Familiar foes for Ulster in Rainbow Cup

The Pro14 season was cut short to accommodate the innovative tournament, which will see four South Africans team take part ahead of them joining the league next term.

In an attempt to limit travel due to ongoing restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic the first three rounds will consist of derbies with Ulster facing their three interprovincial rivals.

Rounds four to six will see the four South African ‘Super’ franchises play their away games in Europe and those fixtures will be rubber stamped once all appropriate travel approvals have been confirmed by the relevant authorities and governments.

This format means that no team from Europe will travel to South Africa for Rainbow Cup games.

Ulster start their quest for glory at home on the weekend 24th April with Connacht visiting Kingspan Stadium.

There is a down weekend at the start of May to accommodate the European semi-finals before Ulster travel to Thomond Park to face Pro14 finalists Munster.

Ulster haven’t won in Limerick since May 2014. They finish the first phase of the competition at the RDS against Leinster.

Leo Cullen’s side have won the last five meeting between the two teams and Ulster have only one victory in Dublin against Leinster since 1999.

Rounds four to six will be played between the 29th May and 12 of June.

There will be one league for all 16 teams with the top two progressing to contest the final on 19th June.

“Everyone is glad that we can now put some certainty into the rugby calendar in what has been an unpredictable period. Planning for a cross-hemisphere competition where the situation has been so fluid has provided many challenges, but we believe we have found a solution that is practical and safe,” stated tournament director David Jordan.

READ MORE:

Check out our Danske Bank Premiership Team of the Week

Danny Sonner on beating Manchester United’s treble heroes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor