The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
competition originally known as the
Celtic League
The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...
, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the third season to be referred to as the ''
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
Pro12''.
The twelve competing teams were the four Irish teams:
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
,
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
,
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
; two Italian teams:
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
and
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
; two Scottish teams:
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
and four Welsh teams:
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...
,
Newport Gwent Dragons
Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...
,
Ospreys and
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
. The first stage involved the 12 teams playing home and away in a league format with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-finals. The semi-finals were one-off matches with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd, with the higher ranked team receiving home advantage. The winners of the semi-finals proceeded to the
Pro 12 final which was played at the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...
on 27 May 2017.
The final was contested by
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
and
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
with Scarlets winning 46-22.
Teams
Changes for the season
Ireland
Reigning champions
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
started the season with a new coaching team. Backs and kicking coach Andre Bell left his role to return to his family in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Head performance analyst and assistant attack coach
Conor McPhillips
Conor McPhillips (Irish name: ''Conchobhar MacPhilib'' ; born 9 February 1981) is a former rugby union player from Ireland, who currently works as an assistant coach for English Premiership side Bristol Bears. McPhillips spent his professional p ...
took over coaching of the backs, while the team's former head coach
Eric Elwood
Eric Elwood is a former Irish rugby union player from Galway. He played as a fly-half. He played for Ireland internationally, and provincially for Connacht. He split his club career between hometown club Galwegians and Lansdowne in Dublin, star ...
took over as kicking coach. The close season also saw the departure of the side's all-time record try-scorer
Fionn Carr
Fionn Carr (born 17 December 1985) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a wing but can also play at fullback. Carr played most of his professional career for Irish province Connacht in the Pro12. He also played for another Ir ...
, who scored 42 tries over two spells with the province. Connacht's homeground, the
Galway Sportsground
The Sportsground, also known as The Galway Sportsgrounds and the Galway Greyhound Stadium and the Connacht Rugby Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Galway, Ireland. It opened in 1927, with the playing of a football match and has been used to ...
underwent renovations during the summer, with the addition of a seated stand increasing its capacity to 8,100.
Beaten finalists
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
also saw changes to their backroom staff, with defence coach
Kurt McQuilkin leaving the role for personal reasons in August 2016. Former head coach
Stuart Lancaster joined the province in the role of "senior coach" the following month as McQuilkin's replacement. Leinster also hired World Cup winning former head coach
Graham Henry
Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup.
Henry played rugby union for ...
as a consultant coach during the off-season. After taking over the captaincy when
Kevin McLaughlin
Kevin McLaughlin (born 20 September 1984) is a retired professional rugby union player from Ireland. He attended the primary school Kildare Place National School and was educated at secondary level at Gonzaga College.
He played provincial rug ...
was forced to retire,
Isa Nacewa
Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a former rugby union player and coach. Born in New Zealand of Fijian descent, he represented the Fiji national team, winning one cap in 2003.
Nacewa was a utility back who played for the Blues in t ...
was appointed as team captain on a permanent basis ahead of the season opener.
After finishing sixth in the previous season,
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
replaced much of their coaching staff.
Johan "Rassie" Erasmus joined as Director of Rugby from his role as high performance manager with , while Jacques Nienaber is the new defence coach. Head coach
Anthony Foley
Anthony Gerard Foley (30 October 1973 – 16 October 2016) was an Irish rugby union player and head coach of Munster. He was attached to the same squad during his professional playing career. He was a member of the Munster team that won the 200 ...
remained part of the coaching team, with a focus on lineouts and the breakdown.
Jerry Flannery
Jeremiah Paul Flannery (born 17 October 1978) is a former Irish rugby union player and current coach.
During his playing career, Flannery, a hooker, played for Munster and Ireland, before being forced to retire in March 2012 due to injury pro ...
was also retained in his role as scrum coach, while
Felix Jones
Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at the University of Arkansas and was drafted by t ...
