Connacht will begin the defence of the Guinness Pro12 title they won in such exhilarating fashion last season by hosting the team they beat in the semi-finals, the Glasgow Warriors, at the Sportsground on Saturday, September 3rd (5.15). The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Leinster will entertain Benetton Treviso on the opening weekend, welcoming the Italians to the RDS on the Friday night (7.35), a game that will be broadcast live on TG4. Ulster are also at home on the same night, as the Newport Gwent Dragons visit Kingspan stadium while Munster under new coach Rassie Erasmus are the only Irish province to travel away from home as they head for Parc y Scarlets on the Saturday.
The months of October and December will house some titanic clashes between the provinces with Leinster down to meet Munster - it’s listed as the RDS but will almost certainly shift to the Aviva stadium - on Saturday, October 8th, while the previous night Connacht host Ulster in Galway.
At the end of that month, there is a replay of last year’s Pro12 final as Leinster host Pat Lam’s Connacht at the RDS while on the same day Ulster welcome Munster to Belfast.
The inter-provincial rivalries resume in December when Ulster take on Connacht two days before Christmas, while Leinster will travel to Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day.
The regular season will end with ‘Super Saturday’ and six big intra-union matches in Round 22; all games will kick-off simultaneously to see who makes it through to the all-important playoffs.
In terms of the fixtures announced, 70 of the first 78 matches will be televised live with only three penciled in for a Sunday afternoon and two of those on New Year’s Day.
Guinness Pro12 fixtures (Irish provinces)
Round 1
Fri, Sept 2nd (7.35): Leinster v Treviso (TG4); Ulster v Dragons (BBC 2).
Sat, Sept 3rd: Scarlets v Munster (3.0, Sky Sports); Connacht v Glasgow Warriors (5.15, Sky Sports)
Round 2
Fri, Sept 9th: Munster v Cardiff Blues (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Sept 10th: Glasgow Warriors v Leinster (3.0, Sky Sports); Connacht v Ospreys (7.35, TG4); Treviso v Ulster (7.05, Irish time, BBC 2)
Round 3
Fri, Sept 16th: Ulster v Scarlets (7.05, BBC 2); Edinburgh v Leinster (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Sept 17th: Dragons v Munster (5.15, Sky Sports); Zebre v Connacht (5.05, Irish time, TG4).
Round 4
Fri, Sept 23rd: Glasgow Warriors v Ulster (7.35, BBC 2); Leinster v Ospreys (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Sept 24th: Munster v Edinburgh (3.0, Sky Sports); Scarlets v Connacht (7.35, TG4)
Round 5
Fri, Sept 30th: Connacht v Edinburgh (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Oct 1st: Munster v Zebre (5.15); Ulster v Ospreys (6.30, Sky Sports); Cardiff Blues v Leinster (7.35, TG4)
Round 6
Fri, Oct 7th: Connacht v Ulster (7.35, TG4/BBC 2)
Sat, Oct 8th: Leinster v Munster (2.05, Sky Sports/TG4)
Round 7
Fri, Oct 28th: Ulster v Munster (7.35, BBC 2/TG4)
Sat, Oct 29th: Leinster v Connacht (5.15, Sky Sports)
Round 8
Fri, Nov 4th: Dragons v Connacht (7.35); Edinburgh v Ulster (7.35, BBC 2); Munster v Ospreys (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Nov 5th: Zebre v Leinster (4.05, Irish time, TBC)
Round 9
Fri, Nov 25th: Connacht v Cardiff Blues (7.35, TG4); Scarlets v Leinster (7.35); Ulster v Zebre (7.35, BBC 2)
Sat, Nov 26th: Munster v Treviso (5.0)
Round 10
Fri, Dec 2nd: Glasgow Warriors v Munster (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Dec 3rd: Connacht v Treviso (3.0); Cardiff Blues v Ulster (5.15, Sky Sports); Leinster v Dragons (7.35, TG4)
Round 11
Fri, Dec 23rd: Ulster v Connacht (7.35, BBC 2/Sky Sports)
Mon, Dec 26th: Munster v Leinster (5.30, TG4/Sky Sports)
Round 12
Sat, Dec, 31st: Leinster v Ulster (3.0, Sky Sports); Connacht v Munster (5.30, TG4)
Round 13
Fri, Jan 6th/7th/8th, 2017: Ospreys v Connacht (Sky Sports)
Fri, Jan 6th: Leinster v Zebre (7.35, TG4); Scarlets v Ulster (7.35, BBC 2)
Sat, Jan 7th: Edinburgh v Munster (3.0, Sky Sports)
Round 14
Feb 10th/11th/12th: Treviso v Leinster; Cardiff Blues v Connacht; Munster v Dragons; Ulster v Edinburgh
Round 15
Feb 17th/18th/19th: Connacht v Dragons; Leinster v Edinburgh; Ospreys v Munster; Ulster v Glasgow Warriors.
Round 16
Feb 24th/25th/26th: Treviso v Connacht; Munster v Scarlets; Dragons v Leinster; Zebre v Ulster.
Round 17
March 3rd/4th/5th: Cardiff Blues v Munster; Connacht v Zebre; Leinster v Scarlets; Ulster v Treviso.
Round 18
March 24th/25th/26th: Glasgow Warriors v Connacht; Leinster v Cardiff Blues; Dragons v Ulster; Zebre v Munster.
Round 19
April 7th/8th/9th: Edinburgh v Connacht; Munster v Glasgow Warriors; Ospreys v Leinster; Ulster v Cardiff Blues.
Round 20
Fri, Apr 14th: Connacht v Leinster (7.35, TG4)
Sat, Apr 15th: Munster v Ulster (3.0, Sky Sports)
Round 21
April 28th/29th/30th: Treviso v Munster; Connacht v Scarlets; Leinster v Glasgow Warriors, Ospreys v Ulster.
Round 22
Sat, May 6th (5.15): Munster v Connacht; Ulster v Leinster.
Sat, May 27th: Final.
