TV Bonanza for Celtic League’s Judgement Night

Armchair followers of the Celtic League won’t miss a trick as the
competition reaches its thrilling climax on ‘Judgement Night’ this
Friday.

Broadcast partners BBC Wales and TG4 have followed up the decision by Tournament
Director Keith Grainger to get all games to kick-off at the same time on Friday
night by arranging to swap highlights as their live matches are played.

BBC Wales will be at Stradey Park for the clash of the top two teams, Llanelli
Scarlets and Ulster, while TG4 will be broadcasting the match between the inaugural
champions Leinster Lions and third placed Newport Gwent Dragons at Lansdowne
Road.

Llanelli Scarlets hold a one-point advantage over Ulster and The Dragons going
into the last round, and while most fans think the mouth-watering Scarlets-Ulster
clash at Stradey Park on Friday night will decide the title, The Dragons have
won more games than any other side in this year’s tournament and cannot
be discounted.

“We know there are going to be some nervous moments for the players and
fans of all three teams chasing the Celtic League title and we don’t want
our viewers to miss a moment of the drama,” said BBC Wales Head of Sport,
Nigel Walker.

“We couldn’t have scripted a more thrilling finish to the league
and we want to ensure we capture every second of the action. We will be starting
our coverage at Stradey Park, picking up crucial highlights of the game involving
The Dragons in Dublin and also keeping in touch with the Neath-Swansea Ospreys
game in Glasgow.

“The quality of the rugby in this competition over the past month has
been fantastic and the crowds, and our viewing figures, have been above average.
That shows there is still a huge demand for competitive rugby action in Wales.”

As well as the title, Welsh fans have more than a small interest in two other
matches this week, with relegation from next season’s Heineken Cup hanging
over the Cardiff Blues or the Neath-Swansea Ospreys. The bottom-placed Welsh
region will lose their Cup spot and the battle to avoid the drop is almost as
close as the one to win the title. The Blues are three points behind the Ospreys
and need a big win over Edinburgh on Thursday night. They then need Glasgow
to do them a favour by beating the Ospreys 24 hours later.

Throw in the fact that legendary Welsh fly-half Neil Jenkins plays his last
competitive match when the Celtic Warriors travel to Connacht on Friday night,
and this is easily the most exciting round of an enthralling home-and-away Celtic
League tournament.