |
Round 9 edit
Round 10 edit
| 2 January 2004 19:05 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 28–15 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys |
| Report |
| Stradey Park Attendance: 10,195 |
Round 11 edit
Round 12 edit
| 13 February 2004 19:00 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 15–9 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,545 |
Round 13 edit
| 20 February 2004 19:30 |
| Neath–Swansea Ospreys | 26–14 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Report |
| St Helen's Attendance: 2,178 |
Round 14 edit
Round 15 edit
Round 16 edit
Round 17 edit
Round 18 edit
Round 19 edit
Round 20 edit
Round 21 edit
Round 22 edit
Leading scorers edit
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 edit
|
Top try scorers edit
|
Notes edit
- ^ Connacht also played three of their matches at Dubarry Park in Athlone.
- ^ Edinburgh played one league game at Murrayfield.
- ^ Leinster played one league game at Lansdowne Road.
- ^ Llanelli Scarlets played two of their home games at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
References edit
- ^ a b "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
External links edit
- Magners League official website Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- 2003–04 Celtic League at BBC
- Results from Magners League official website Archived 28 January 2013 at archive.today
- Celtic League table from WRU