, who was forced to retire due to injury the previous season, joined the backroom team as a technical coach with a focus on attack. After
CJ Stander
Christiaan Johan Stander (born 5 April 1990) is a South African-Irish former rugby union player. Stander's career began in his native South Africa, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup between 2010 and 2012 and for the Bulls in ...
deputised as captain for the previous season, Munster announced ahead of the season that
Peter O'Mahony
Peter O'Mahony (born 17 September 1989) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup and Ireland internationally. During his career, O'Mahony has captained Presentatio ...
would reassume the role when he returned from injury. On 16 October 2016, Anthony Foley died suddenly in the Munster team hotel in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
while on an away trip to play
Racing 92
Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name ...
in the
European Champions Cup.
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
announced in August 2016 that
Rory Best
Rory David Best (born 15 August 1982) is an Irish former rugby union player from Northern Ireland and was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC, having pr ...
would vacate the captaincy of the province. The captain was replaced in his role by
Andrew Trimble
Andrew Trimble (born 20 October 1984) is a former Irish rugby union player who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level.
Club career
He attended Coleraine Academical Institution, where he competed in the Ulster Schoo ...
, the team's record try-scorer, and
Rob Herring
Rob Herring is an English former professional motocross racer and current film industry stuntman.
Herring began his racing career in South Africa after his father emigrated there from the United Kingdom. He returned to the U.K. at the age of 17 a ...
, who took on the role in Best's absence the previous season.
Italy
After sacking head coach Umberto Casellato during the course of the previous season,
Benetton Treviso hired former head coach
Kieran Crowley
Kieran James Crowley (born 31 August 1961) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial side T ...
as his replacement. Marius Goosen, who served as coach following Casellato's dismissal, stayed with the side as Director of Rugby, the role he held before replacing Casellato.
After finishing ahead of Treviso in the previous season,
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
played in top level European competition for the first time since the tournament format was changed at the end of the 2013–14 season. Zebre had the highest amount of changes to their squad in the competition with a total of 29 players either joining or departing the first team.
Scotland
After discussions of a possible move from
Murrayfield
Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...
to
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...
in 2015 did not come to fruition, it was announced in May 2016 that
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
had agreed a partnership with
George Watson's College
George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...
and would play their home fixtures at the school's 6,000 capacity Myreside venue in the second half of the season. It was also announced that the team would have the option of returning to Murrayfield for larger games. Edinburgh had previously used the ground as a home in its early years as a professional side and had played a home match there as recently as the
2015 Six Nations Championship
The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...
. The off-season saw the loss of team captain
Mike Coman
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
, who left to join
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
. With his departure,
Grant Gilchrist
Grant Gilchrist (born 9 August 1990) is a Scottish rugby union player who plays at Rugby union positions#Locks, lock for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship.
Background
Gilchrist was schooled at Lornshill Academy, and played with ...
and
Stuart McInally took on the role in a joint capacity. On 28 September 2016, just four games into the season,
Alan Solomons resigned as the team's head coach. The departure saw assistant coach Duncan Hodge promoted to acting head coach.
It was announced in October 2016 that this would be
Gregor Townsend
Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won ...
's last year in charge of
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
as he would depart at the end of the season to take up the role of head coach. After serving as the team's sole captain in 2015–16,
Jonny Gray
Jonathan Douglas Gray (born 14 March 1994) is a Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland international rugby union player. He plays at Rugby union positions#Locks, lock for Exeter Chiefs in Premiership Rugby.
Rugby union career
Amateur ...
shared the role with
Henry Pyrgos
Henry Benjamin Pyrgos (born 9 July 1989) is a Scottish rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship.
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Pyrgos was drafted to Stirling County in the Scottish Pr ...
for the season. Following issues with the playing surface at the team's home stadium,
Scotstoun, an artificial playing surface was installed at the ground.
Wales
This was the Welsh Regions' first full domestic season under a revised arrangement with the
WRU.
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...
head coach
Danny Wilson made seven signings for next season with
Kirby Myhill
Kirby Myhill (born 5 February 1992) is a Welsh rugby union rugby player, who plays at hooker for the Miami Sharks in the MLR. Myhill begin his career with the Scarlets academy, and represented the team for six seasons before joining Cardiff R ...
