2005–06 Celtic League
The 2005–06 Celtic League was the fifth Celtic League season, and the third following the introduction of regional rugby in Wales. Eleven teams, from three countries participated. The final table was dominated by the Irish, with the top three spots taken by Ulster, Leinster and Munster respectively. The 2005–06 season was the first (and last) season for which the "free weekend" was awarded points for. Due to the odd number of teams participating, for every round of fixtures, one team has a so-called "free weekend". Each time this occurred, the team was awarded four points, so although at the end of the season it did not alter the positions (each team has a guaranteed 8 points), the table is skewed during the season according to the fixtures.
| 2005–06 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |   .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Attendance | 571,331 (average 5,194 per match) |
| Tries scored | 484 (average 4.4 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (287 points)[1] |
| Top try scorer | Tommy Bowe (Ulster) Jason Forster (Newport Gwent Dragons) (10 tries)[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Teams
  Leinster Location of 2005–06 Celtic League teams in Great Britain and Ireland. | |
  | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Netherdale | 6,000 | Galashiels, Scotland |
|
Cardiff Arms Park[lower-alpha 1] | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
|
Galway Sportsgrounds | 5,500 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
|
Murrayfield Stadium | 67,800[lower-alpha 2] | Edinburgh, Scotland |
|
Firhill Stadium Hughenden Stadium[lower-alpha 3] |
10,887 6,000 |
Glasgow, Scotland |
|
Donnybrook Stadium[lower-alpha 4] | 6,500 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
|
Stradey Park[lower-alpha 5] | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
|
Thomond Park Musgrave Park |
13,200 8,300 |
Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
|
Rodney Parade | 12,000 | Newport, Wales |
|
Liberty Stadium | 20,500 | Swansea, Wales |
|
Ravenhill | 12,800 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 510 | 347 | +163 | 49 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 75 |
| 2 | | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 545 | 427 | +118 | 59 | 45 | 8 | 2 | 74 |
| 3 | | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 439 | 372 | +67 | 49 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 66 |
| 4 | | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 475 | 389 | +86 | 51 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 63 |
| 5 | | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 418 | 415 | +3 | 48 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 6 | | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 418 | 402 | +16 | 49 | 37 | 3 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 381 | 409 | −28 | 33 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 55 |
| 8 | | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 355 | 456 | −101 | 40 | 51 | 2 | 7 | 45 |
| 9 | | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 386 | 501 | −115 | 39 | 59 | 1 | 7 | 44 |
| 10 | | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 325 | 466 | −141 | 28 | 51 | 1 | 4 | 37 |
| 11 | | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 371 | 439 | −68 | 39 | 47 | 2 | 7 | 37 |
|
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
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Due to the uneven number of participating teams, each team had two free weekends and were awarded 4 match points each time. | |||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | |||||||||||||
Results
Round 1
2 September 2005 19:30 |
| Glasgow Warriors |
15 – 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Hughenden Attendance: 2,034 |
Round 2
Welsh Round 1
- All-Welsh Round 5 matches played mid-week to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Welsh Round 2
- All-Welsh Round 9 matches postponed to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 10 rescheduled match
Round 17
Round 18
Welsh Round 3
- All-Welsh Round 6 matches played mid-week to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Round 15 rescheduled match
- This match was postponed from the weekend of 4 March to allow Llanelli Scarlets to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final.
Round 19
Round 20
Round 16 rescheduled match
Round 21
Round 17 rescheduled match
- This match was postponed from the weekend of 9 April to allow Llanelli Scarlets to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup Final.
Round 22
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.
Top points scorers
|
Top try scorers
|
Notes
- Cardiff Blues played their final home game of the season in the Millennium Stadium.
- Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,800, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
- Glasgow Warriors also played one home game at Old Anniesland.
- Leinster also played two of the home games in the RDS Arena and another two in Lansdowne Road.
- Llanelli Scarlets played one of their home games at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
External links
References
- "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.