# 2001–02 Celtic League

The 2001–02 Celtic League was the inaugural season of the Celtic League. The first season would see fifteen teams compete: the four Irish provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow; and all nine Welsh Premier Division teams: Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea.
Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of 8 and 7) and played a series of round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the knock-out phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the 2001–02 Welsh-Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.
The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners. Leinster's 10–0 debut 'perfect season' is one of only two in the history of the competition in its various forms. The other, a 17–0 record, was also achieved by Leinster was in 2020.

## Background

Wales and Scotland had joined forces for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, with the expansion of the Welsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh and Glasgow to form the Welsh-Scottish League.
In 2001, an agreement was made between the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League.

## Teams and personnel
### Overview

| Country | Team | Stadia information | Stadia information | Stadia information | Coach |
| Country | Team | Stadia | Capacity | Location | Coach |
| Ireland | Connacht | The Sportsground | 6,129 | Galway, County Galway | Steph Nel |
| Ireland | Leinster | Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Donnybrook, County Dublin | Matt Williams |
| Ireland | Munster | Thomond Park | 25,600 | Limerick, County Limerick | Declan Kidney |
| Ireland | Munster | Musgrave Park | 8,008 | Ballyphehane, County Cork | Declan Kidney |
| Ireland | Ulster | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Alan Solomons |
| Scotland | Edinburgh | Myreside Stadium | 13,799 | Edinburgh, Lothian | Frank Hadden |
| Scotland | Glasgow | Hughenden | 6,000 | Hyndland, Strathclyde | Richie Dixon |
| Wales | Bridgend | Brewery Field | 8,000 | Bridgend, Bridgend County Borough | Dennis John |
| Wales | Caerphilly | Virginia Park | 6,000 | Caerphilly, Caerphilly County Borough | Gareth Nicholas |
| Wales | Cardiff | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Cardiff | Rudy Joubert |
| Wales | Ebbw Vale | Eugene Cross Park | 8,000 | Blaenau Gwent | Mike Ruddock |
| Wales | Llanelli | Stradey Park | 10,800 | Llanelli, Carmarthenshire | Gareth Jenkins |
| Wales | Neath | The Gnoll | 6,000 | Neath, Neath Port Talbot | Lyn Jones |
| Wales | Newport | Rodney Parade | 8,700 | Newport | Ian McIntosh |
| Wales | Pontypridd | Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf | Lynn Howells |
| Wales | Swansea | St Helen's | 4,500 | Brynmill, Swansea | John Plumtree |

### Locations

| Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams: UlsterConnachtLeinsterMunsterGlasgowEdinburghWelsh teams2001–02 Celtic League (the United Kingdom and Ireland) | Location of Welsh teams: BridgendCaerphillyCardiffEbbw ValeLlanelliNeathNewportPontypriddSwansea2001–02 Celtic League (Wales) |

## Pool stage

The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin; each team played the other teams in its pool once only.

### Pool A
#### Pool A standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leinster (C) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 281 | 114 | +167 | 21 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ulster | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 194 | 157 | +37 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Glasgow | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 204 | 172 | +32 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Llanelli | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175 | 123 | +52 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 5 | Swansea | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 124 | 158 | −34 | 9 | |
| 6 | Bridgend | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 161 | 208 | −47 | 9 | |
| 7 | Pontypridd | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 111 | 207 | −96 | 3 | |
| 8 | Ebbw Vale | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 134 | 245 | −111 | 3 | |

