The 2002–03 Celtic League was the second season of the Celtic League, a rugby union tournament involving teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
| 2002–03 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
| Countries | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Matches played | 63 |
| Attendance | 308,374 (average 4,895 per match) |
| Tries scored | 302 (average 4.8 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Brendan Laney (Edinburgh) 137 points[1] |
| Top try scorer | Mossie Lawlor (Munster) Craig Morgan (Cardiff) Mike Mullins (Munster) 6 tries[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Teams
edit| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherdale[a] | 6,000 | Galashiels, Scotland | |
| Brewery Field | 6,000 | Bridgend, Wales | |
| Virginia Park | 5,000 | Caerphilly, Wales | |
| Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales | |
| Galway Sportsgrounds | 6,000 | Galway, Republic of Ireland | |
| Eugene Cross Park | 8,000 | Ebbw Vale, Wales | |
| Meadowbank Stadium | 16,500 | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
| Stradey Park | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales | |
| Thomond Park Musgrave Park |
13,200 8,500 |
Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland | |
| The Gnoll | 6,000 | Neath, Wales | |
| Rodney Parade | 11,676 | Newport, Wales | |
| Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd, Wales | |
| St Helen's | 4,500 | Swansea, Wales | |
| Ravenhill | 12,300 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Pool stage
editThe teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin; each team played the others in its pool once only.
Pool A Table
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 227 | 129 | +98 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 28 | |
| 2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 231 | 145 | +86 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 27 | |
| 3 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 173 | 111 | +62 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 22 | |
| 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 153 | 121 | +32 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 191 | 168 | +23 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 17 | |
| 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 177 | 212 | −35 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 16 | |
| 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 140 | 226 | −86 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 144 | 324 | −180 | 17 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
|
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | |||||||||||||
Pool A Fixtures
edit| 30 August 2002 19:15 |
| Ebbw Vale | 0–19 | |
| Report[3] | Try: Wallace Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys (4) |
| Eugene Cross Park Referee: Dave Pearson |
| 6 September 2002 19:30 |
| Ulster | 18–19 | |
| Pen: Wallace (6) | Report[4] | Try: Laney Con: Laney Pen: Laney (3) Drop: Hodge |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 7,500 |
| 14 September 2002 14:30 |
| Swansea | 38–10 | |
| Try: K. Morgan Robinson Gibbs Payne Con: A. Thomas (3) Pen: A. Thomas (4) | Report[5] | Try: Howe Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys |
| St Helen's Attendance: 2,500 |
| 20 September 2002 19:30 |
| Ulster | 17–13 | |
| Try: B. Cunningham Howe Con: Doak (2) Pen: Doak | Report[6] | Try: S. Williams Con: Jarvis Pen: Jarvis (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 9,500 |
| 27 September 2002 19:35 |
| Ulster | 26–17 | |
| Try: Doak (2) Con: Doak (2) Pen: Doak (2) | Report[7] | Try: Lawler Pen: Staunton (2) Drop: Staunton Holland |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 6,000 Referee: P. Adams |
| 4 October 2002 19:05 |
| Llanelli | 62–6 | |
| Report |
| Stradey Park Attendance: 6,883 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland) [8] |
| 5 October 2002 14:30 |
| Caerphilly | 15–67 | |
| Try: Chiltern (2) Con: McLaughlin Pen: McLaughlin | Report[9][10] | Try: Neil Best (2) Howe Brosnihan McWhirter Stewart Bell Sexton Con: Humphreys (6) Pen: Humphreys (5) |
| Virginia Park Attendance: 750 |
Pool B Table
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 182 | 120 | +62 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 26 | |
| 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 216 | 166 | +50 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 23 | |
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 178 | 151 | +27 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 20 | |
| 4 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 176 | −50 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 191 | 154 | +37 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 18 | |
| 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 142 | 169 | −27 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |
| 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 127 | 187 | −60 | 11 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 121 | 160 | −39 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
|
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| |||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | |||||||||||||
Pool B Fixtures
editKnockout stages
editQuarter finals
editSemi finals
editFinal
edit| 1 February 2003 14:45 |
| Munster | 37–17 | |
| Try: Alan Quinlan Marcus Horan Rob Henderson Con: Jeremy Staunton (2) Pen: Jeremy Staunton (2) Ronan O'Gara (4) | Report | Try: Adam Jones Pen: Lee Jarvis (3) Drop: Lee Jarvis |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 30,076 Referee: Chris White (England) |
|
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Leading scorers
editNote: 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
edit- ↑ Borders also played matches at Philiphaugh Stadium, Selkirk and Mansfield Park, Hawick.
External links
editReferences
edit- 1 2 "Leading Points-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Leading Try-Scorers". RaboDirect PRO12. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ↑ "Scrappy victory for Ulster", BBC Sport, 30 August 2002
- ↑ Gavin Mairs "Last gasp agony for jaded Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 7 September 2002
- ↑ "Swansea's blistering pace exposes Ulster's deficiencies", Irish Independent, 15 September 2002
- ↑ "Ulster edge out Neath", BBC Sport, 20 September 2002
- ↑ "Doak one-man show just too much for Munster", Irish Independent, 28 September 2002
- ↑ "'We got what we deserved' - Connolly". www.walesonline.co.uk. 5 October 2002. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ↑ Mark McAuley, "Over and rout... Ulster whip the Welsh boyos", Sunday Life, 6 October 2002
- ↑ "Ulster hammer Caerphilly", BBC Sport, 5 October 2002
- ↑ "Ulster sneak past Llanelli", BBC Sport, 25 October 2002