,
George Earle and
Steven Shingler joining from the
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
,
Rhys Gill from
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
,
Nick Williams from
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
,
Matthew Morgan from
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and
Willis Halaholo from the
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
.
Newport Gwent Dragons
Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...
parted company with director of rugby
Lyn Jones
Lyn Jones (born 1964) is a former Wales international rugby union player, and now works as a coach. A flanker, Jones has experience at various different levels of the game, both as a player and a coach. Jones played most of his playing career for ...
and began the season with his long-time assistant
Kingsley Jones promoted to head coach. Wales international
Taulupe Faletau
Tangaki Taulupe "Toby" Faletau (born 12 November 1990) is a Welsh professional rugby union player for Cardiff Rugby in the United Rugby Championship and has represented the national team for over 10 years. The back row forward played for Cr ...
left the Dragons for
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...
in the off-season. The season ended with
Newport shareholders voting to pass ownership of the Dragons and the
Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...
ground to the
WRU.
The
Ospreys added
Bradley Davies,
Hugh Gustafson and former
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
forwards
Rhodri Jones
Rhodri Jones (born 23 December 1991) is a Wales international rugby union player. Jones was born in Aberystwyth, and is a Welsh-speaker. He currently plays for the Dragons RFC, having previously played for Ospreys, Scarlets and Llanelli. His ...
and
Rob McCusker to their playing staff. Meanwhile
Brad Davis joined the coaching group under
Steve Tandy.
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
entered their third season under head coach
Wayne Pivac
Wayne Pivac (born 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach. In November 2019 he replaced Warren Gatland as the Wales national team coach. A former sworn officer in the New Zealand Police, he was a constable at the Takapuna police station on A ...
. The off-season saw the return of former player
Jonathan Davies following a spell at
Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...
. Other new signings included
Rhys Patchell
Rhys Patchell (born 17 May 1993) is a Wales international rugby union player. A fly-half, he plays for Scarlets having previously played for Cardiff Blues.
Early life
Educated at Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd and at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf. ...
,
Werner Kruger
Werner Kruger (born 23 January 1985 in Kempton Park, South Africa) is a former rugby union player who played at prop. He ended his career playing for Scarlets in the Pro14, having spent the bulk of his career at Super Rugby side the , where he ...
and
Jonathan Evans, while New Zealander
Johnny McNicholl
Johnny McNicholl (born 24 September 1990) is a New Zealand born rugby union player who plays as a Winger or fullback for the Scarlets regional side in the Pro14 league and the Wales national team.
Career
McNicholl was a stand-out performer i ...
arrived later in the season.
Table
Match summary
Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.
Rounds 1 to 22
All times are local.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
After 40 minutes of play, the match was "abandoned due to adverse weather conditions causing considerable risk to both the players and spectators". Zebre were leading 22–10 (3 tries to 1) when the match was abandoned. The game was rescheduled for 1 April 2017.
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Postponed prior to kickoff due to frozen pitch. Game rescheduled on 11 March 2017.
Round 10
Round 11
1872 Cup 1st round
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 9 rescheduled match
*Game rescheduled from 25 November 2016.
Round 18
Round 3 rescheduled match
*Game rescheduled from 17 September 2016.
Round 19
Round 20
Judgement Day
Round 21
Round 22
1872 Cup 2nd round
Play-offs
Semi-finals
The top four teams at the end of the league rounds meet in the semi-finals in a 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd format with the 1st and 2nd teams playing at home.
Final
Attendances
By club
*Includes semi-finals but not final at Aviva Stadium. Updated 21 May 2017.
End-of-season awards
Pro12 Dream Team
Award winners
Leading scorers
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities. Correct as of 8 May 2017.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Top try assists scorers
Notes
References
External links
*
2016–17 Pro12 at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro12
2016-17
2016–17 in Irish rugby union
2016–17 in Italian rugby union
2016–17 in Scottish rugby union
2016–17 in Welsh rugby union