#### Pool A results

* 17 August 19:15
| Bridgend | 19–27 | Pontypridd |
| | Report | |
* Brewery Field Attendance: 3,500 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)
* 17 August 19:30
| Ulster | 30–13 | Swansea |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Chris White (England)
* 17 August 19:35
| Leinster | 39–11 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
* 18 August 18:00
| Llanelli | 46–16 | Ebbw Vale |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
* 24 August 19:05
| Llanelli | 17–19 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
* 24 August 19:30
| Ebbw Vale | 18–13 | Pontypridd |
| | Report | |
* Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 3,000
* 24 August 19:30
| Glasgow | 25–25 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 6,095 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
* 25 August 18:00
| Swansea | 16–25 | Bridgend |
| | Report | |
* St Helen's Attendance: 3,250
* 28 August 19:00
| Leinster | 55–13 | Ebbw Vale |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 3,200 Referee: John Barnard (England)
* 28 August 19:00
| Ulster | 26–27 | Llanelli |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
* 28 August 19:15
| Pontypridd | 6–11 | Swansea |
| | Report | |
* Sardis Road Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
* 29 August 19:00
| Bridgend | 50–15 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* Brewery Field Attendance: 4,300
* 31 August 19:30
| Glasgow | 59–14 | Pontypridd |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 4,110 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
* 31 August 19:35
| Leinster | 31–9 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
* 1 September 14:30
| Ebbw Vale | 21–26 | Swansea |
| | Report | |
* Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 3,500 Referee: David Davies (Wales)
* 1 September 14:30
| Llanelli | 36–3 | Bridgend |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 3,000
* 7 September 19:05
| Ebbw Vale | 27–29 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
* 8 September 14:30
| Pontypridd | 17–19 | Llanelli |
| | Report | |
* Sardis Road Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
* 8 September 14:30
| Swansea | 13–21 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* St Helen's Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
* 8 September 19:30
| Bridgend | 32–51 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Brewery Field Attendance: 2,650 Referee: Steve Lander (England)
* 11 September 19:00
| Leinster | 52–14 | Pontypridd |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 3,056 Referee: Rob Dixon (England)
* 11 September 19:05
| Llanelli | 21–27 | Swansea |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)
* 11 September 19:30
| Glasgow | 58–22 | Ebbw Vale |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 2,179 Referee: Olan Trevor (Ireland)
* 12 September 19:30
| Ulster | 46–14 | Bridgend |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
* 14 September 19:30
| Glasgow | 15–9 | Llanelli |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Stadium Attendance: 5,375 Referee: David Tyndall (Ireland)
* 15 September 14:30
| Ebbw Vale | 17–18 | Bridgend |
| | Report | |
* Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
* 15 September 14:30
| Pontypridd | 20–29 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Sardis Road Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Chris White (England)
* 15 September 14:30
| Swansea | 18–34 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* St Helen's Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Iain Ramage (Scotland)

### Pool B
#### Pool B standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Munster | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 228 | 120 | +108 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Connacht | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 152 | 97 | +55 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Neath | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 151 | 116 | +35 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Newport | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 147 | 109 | +38 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 5 | Cardiff | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 128 | 135 | −7 | 9 | |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 159 | −25 | 6 | |
| 7 | Caerphilly | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 88 | 292 | −204 | 0 | |

#### Pool B results

* 17 August 19:30
| Edinburgh | 22–25 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Myreside Attendance: 5,410 Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)
* 18 August 14:30
| Caerphilly | 13–43 | Neath |
| | Report | |
* Virginia Park Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
* 18 August 14:30
| Cardiff | 3–6 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
* 24 August 18:15
| Connacht | 21–30 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* The Sportsground Attendance: 1,800
* 24 August 19:00
| Neath | 25–14 | Cardiff |
| | Report | |
* The Gnoll Attendance: 5,000
* 25 August 14:30
| Newport | 50–22 | Caerphilly |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,260
* 28 August 19:30
| Edinburgh | 20–32 | Neath |
| | Report | |
* Myreside Attendance: 3,075 Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
* 28 August 19:35
| Munster | 40–19 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
* 29 August 19:00
| Cardiff | 20–14 | Newport |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Steve Lander (England)
* 31 August 19:05
| Neath | 30–22 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* The Gnoll Attendance: 2,250
* 1 September 14:30
| Caerphilly | 15–49 | Cardiff |
| | Report | |
* Virginia Park Attendance: 1,900 Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)
* 1 September 14:30
| Newport | 29–11 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,164 Referee: Olan Trevor (Ireland)
* 7 September 18:15
| Connacht | 28–10 | Neath |
| | Report | |
* The Sportsground Attendance: 550 Referee: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
* 7 September 19:30
| Edinburgh | 27–20 | Caerphilly |
| | Report | |
* Myreside Attendance: 2,648
* 7 September 19:35
| Munster | 29–21 | Newport |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 4,560 Referee: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
* 11 September 19:15
| Caerphilly | 18–61 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Virginia Park Attendance: 1,500
* 11 September 19:15
| Cardiff | 32–24 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
* 11 September 19:30
| Newport | 14–16 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,821
* 15 September 13:30
| Munster | 51–10 | Cardiff |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,055 Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
* 15 September 17:30
| Neath | 11–19 | Newport |
| | Report | |
* The Gnoll Attendance: 3,625 Referee: Gareth Simmons (Wales)
* 16 September 15:00
| Connacht | 62–0 | Caerphilly |
| | Report | |
* The Sportsground Attendance: 455 Referee: Steve Leyshon (England)

