Kick-off times and dates for the first three rounds of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup have been confirmed, with the Stormers and Sharks set to open the tournament.
The Stormers and Sharks will compete in the cup competition’s first game on Friday, 23 April in the early time slot (6pm UK/7pm SA) and will then be followed by Ulster’s derby match with Connacht and Zebre’s trip to Edinburgh.
On Saturday lunchtime, Benetton will host Glasgow Warriors to start off a run of four matches, with the Vodacom Bulls taking on the Emirates Lions, Ospreys facing Cardiff Blues and Leinster hosting Munster in a rematch of their Guinness PRO14 final on 27 March.
Dragons and Scarlets will finish off the opening round on Sunday at Rodney Parade.
All the matches in the first round will be available live on SuperSport, as well as the other PRO14 network of broadcasters, Premier Sports, eir Sport and DAZN, with S4C and TG4 showing live free-to-air matches, deferred coverage and highlights throughout the Rainbow Cup.
Full kick-off details for the opening rounds of the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup are below.
Confirmation of the planned matches for rounds four to six will follow once PRO14 Rugby has received all necessary approvals and permissions from the relevant governments and health authorities for the South African teams to travel.
FIXTURES: FIRST THREE ROUNDS
(SA teams’ fixtures in italics, all kick-offs SA local time)
ROUND 1
Friday, 23 April
7pm: DHL Stormers vs Cell C Sharks (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)
9:15pm: Edinburgh vs Zebre (BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
9:15pm: Ulster vs Connacht (Kingspan Stadium, Belfast)
Saturday, 24 April
2pm: Benetton vs Glasgow Warriors (Stadio de Monigo, Treviso)
4pm: Vodacom Bulls vs Emirates Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
6:15pm: Ospreys vs Cardiff Blues (Liberty Stadium, Swansea)
8:35pm: Leinster vs Munster (RDS Arena, Dublin)
Sunday, 25 April
2pm: Dragons vs Scarlets (Rodney Parade, Newport)
ROUND 2
Friday, 30 April
7pm: Cell C Sharks vs Emirates Lions (Jonsson Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, 1 May
5pm: DHL Stormers vs Vodacom Bulls (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)
Friday, 7 May
7pm: Zebre vs Benetton (Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma)
9:15pm: Munster vs Ulster (Thomond Park, Limerick)
9:15pm: Glasgow Warriors vs Edinburgh (Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow)
Saturday, 8 May
8:35pm: Connacht vs Leinster (The Sportsground, Galway)
8:35pm: Scarlets vs Ospreys (Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli)
Sunday, 9 May
2pm: Cardiff Blues vs Dragons (Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff)
ROUND 3
Saturday, 8 May
4pm: Emirates Lions vs DHL Stormers (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
6:15pm: Vodacom Bulls vs Cell C Sharks (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Friday, 14 May
7pm: Munster vs Connacht (Thomond Park, Limerick)
9:15pm: Leinster vs Ulster (RDS Arena, Dublin)
Saturday, 15 May
4pm: Scarlets vs Cardiff Blues (Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli)
6:15pm: Benetton vs Zebre (Stadio de Monigo, Treviso)
8:35pm: Edinburgh vs Glasgow Warriors (BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Sunday, 16 May
4pm: Dragons vs Ospreys (Rodney Parade, Newport)
Photo: Steve Haag Sports
