28-8-17 PRO 14 EXPLAINED

How will the new Pro14 look?

The league will be split into two Conferences. Each conference will contain two Irish teams, two Welsh, one Italian, one Scottish and one South African team.

Ulster will play in Conference B alongside Scarlets (WRU), Leinster (IRFU), Edinburgh (SRU), Benetton Rugby (FIR), Dragons (WRU) and Southern Kings (SA Rugby). Conference A will consist of Munster (IRFU), Ospreys (WRU), Glasgow Warriors (SRU), Cardiff Blues (WRU), Connacht (IRFU), Zebre Rugby Club (FIR) and Toyota Cheetahs (SA Rugby).

How many games will there be?

Every team will play 21 regular season fixtures. Each team will play the rest of the clubs in their conference home and away (12 games), and will also play the seven teams of the opposite conference home OR away (seven games). Then that leaves another two...

What about the other derby fixtures?

Don't worry - Ulster will still take on all of the other Irish provinces home and away as derby fixtures have been protected. That's where the other two fixtures come in to make up the 21 fixtures. That works perfectly for the four Irish provinces but for Italian, Scottish and South African teams, it means they must play the other team from their country three times to even up the schedule.

The league press release called these derby games 'sacrosanct to the tournament' as the 'tribal rivalries are just one element of what makes the Guinness PRO14 so special.

What happens after the Conference stage?

The Guinness PRO14 Final Series will now include Quarter-Finals allowing six clubs to reach the knock-out stages (teams ranked 1-3 from each Conference). The top ranked sides in each Conference go straight through to the semi-finals.

And Champions Cup qualification?

The top three clubs from each conference will qualify for the Champions Cup, along with the team outside those six with the highest points tally.