The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the third season to be referred to as the ''

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

Pro12''. The twelve competing teams were the four Irish teams:

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

; two Italian teams:

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

and

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

; two Scottish teams:

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

and four Welsh teams:

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

. The first stage involved the 12 teams playing home and away in a league format with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-finals. The semi-finals were one-off matches with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd, with the higher ranked team receiving home advantage. The winners of the semi-finals proceeded to the Pro 12 final which was played at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

on 27 May 2017. The final was contested by

and

with Scarlets winning 46–22.

Teams

Changes for the season

Ireland

Reigning champions

started the season with a new coaching team. Backs and kicking coach Andre Bell left his role to return to his family in New Zealand. Head performance analyst and assistant attack coach Conor McPhillips took over coaching of the backs, while the team's former head coach

Eric Elwood Eric Elwood is a former Irish rugby union player from Galway. He played as a fly-half. He played for Ireland internationally, and provincially for Connacht. He was on the Coláiste Iognáid team that won the Connacht Schools Rugby Senior Cup ...

took over as kicking coach. The close season also saw the departure of the side's all-time record try-scorer

Fionn Carr Fionn Carr (born 17 December 1985) is a former Ireland, Irish rugby union player. He played mainly as a Wing (rugby union), wing but could also line out as Fullback (rugby union), fullback. Carr spent most of his professional career with Connac ...

, who scored 42 tries over two spells with the province. Connacht's homeground, The Sportsground underwent renovations during the summer, with the addition of a seated stand increasing its capacity to 8,100. Beaten finalists

also saw changes to their backroom staff, with defence coach Kurt McQuilkin leaving the role for personal reasons in August 2016. Former head coach Stuart Lancaster joined the province in the role of "senior coach" the following month as McQuilkin's replacement. Leinster also hired World Cup winning former head coach

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

as a consultant coach during the off-season. After taking over the captaincy when Kevin McLaughlin was forced to retire, Isa Nacewa was appointed as team captain on a permanent basis ahead of the season opener. After finishing sixth in the previous season,

replaced much of their coaching staff. Johan "Rassie" Erasmus joined as Director of Rugby from his role as high performance manager with , while Jacques Nienaber is the new defence coach. Head coach Anthony Foley remained part of the coaching team, with a focus on lineouts and the breakdown. Jerry Flannery was also retained in his role as scrum coach, while

Felix Jones Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Arkansas Razo ...

, who was forced to retire due to injury the previous season, joined the backroom team as a technical coach with a focus on attack. After CJ Stander deputised as captain for the previous season, Munster announced ahead of the season that Peter O'Mahony would reassume the role when he returned from injury. On 16 October 2016, Anthony Foley died suddenly in the Munster team hotel in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

while on an away trip to play

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

in the European Champions Cup.

announced in August 2016 that Rory Best would vacate the captaincy of the province. The captain was replaced in his role by Andrew Trimble, the team's record try-scorer, and Rob Herring, who took on the role in Best's absence the previous season.

Italy

After sacking head coach Umberto Casellato during the course of the previous season, Benetton Treviso hired former head coach

Kieran Crowley Kieran James Crowley (born 31 August 1961) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the former head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial ...

as his replacement. Marius Goosen, who served as coach following Casellato's dismissal, stayed with the side as Director of Rugby, the role he held before replacing Casellato. After finishing ahead of Treviso in the previous season,

played in top level European competition for the first time since the tournament format was changed at the end of the 2013–14 season. Zebre had the highest amount of changes to their squad in the competition with a total of 29 players either joining or departing the first team.

Scotland

After discussions of a possible move from

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

to Easter Road in 2015 did not come to fruition, it was announced in May 2016 that

had agreed a partnership with

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

and would play their home fixtures at the school's 6,000 capacity Myreside venue in the second half of the season. It was also announced that the team would have the option of returning to Murrayfield for larger games. Edinburgh had previously used the ground as a home in its early years as a professional side and had played a home match there as recently as the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested by E ...

