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2001–02 Celtic League

1st edition of the 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.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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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.2

The story

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.

From Wikipedia’s article on 2001–02 Celtic League, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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