| 2003–04 Celtic League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Ireland Scotland Wales |
| Champions | Llanelli Scarlets (1st title) |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Attendance | 501,875 (average 3,802 per match) |
| Tries scored | 651 (average 4.9 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Neil Jenkins (Celtic Warriors) (273 points)[1] |
| Top try scorer | Jamie Robinson (Cardiff Blues) (12 tries)[2] |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The2003–04 Celtic League was the thirdCeltic League season, and the first following theformation of the five regional rugby sides in Wales. The Celtic League, having previously been played as a pool stage followed by knockout rounds was restructured into a typical league system, based on home and away games only. The league was won by the Llanelli Scarlets, with all the other Welsh regions finishing in the top 6. Following this season, theCeltic Warriors were bought-out and disbanded by theWelsh Rugby Union, and in subsequent years, only four Welsh sides have competed.
Location of 2003–04 Celtic League teams in Great Britain and Ireland. | |
 Winners; 2nd–4th place; Other teams | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borders | Netherdale | 6,000 | Galashiels, Scotland |
| Cardiff Blues | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
| Celtic Warriors | Brewery Field Sardis Road | 12,000 8,000 | Bridgend, Wales Pontypridd, Wales |
| Connacht | Galway Sportsgrounds[a] | 5,500 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
| Edinburgh | Meadowbank Stadium[b] | 7,500 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Glasgow | Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leinster | Donnybrook Stadium[c] | 6,000 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Llanelli Scarlets | Stradey Park[d] | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
| Munster | Thomond Park Musgrave Park | 13,200 8,300 | Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Neath–Swansea Ospreys | St Helen's The Gnoll | 4,500 6,000 | Swansea, Wales Neath, Wales |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | Rodney Parade | 12,000 | Newport, Wales |
| Ulster | Ravenhill | 12,800 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llanelli Scarlets | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 597 | 385 | +212 | 57 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 76 |
| 2 | Ulster | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 617 | 363 | +254 | 67 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 72 |
| 3 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 449 | +141 | 59 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 72 |
| 4 | Celtic Warriors | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 560 | 451 | +109 | 48 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 65 |
| 5 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 582 | 512 | +70 | 55 | 60 | 5 | 4 | 55 |
| 6 | Cardiff Blues | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 570 | 467 | +103 | 73 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | Munster | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 422 | 456 | −34 | 45 | 49 | 6 | 5 | 51 |
| 8 | Leinster | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 523 | 580 | −57 | 51 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
| 9 | Connacht | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 479 | 550 | −71 | 50 | 59 | 5 | 3 | 44 |
| 10 | Edinburgh | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 454 | 622 | −168 | 52 | 69 | 6 | 2 | 44 |
| 11 | Glasgow | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 442 | 614 | −172 | 52 | 61 | 3 | 3 | 32 |
| 12 | Borders | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 363 | 750 | −387 | 42 | 88 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
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| Source:RaboDirect PRO12Archived 22 November 2013 at theWayback Machine | |||||||||||||
| 5 September 2003 19:05 |
| Neath–Swansea Ospreys | 41–30 | Ulster |
| Try:Tiueti Durston Henson (2) Con:Connor (2) Henson Pen:Connor (4) Henson | Report | Try:Stewart McCormack Ward Con:Wallace (3) Pen:Wallace (3) |
| The Gnoll Attendance: 4,250 |
| 12 September 2003 19:05 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 29–19 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,874 |
| 12 September 2003 19:35 |
| Ulster | 33–6 | Glasgow |
| Try:Frost McWhirter Stewart Con:Larkin (3) Pen:Larkin (3) | Report | Pen:Howarth Drop:Moffat |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 6,000 |
| 26 September 2003 19:30 |