. The off-season saw the loss of team captain Mike Coman, who left to join

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

. With his departure,

Grant Gilchrist Grant Stuart Gilchrist (born 9 August 1990) is a Scottish professional rugby union player who plays as a Lock (rugby union), lock for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh Rugby, Edinburgh and the Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland ...

and Stuart McInally took on the role in a joint capacity. On 28 September 2016, just four games into the season, Alan Solomons resigned as the team's head coach. The departure saw assistant coach Duncan Hodge promoted to acting head coach. It was announced in October 2016 that this would be

Gregor Townsend Gregor Peter John Townsend (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish professional rugby union coach and former player who has been coaching the Scotland national team since 2017. Townsend was previously the assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a p ...

's last year in charge of

as he would depart at the end of the season to take up the role of head coach. After serving as the team's sole captain in 2015–16, Jonny Gray shared the role with Henry Pyrgos for the season. Following issues with the playing surface at the team's home stadium,

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

, an artificial playing surface was installed at the ground.

Wales

This was the Welsh Regions' first full domestic season under a revised arrangement with the WRU.

head coach Danny Wilson made seven signings for next season with

Kirby Myhill Kirby Myhill (born 5 February 1992) is a Welsh rugby union rugby player, who plays at hooker (rugby union), hooker for the Miami Sharks (rugby union), Miami Sharks in the Major League Rugby, MLR. Myhill begin his career with the Scarlets academy ...

, George Earle and

Steven Shingler Steven Shingler (born 20 June 1991) is a professional rugby union player for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. His favoured position is Fly-half but he also plays centre and full-back. His older brother Aaron Shingler is a Wales i ...

joining from the

, Rhys Gill from

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, Nick Williams from

, Matthew Morgan from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

Willis Halaholo Sean Alfred Uilisi Halaholo (born 6 July 1990 in New Zealand) is a professional rugby union player, who currently plays as a Centre (rugby union), centre for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship (2006–present), National ...

from the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

. Newport Gwent Dragons parted company with director of rugby

Lyn Jones Richard Lyn Jones (born 5 June 1964) is a Wales international rugby union former player. Originally playing as a flanker, Jones subsequently became a coach. He played most of his playing career for Neath RFC and started his coaching career at t ...

and began the season with his long-time assistant Kingsley Jones promoted to head coach. Wales international Taulupe Faletau left the Dragons for

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

in the off-season. The season ended with Newport shareholders voting to pass ownership of the Dragons and the Rodney Parade ground to the WRU. The Ospreys added Bradley Davies, Hugh Gustafson and former

forwards Rhodri Jones and Rob McCusker to their playing staff. Meanwhile Brad Davis joined the coaching group under Steve Tandy.

entered their third season under head coach

Wayne Pivac Wayne Pivac (born 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach who is the head coach of the Green Rockets Tokatsu, NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu who play in the Japan Rugby League One. In November 2019 he replaced Warren Gatland as the Wales national ru ...

. The off-season saw the return of former player Jonathan Davies following a spell at Clermont Auvergne. Other new signings included Rhys Patchell, Werner Kruger and Jonathan Evans, while New Zealander Johnny McNicholl arrived later in the season.

Table

Match summary

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Rounds 1 to 22

All times are local.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

After 40 minutes of play, the match was "abandoned due to adverse weather conditions causing considerable risk to both the players and spectators". Zebre were leading 22–10 (3 tries to 1) when the match was abandoned. The game was rescheduled for 1 April 2017.

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Postponed prior to kickoff due to frozen pitch. Game rescheduled on 11 March 2017.

Round 10

Round 11

1872 Cup 1st round

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 9 rescheduled match

*Game rescheduled from 25 November 2016.

Round 18

Round 3 rescheduled match

*Game rescheduled from 17 September 2016.

Round 19

Round 20

Judgement Day

Round 21

Round 22

1872 Cup 2nd round

Play-offs

Semi-finals

The top four teams at the end of the league rounds meet in the semi-finals in a 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd format with the 1st and 2nd teams playing at home.

Final

Attendances

By club

*Includes semi-finals but not final at Aviva Stadium. Updated 21 May 2017.

End-of-season awards

Pro12 Dream Team

Award winners

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities. Correct as of 8 May 2017.

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

Top try assists scorers

Notes

References

External links

*
2016–17 Pro12 at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro12 2016-17 2016–17 in Irish rugby union 2016–17 in Italian rugby union 2016–17 in Scottish rugby union 2016–17 in Welsh rugby union