2020 Pro14 Grand Final

2020 Pro14 Grand Final
Event2019–20 Pro14
Date12 September 2020
VenueAviva Stadium, Dublin
Man of the Match Josh van der Flier
RefereeAndrew Brace (IRFU)
Attendance0[a]

The 2020 Pro14 Grand Final was the final match of the 2019–20 Pro14 season. The 2019–20 season was the sixth with Guinness as the title sponsor, the eleventh with a grand final and the third season with 14 teams, following the admission of two Italian teams. The match was planned to be held at Cardiff City Stadium,[1] however, on 19 March 2020, Celtic Rugby DAC cancelled the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3] The re-arranged match took place on 12 September 2020 at the Aviva Stadium between defending champions Leinster and Ulster.[4][5] Leinster won the match 27–5 to defend their title and complete a hat-trick of title wins.[6]

Route to the final

The top two sides from each of the two conferences met in the semi-finals, with the higher placed team having home advantage. Teams placed second and third in opposite conferences would have met in the two quarter-finals, but this was scrapped this year.[3] The play-offs took place immediately following the final round of derby fixtures.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
4 September 2020
 
 
Leinster (A1)13
 
12 September 2020
 
Munster (B2)3
 
Leinster27
 
5 September 2020
 
Ulster5
 
Edinburgh (B1)19
 
 
Ulster (A2)22
 

Semi-finals

4 September 2020
19:35
Leinster 13–3 Munster
Try: R. Kelleher 27' c
Con: Sexton (1/1) 28'
Pen: Sexton (2/3) 40', 67'
ReportPen: Hanrahan (1/3) 5'
Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
5 September 2020
19:35
Edinburgh 19–22 Ulster
Try: McInally 14' m
Graham 46' c
Dean 57' c
Con: Van der Walt (2/3) 47', 59'
ReportTry: Lyttle 54' c
Herring 62' m
Andrew 75' c
Con: Burns (1/2) 55'
Madigan (1/1) 76'
Pen: Madigan (1/1) 80'
Murrayfield Stadium
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

Pre-match

The match was televised free-to-air by TG4 in the Republic of Ireland, and on BBC in Northern Ireland. It was also shown on Eir Sport.[7]

Final

Summary

Details

12 September 2020
19:35
Leinster 27–5 Ulster
Try: Lowe 12' c
Henshaw 45' c
Doris 71' c
Con: R. Byrne (2/2) 14', 47'
Sexton (1/1) 72'
Pen: R. Byrne (2/2) 26', 44'
ReportTry: Hume 3' m
Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Leinster
Ulster
FB 15 Jordan Larmour
RW 14 Hugo Keenan
OC 13 Garry Ringrose (c)  67'
IC 12 Robbie Henshaw
LW 11 James Lowe
FH 10 Ross Byrne  59'
SH 9 Jamison Gibson-Park  59'
N8 8 Jack Conan
OF 7 Josh van der Flier  72'
BF 6 Caelan Doris
RL 5 James Ryan  62'
LL 4 Devin Toner
TP 3 Andrew Porter  62'
HK 2 Rónan Kelleher  59'
LP 1 Cian Healy  52'
Substitutions:
HK 16 James Tracy  59'
PR 17 Ed Byrne  52'
PR 18 Michael Bent  62'
LK 19 Scott Fardy  62'
FL 20 Will Connors  72'
SH 21 Luke McGrath  59'
FH 22 Johnny Sexton  59'
CE 23 Rory O'Loughlin  67'
Coach:
Leo Cullen
FB 15 Michael Lowry
RW 14 Rob Lyttle
OC 13 James Hume
IC 12 Stuart McCloskey
LW 11 Jacob Stockdale
FH 10 Billy Burns  54'
SH 9 Alby Mathewson  47'
N8 8 Marcell Coetzee  47'
OF 7 Sean Reidy
BF 6 Matty Rea  55'
RL 5 Iain Henderson (c)  47'
LL 4 Alan O'Connor
TP 3 Tom O'Toole  55'
HK 2 Rob Herring  20'  34'  72'
LP 1 Eric O'Sullivan  47'
Substitutions:
HK 16 John Andrew  20'  34'  72'
PR 17 Jack McGrath  47'
PR 18 Marty Moore  55'
LK 19 Sam Carter  47'
BR 20 Jordi Murphy  55'
SH 21 John Cooney  47'
FH 22 Ian Madigan  54'
BR 23 Nick Timoney  47'
Coach:
Dan McFarland

Man of the Match:
Josh van der Flier

Assistant referees:
George Clancy (IRFU)
Frank Murphy (IRFU)
Television match official:
Brian MacNiece (IRFU)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d This game was played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions.

References

  1. ^ "Warburton: Cardiff Will Be 'Electric' For 2020 Guinness PRO14 Final". GuinnessPro14. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Coronavirus: Pro14 final cancelled due to coronavirus". BBC Sport. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Pro14 to return in August with derbies". BBC Sport. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Pro14 semi-final: Leinster 13-3 Munster - reigning champions book final place". BBC Sport. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Edinburgh 19-22 Ulster: Richard Cockerill says hosts 'got what we deserved'". BBC Sport. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Leinster recover from slow start to land their third PRO14 title in a row". The42. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Leinster v Ulster: Kick-off time, TV details, team news and more". The Irish Times. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.