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 30 November – Dublin | 30 November – Dublin | | | |
| Leinster | 34 | | | |
| Leinster | 34 | 7 December – Dublin | 7 December – Dublin | | |
| Newport | 22 | 7 December – Dublin | 7 December – Dublin | |
| Newport | 22 | Leinster | 35 | |
| 1 December – Galway | 1 December – Galway | | Leinster | 35 | |
| 1 December – Galway | 1 December – Galway | Glasgow | 13 | |
| Connacht | 29 | Glasgow | 13 | |
| Connacht | 29 | | | | 15 December – Dublin | 15 December – Dublin |
| Glasgow | 34 | | | | 15 December – Dublin | 15 December – Dublin |
| Glasgow | 34 | | | | Leinster | 24 |
| 1 December – Limerick | 1 December – Limerick | | | | | Leinster | 24 |
| 1 December – Limerick | 1 December – Limerick | | | | Munster | 20 |
| Munster | 13 | | | | Munster | 20 |
| Munster | 13 | 8 December – Dublin | 8 December – Dublin | | | |
| Llanelli | 6 | 8 December – Dublin | 8 December – Dublin | | | |
| Llanelli | 6 | Munster | 15 | | | |
| 30 November – Belfast | 30 November – Belfast | | Munster | 15 | | | |
| 30 November – Belfast | 30 November – Belfast | Ulster | 9 | |
| Ulster | 38 | Ulster | 9 | |
| Neath | 29 | | | |

### Quarter-finals

* 30 November 19:05
| Ulster | 38–29 | Neath |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 12,000
* 30 November 19:35
| Leinster | 34–22 | Newport |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium Attendance: 7,300
* 1 December 14:00
| Connacht | 29–34 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* The Sportsground
* 1 December 17:30
| Munster | 13–6 | Llanelli |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park

### Semi-finals

* 7 December 19:30
| Leinster | 35–13 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* Lansdowne Road Attendance: 5,500
* 8 December 15:00
| Munster | 15–9 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Lansdowne Road Attendance: 12,500

### Final

* 15 December 15:00
| Leinster | 24–20 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Lansdowne Road Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
| | 15 | Girvan Dempsey |
| | 14 | Denis Hickie |
| | 13 | Brian O'Driscoll |
| | 12 | Shane Horgan |
| | 11 | Gordon D'Arcy |
| | 10 | Nathan Spooner |
| | 9 | Brian O'Meara |
| | 8 | Victor Costello |
| | 7 | Keith Gleeson |
| | 6 | Eric Miller |
| | 5 | Malcolm O'Kelly |
| | 4 | Leo Cullen |
| | 3 | Paul Wallace |
| | 2 | Shane Byrne |
| | 1 | Reggie Corrigan (c) |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Peter Coyle |
| | 17 | Gavin Hickie |
| | 18 | Bob Casey |
| | 19 | Trevor Brennan |
| | 20 | Ben Willis |
| | 21 | Peter McKenna |
| Coach: ||
| Matt Williams ||
| | 15 | Dominic Crotty |
| | 14 | Anthony Horgan |
| | 13 | John Kelly |
| | 12 | Rob Henderson |
| | 11 | John O'Neill |
| | 10 | Ronan O'Gara |
| | 9 | Mike Prendergast |
| | 8 | Anthony Foley |
| | 7 | Alan Quinlan |
| | 6 | Jim Williams |
| | 5 | Paul O'Connell |
| | 4 | Mick Galwey (c) |
| | 3 | Peter Clohessy |
| | 2 | Frankie Sheahan |
| | 1 | Marcus Horan |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Martin Cahill |
| | 18 | Mick O'Driscoll |
| | 19 | Colm McMahon |
| | 21 | Jason Holland |
| | 22 | Mike Mullins |
| Coach: ||
| Declan Kidney ||

## 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.