2017–18 Pro14
The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the Guinness PRO14 for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as the Guinness PRO14 Championship, with the addition of two South African teams.
| 2017–18 Pro14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Ireland Italy Scotland South Africa Wales |
| Date | 1 September 2017 – 26 May 2018 |
| Champions | Leinster Rugby (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Scarlets |
| Matches played | 152 |
| Attendance | 1,301,321 (average 8,561 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 62,338 – Judgement Day (28 April 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,000 – Zebre v Cardiff Blues (25 February 2018) |
| Tries scored | 898 (average 5.9 per match) |
| Top point scorer | John Cooney (Ulster) (160 points) |
| Top try scorer | Barry Daly (Leinster) (12 tries) |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Fourteen teams competed in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; two South African teams: Cheetahs and the Southern Kings; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.
Scarlets came into the new season as defending champions, and for the second season reached the PRO14 final. Leinster, however, won the final at the Aviva Stadium to take their fifth title in the competition's various iterations, and seal a domestic league and European Cup double, only the sixth team to do so, and the first from the PRO14 Championship.