Scotland’s two professional rugby teams have today had their schedules confirmed for rounds 13 to 18 of the Magners League season.
The calendar, released by Celtic Rugby this lunchtime, covers the period between 6 January and 27 March and will see another batch of Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors games screened live by BBC ALBA.
The Gaelic-language channel, which became a Magners League broadcast partner at the start of the season, will beam the unique drama of the 1872 Cup Scottish derbies into viewers’ homes over the festive period, before embarking on a run of six live pro-team fixtures between now and the end of March as the race for the play-off hots up.
Edinburgh, who have already had three home Magners League games go out live on ALBA this season, will have both their Murrayfield battle with Ospreys (Saturday 26 March, kick-off 6.30pm) and their Thomond Park date with Munster (Saturday 18 February, kick-off 7.50pm) screened by the channel.
Head coach Rob Moffat confirmed: “It’s a really exciting and challenging stage of the season, with massive games coming round pretty much on a weekly basis.
“We want as many people as possible behind us, whether it’s watching on television or, even better, at the games themselves, because it’s in a period like this that the fans’ support can really make a difference.
“There’s certainly no shortage of attractive fixtures in the coming months, and we’ll be going all out to secure the sort of results that will put us in a competitive position.”
Glasgow Warriors’ home games against Newport Gwent Dragons (Friday 25 February, kick-off 7.50pm) and Ulster (Friday 25 March, kick-off 8.05pm) will both be shown by ALBA, as will the away tussles with Munster (Saturday 8 January, kick-off 7.30pm) and Ospreys (Saturday 5 March, kick-off 5.30pm).
Hailing the matches as vital to his team’s aspirations of making the play-offs for a second successive season, Warriors head coach Sean Lineen said: “The Magners League season is really gathering pace now, and every game is crucial if you want to make the top four come the end of the campaign.
“We’ve got some fantastic matches coming up in the next few months, especially at Firhill, and it would be great to really get the place rocking as we look to pick-up those all-important points.”
The next fortnight sees the Scottish pro-teams engaged in Heineken Cup combat against French opposition, Glasgow Warriors facing Toulouse at Firhill on Friday (kick-off 8pm) and then again at Stade Ernest Wallon on Saturday 18 December (kick-off 2.30pm local time).
Edinburgh, meanwhile, take on Castres at Stade Pierre Antoine on Saturday (kick-off 6.45pm local time), with the Murrayfield re-match down for Sunday 19 December (kick-off 2pm).
Hot on the heels of the European action comes the traditional 1872 Cup derby double-header, with the first match taking place at Firhill on Monday 27 December (kick-off 5.35pm) and the Murrayfield leg occurring on Sunday 2 January 2011 (kick-off 5.35pm).
MAGNERS LEAGUE FIXTURES ROUNDS 13-18
EDINBURGH
Saturday 8 January Edinburgh v Scarlets, Murrayfield, kick-off 6.30pm, live on S4C
Saturday 12 February Newport Gwent Dragons v Edinburgh, Rodney Parade, kick-off 2pm
Friday 18 February Munster v Edinburgh, Thomond Park, kick-off 7.50pm, live on BBC ALBA
Thursday 24 February Scarlets v Edinburgh, Parc y Scarlets, kick-off 7.35pm, live on S4C
Friday 4 March Edinburgh v Cardiff Blues, Murrayfield, kick-off 7.30pm
Saturday 26 March Edinburgh v Ospreys, Murrayfield, kick-off 6.30pm, live on BBC ALBA
GLASGOW WARRIORS
Saturday 8 January Munster v Glasgow Warriors, Musgrave Park, kick-off 7.30pm, live on BBC ALBA
Friday 11 February Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues, Firhill, kick-off 7.30pm
Friday 18 February Connacht v Glasgow Warriors, Sportsground, kick-off 7pm
Friday 25 February Glasgow Warriors v Newport Gwent Dragons, Firhill, kick-off 7.50pm, live on BBC ALBA
Saturday 5 March Ospreys v Glasgow, Liberty Stadium, kick-off 5.30pm, live on BBC ALBA
Friday 25 March Glasgow Warriors v Ulster, Firhill, kick-off 8.05pm, live on BBC ALBA
