2008–09 Celtic League

The 2008–09 Celtic League (known as the 2008–09 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth Celtic League season and the third with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2008 and ended in May 2009. Ten teams played each other on a home-and-away basis, with teams earning four points for a win, and a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match. Losing teams also earned a bonus point if they lost by seven points or less.

2008–09 Celtic League
Countries	Ireland Scotland Wales
Champions	Munster (2nd title)
Runners-up	Edinburgh
Matches played	90
Attendance	731,328 (average 8,126 per match)
Tries scored	352 (average 3.9 per match)
Top point scorer	Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) James Hook (Ospreys) (161 points)[1]
Top try scorer	Thom Evans (Glasgow) (9 tries)[2]
Official website
www.rabodirectpro12.com
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The ten competing teams consisted of the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. The Scarlets were originally known as the "Llanelli Scarlets", but renamed themselves at the start of the season, in order to reflect their regional identity.^[3]

Munster were crowned champions on 30 April 2009 after the Ospreys beat the Newport Gwent Dragons 27–18 but failed to claim a bonus point.^[4]

Teams

Connacht Leinster Munster Ulster Edinburgh Glasgow Warriors Blues Dragons Ospreys Scarlets Location of 2008–09 Celtic League teams in Great Britain and Ireland.

Winners; 2nd–4th place; Other teams.

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City, Area
Cardiff Blues	Cardiff Arms Park	12,500	Cardiff, Wales
Connacht	Galway Sportsgrounds	5,500	Galway, Republic of Ireland
Edinburgh	Murrayfield Stadium	12,464[a]	Edinburgh, Scotland
Glasgow Warriors	Firhill Stadium	10,887	Glasgow, Scotland
Leinster	RDS Arena	18,500	Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Munster	Thomond Park Musgrave Park	26,500 8,300	Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland
Newport Gwent Dragons	Rodney Parade	12,000	Newport, Wales
Ospreys	Liberty Stadium	20,500	Swansea, Wales
Scarlets	Parc y Scarlets Stradey Park	14,870 10,800	Llanelli, Wales
Ulster	Ravenhill	12,800	Belfast, Northern Ireland

Table

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Munster	18	14	0	4	405	257	+148	49	23	6	1	63
2	Edinburgh	18	11	0	7	416	296	+120	40	30	6	5	55
3	Leinster	18	11	1	6	401	270	+131	38	20	4	2	52
4	Ospreys	18	11	0	7	397	319	+78	39	28	3	5	52
5	Scarlets	18	9	0	9	376	395	−19	41	46	3	1	40
6	Cardiff Blues	18	8	1	9	322	361	−39	31	36	2	2	38
7	Glasgow Warriors	18	7	0	11	349	375	−26	36	41	4	5	37
8	Ulster	18	7	0	11	298	331	−33	30	33	2	6	36
9	Newport Gwent Dragons	18	7	0	11	305	429	−124	26	39	1	4	33
10	Connacht	18	4	0	14	224	460	−236	20	54	1	3	20
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows: 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus) 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus)
Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 22 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Results

Round 1

5 September 2008 18:30

Connacht	3–16	Ospreys
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 829

5 September 2008 19:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	6–12	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,113

5 September 2008 19:30

Edinburgh	15–20	Munster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 5,443

5 September 2008 19:30

Ulster	9–16	Scarlets
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,368

6 September 2008 18:30

Cardiff Blues	16–16	Leinster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 8,017

Welsh Round 1

• All-Welsh Round 5 matches played mid-week to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

9 September 2008 19:35

Ospreys	32–10	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 8,499

10 September 2008 19:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	25–27	Scarlets
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,057

Round 2

12 September 2008 19:05

Cardiff Blues	16–15	Ulster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 8,619

12 September 2008 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	18–21	Ospreys
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,651

12 September 2008 19:30

Leinster	52–6	Edinburgh
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 14,840

13 September 2008 17:30

Scarlets	45–3	Connacht
	Report

Stradey Park Attendance: 6,041

14 September 2008 18:00

Munster	50–6	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685

Round 3

19 September 2008 18:30

Connacht	15–8	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 1,252

19 September 2008 19:30

Edinburgh	32–12	Scarlets
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,655

19 September 2008 19:30

Ulster	14–16	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,885

19 September 2008 19:35

Leinster	19–13	Ospreys
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,140

20 September 2008 19:30

Munster	28–20	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685

Round 4

26 September 2008 19:05

Cardiff Blues	58–0	Connacht
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,542

26 September 2008 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	34–20	Scarlets
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,450

26 September 2008 19:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	11–9	Edinburgh
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,676

27 September 2008 17:30

Ospreys	43–0	Ulster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,225

28 September 2008 19:00

Leinster	0–18	Munster
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 18,500

Round 5

3 October 2008 19:30

Ulster	13–9	Edinburgh
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,418

4 October 2008 19:00

Munster	25–17	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Thomond Park Stadium Attendance: 22,885

5 October 2008 18:00

Connacht	19–18	Leinster
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 2,820

Round 6

24 October 2008 18:30

Connacht	14–27	Edinburgh
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 1,868

24 October 2008 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	15–12	Leinster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,523

25 October 2008 19:30

Ulster	22–6	Munster
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 10,058

Round 7

28 November 2008 19:05

Scarlets	16–18	Munster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 8,435

28 November 2008 19:30

Edinburgh	32–16	Ospreys
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,670 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)[5]

28 November 2008 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	28–0	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,364

28 November 2008 19:30

Ulster	53–13	Connacht
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,841

29 November 2008 17:30

Leinster	29–13	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,240

Welsh Round 2

• All-Welsh Round 6 matches played mid-week to allow Welsh teams to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

