Southern Kings and Cheetahs set to join PRO12

Recently, the Southern Kings and the Cheetahs received an axe from Super Rugby following a SANZAAR decision to reduce the competition’s participants from 18 to 15 teams from next season.

The two teams took to the field for their swan song on July 14th, with the Cheetahs bowing out of the competition after a 21-20 victory over the Kings at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Now both teams, who were the weakest of the South African Super Rugby teams, have been confirmed that they are set to join the Pro12 after losing their Super Rugby status, expanding the league to 14 teams from 2017/18.

"Celtic Rugby can confirm that advanced & positive discussions are taking place with the South African Union regarding the introduction of two teams into an expanded PRO12 Championship," said PRO12 in a statement released today.

"Given the proximity of the 2017/18 season start, a final decision on this potential expansion will be confirmed as soon as practical."

The new PRO14 league will kick-off in the first week of September and will comprise two conferences of seven teams playing each other home and away. Within this format, the teams would also play one game against all the sides from the other conference, which would deliver 19 fixtures.

Additionally, each club would also play home and away derby fixtures as well, providing a total of 21 league games. However, other formats are also being discussed.

The winners of each conference will qualify automatically for the semi-finals, while the teams placed in second and third in each conference will be drawn together in play-offs for the remaining two semi-final places.