PRO14 Rugby has confirmed the dates and fixtures for the competition’s restart, but no date has been set for the return of the Cheetahs and Kings.

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The tournament organisers announced via a statement on Wednesday that an abbreviated schedule for the remainder of the 2019-20 season has been agreed upon after consultation with clubs and broadcasters.

The return to action, however, does not include the competition’s two South African participants due to the high coronavirus infection rate.

‘At this point, no dates have been fixed for the PRO14 derby games between the Cheetahs and the Kings,’ read the statement. ‘Due to the current conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, both teams have only been allowed to return to non-contact training this week. PRO14 Rugby remains in constant dialogue with SA Rugby and the clubs and aim to identify appropriate dates for the two derbies when possible.’

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The regular season, which kicks off on 21 August, will run to 15 rounds followed by semi-finals and a final across four consecutive weeks.

Round 14 will start with an Italian derby as Benetton Treviso host Zebre on 21 August.

In Wales, Scarlets face Cardiff Blues in Llanelli upon their return to rugby with head coach Glenn Delaney taking charge of the home team for the very first time. That game will be followed by Edinburgh’s clash with the Glasgow Warriors in the Scottish capital and, in the final game of the day, Munster visit the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Leinster are looking to extend their record unbeaten run of 14 games in the tournament.

The opening weekend rounds off on the 23rd with the Ospreys taking on the Dragons in Swansea and Connacht facing Ulster in Dublin.

Round 15 will again feature derbies across the UK, Ireland from 28 to 30 August.

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