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BREAKING: Pro12 release first official statement on 'Pro14' talks
By Ian Cameron
The Pro12 have released their first official statement regarding the entry of two new sides into the competition.
On the website, a statement read: "Celtic Rugby can confirm that advanced & positive discussions are taking place with the South African Rugby Union regarding the introduction of 2 teams into an expanded Guinness PRO12 Championship.
"Given the proximity of the 2017/18 season start, a final decision on this potential expansion will be confirmed as soon as practical."
Yesterday BBC Scotland are reported that the Pro12 will be confirmed as a new Pro14 competition with the entry of the two culled South African Super Rugby franchises.
The BBC report that the deal will be worth in the region of £6 million per year to the league through both TV revenue and through the South African Rugby Union.
Both the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings were officially discarded from the Super Rugby tournament early this month.
While it is yet to be confirmed, it is expected that the new layout will see two conferences of 7 teams, who will play each other both home and away. Each team will play all teams from the other conference at least once, bringing the total number of regular season games to 19.
The top teams from each conference will then play-off against each other to be crowned Pro14 champions.
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Latest Comments
The New Zealand performance in the return fixture in 2016 was filthy. A lot of Irish supporters were pretty shocked by it, viewed it as de facto cheating just to avoid another defeat.
Also shocked by the abuse to Ireland, captain, vice-captain and spectators after the full time whistle in Paris defeat, last match.
Sledging is sledging, but that happens during the game and targetting spectators should be completely out of bounds.
The Irish public used to enjoy these matches, even in defeat. Now they are necessary but unpleasant, because NZ apparently cannot accept or respect successful challengers.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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