| Ulster | 37–18 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Try:Ward McWhirter Constable Howe Con:Larkin (4) Pen:Larkin (3) | Report | Try:Arasa Baber Con:Warlow Pen:Warlow Drop:Warlow |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 5,807 |
| 10 October 2003 19:30 |
| Munster | 15–16 | Ulster |
| Pen:Staunton (5) | Report | Try:Mallon Con:Larkin Pen:Larkin (3) |
| Musgrave Park Attendance: 4,000 |
| 17 October 2003 19:30 |
| Ulster | 26–20 | Celtic Warriors |
| Try:Howe Cunningham Con:Larkin (2) Pen:Larkin (4) | Report | Try:Lewis Pen:Jenkins (5) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 6,625 |
| 24 October 2003 19:35 |
| Edinburgh | 3–41 | Ulster |
| Pen:Lee | Report | Try:Constable (3) Howe Topping Con:Larkin (5) Pen:Larkin (2) |
| Meadowbank Attendance: 2,600 |
| 31 October 2003 19:30 |
| Ulster | 32–7 | Cardiff Blues |
| Try:Cunningham (2) Howe Shields Con:Larkin (3) Pen:Larkin (2) | Report | Try:Powell Con:Robinson |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 5,256 |
| 8 November 2003 14:30 |
| Connacht | 31–20 | Ulster |
| Try:Mostyn Con:McHugh Pen:Elwood (2) McHugh (6) | Report | Try:Constable (2) Con:Larkin (2) Pen:Larkin (2) |
| Sportsground Attendance: 1,950 |
| 28 November 2003 19:35 |
| Ulster | 46–5 | Borders |
| Try:Cunningham Constable (2) Ward Shields Con:Wallace (5) Pen:Wallace (2) | Report | Try:Walker |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 5,585 |
| 2 January 2004 19:35 |
| Leinster | 32–30 | Ulster |
| Try:Contepomi Costello Con:O'Meara (2) Pen:O'Meara (6) | Report | Try:Howe Steinmetz Humphreys Con:Humphreys (3) Pen:Humphreys (3) |
| Donnybrook Attendance: 7,000 |
| 6 February 2004 19:30 |
| Ulster | 10–9 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| Try:Cunningham Con:Larkin Pen:Larkin | Report | Pen:Bowen (2) Drop:Phillips |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 6,603 |
| 13 February 2004 19:30 |
| Ulster | 31–19 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys |
| Try:N. Best S. Young Wallace Brosnihan Con:Larkin (4) Pen:Larkin | Report | Try:Morris Williams Tiueti Con:Henson Tiueti |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 5,041 |
| 20 February 2004 19:30 |
| Glasgow | 27–25 | Ulster |
| Try:A. Bulloch Lamont Lawson Con:Howarth (3) Pen:Howarth (2) | Report | Try:N. Best S. Young McCullough Con:Wallace (2) Pen:Larkin (2) |
| Hughenden Attendance: 3,189 |
| 20 February 2004 19:30 |
| Neath–Swansea Ospreys | 26–14 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Report |
| St Helen's Attendance: 2,178 |
| 28 February 2004 17:30 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 27–19 | Ulster |
| Try:Jarvis Luscombe Con:Montgomery Pen:Montgomery (5) | Report | Try:Wilson Con:Humphreys Pen:Humphreys (4) |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,016 |
| 5 March 2004 19:35 |
| Ulster | 36–13 | Munster |
| Try:Sexton Wallace McMillan S. Young Con:Wallace (2) Pen:Larkin (4) | Report | Try:Murphy Con:Lawler Pen:Lawler (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 8,820 |
| 12 March 2004 19:05 |
| Celtic Warriors | 0–28 | Ulster |
| Report | Try:Humphreys Stewart McMillan Con:Humphreys (2) Pen:Humphreys (3) |
| Brewery Field Attendance: 2,000 |
| 26 March 2004 19:30 |
| Ulster | 37–0 | Edinburgh |
| Try:Howe (2) Larkin Sexton Wallace Con:Larkin (3) Pen:Larkin (2) | Report |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 6,328 |
| 3 April 2004 17:30 |
| Cardiff Blues | 19–15 | Ulster |
| Try:Shanklin (2) Williams Con:Robinson Harris | Report | Try:Brosnihan S. Best Con:Humphreys Drop:Humphreys |
| Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,500 |
| 16 April 2004 19:35 |
| Ulster | 42–27 | Connacht |
| Try:Bowe Ward Wallace McMillan S. Young Con:Humphreys (4) Pen:Humphreys (3) | Report | Try:Munn McPhillips Con:McHugh Pen:McHugh (3) Hewitt (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 7,286 |
| 30 April 2004 19:30 |
| Borders | 15–19 | Ulster |
| Try:Fairley Setiti Con:Vili Pen:Vili | Report | Try:S. Best N. Best Pen:Humphreys (2) Drop:Humphreys |
| Netherdale Attendance: 1,200 |
| 7 May 2004 19:30 |
| Ulster | 28–6 | Leinster |
| Try:Howe (2) Humphreys Con:Humphreys (2) Pen:Humphreys (3) | Report | Pen:O'Meara (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 12,000 |
| 14 May 2004 19:35 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 23–16 | Ulster |
| Pen:Jones (5) Drop:Jones | Report | Try:McMillan Con:Humphreys Pen:Humphreys (3) |
| Stradey Park Attendance: 10,000 |
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined underIRB 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[edit]
| Top try scorers[edit]
|