19 December 2008 19:35

Newport Gwent Dragons	30–24	Ospreys
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 7,138

20 December 2008 17:30

Scarlets	27–13	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 7,610

Round 8

26 December 2008 14:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	19–21	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 10,180

27 December 2008 17:30

Ospreys	20–6	Scarlets
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 20,520

27 December 2008 19:30

Ulster	13–21	Leinster
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 13,500

28 December 2008 18:00

Connacht	12–6	Munster
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 5,000

1872 Cup 1st round

26 December 2008 19:30

Edinburgh	39–6	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 12,534

Round 9

31 December 2008 14:05

Cardiff Blues	12–16	Ospreys
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 12,813

1 January 2009 17:15

Scarlets	29–24	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 7,050

2 January 2009 19:30

Leinster	26–18	Connacht
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 16,350

3 January 2009 19:30

Munster	11–37	Ulster
	Report

Thomond Park Stadium Attendance: 25,623

1872 Cup 2nd round

2 January 2009 15:00

Glasgow Warriors	25–20	Edinburgh
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 6,665

Round 10

9 January 2009 18:30

Connacht	14–17	Scarlets
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 2,063

9 January 2009 19:05

Ospreys	21–25	Munster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 9,003

9 January 2009 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	20–25	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,217

9 January 2009 19:45

Edinburgh	21–15	Ulster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 3,393

10 January 2009 19:30

Leinster	21–20	Cardiff Blues
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 14,470

Round 11

20 February 2009 19:05

Cardiff Blues	34–30	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,603

21 February 2009 17:30

Scarlets	17–31	Leinster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,436

21 February 2009 19:30

Munster	28–14	Edinburgh
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685

22 February 2009 14:15

Ospreys	22–10	Connacht
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 6,127

22 February 2009 16:10

Newport Gwent Dragons	26–16	Ulster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,112

Round 12

6 March 2009 18:30

Connacht	14–19	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 1,373

6 March 2009 19:05

Ospreys	8–13	Leinster
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 8,046

7 March 2009 17:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	9–20	Munster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,865

7 March 2009 19:30

Ulster	12–0	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 8,286

8 March 2009 16:10

Scarlets	13–6	Edinburgh
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,302

Round 13

27 March 2009 19:30

Edinburgh	32–5	Connacht
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,208

27 March 2009 19:45

Glasgow Warriors	13–26	Munster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,615

29 March 2009 17:30

Leinster	32–6	Ulster
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 15,940

Round 14

3 April 2009 18:30

Connacht	39–17	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 1,272

3 April 2009 19:30

Edinburgh	16–3	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,540

3 April 2009 19:35

Ulster	13–16	Ospreys
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 9,600

4 April 2009 17:30

Scarlets	21–38	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,103

4 April 2009 19:30

Munster	22–5	Leinster
	Report

Thomond Park Stadium Attendance: 26,043

Round 15

17 April 2009 19:30

Glasgow Warriors	19–20	Ulster
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,960

17 April 2009 19:45

Edinburgh	27–16	Leinster
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,747

18 April 2009 17:30

Scarlets	19–28	Ospreys
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 11,444

18 April 2009 19:30

Munster	25–10	Connacht
	Report

Thomond Park Stadium Attendance: 26,043

Round 16

24 April 2009 19:30

Ulster	9–11	Cardiff Blues
	Report

Ravenhill Attendance: 7,809

24 April 2009 19:35

Munster	29–10	Scarlets
	Report

Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685

25 April 2009 19:30

Ospreys	30–32	Edinburgh
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 6,015

25 April 2009 19:35

Leinster	36–13	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 10,910

26 April 2009 17:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	27–14	Connacht
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,233

Rearranged fixtures

• Round 13 match rescheduled to allow Ospreys to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final.

30 April 2009 19:05

Ospreys	27–18	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,010

• Round 15 match rescheduled to allow Cardiff Blues to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup final.

6 May 2009 19:05

Cardiff Blues	26–12	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 6,608

Round 17

8 May 2009 19:00

Connacht	12–14	Ulster
	Report

Sportsground Attendance: 1,425

8 May 2009 19:45

Leinster	45–8	Scarlets
	Report

RDS Arena Attendance: 11,160

9 May 2009 14:30

Edinburgh	43–3	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

Murrayfield Attendance: 2,105

10 May 2009 14:35

Ospreys	34–23	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,204

10 May 2009 16:35

Cardiff Blues	20–12	Munster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,428

Rearranged fixture

• Round 13 match rescheduled to allow Cardiff Blues to play in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final.

13 May 2009 19:35

Cardiff Blues	9–30	Scarlets
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 8,212

Round 18

15 May 2009 19:45

Glasgow Warriors	30–9	Connacht
	Report

Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,851

15 May 2009 19:45

Munster	36–10	Ospreys
	Report

Thomond Park Stadium Attendance: 26,043

16 May 2009 17:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	18–9	Leinster
	Report

Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,426

16 May 2009 19:30

Scarlets	43–17	Ulster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,219

17 May 2009 15:35

Cardiff Blues	14–36	Edinburgh
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 11,212

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 Rank Player Club Points[1] 1 Felipe Contepomi Leinster 161 James Hook Ospreys 3 Chris Paterson Edinburgh 159 4 Ian Keatley Connacht 124 5 Dan Parks Glasgow Warriors 117

Top try scorers Rank Player Club Tries[2] 1 Thom Evans Glasgow Warriors 9 2 Fionn Carr Connacht 8 Keith Earls Munster 4 Ben Cairns Edinburgh 7 Luke Fitzgerald Leinster

Broadcast rights

Television rights for the league are split between three broadcasters, BBC Wales, S4C and Setanta Sports. BBC Wales and S4C continues to cover the Pro12.^[6]

Notes

1. 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.