DRAGONS youngsters have been given a new platform to showcase their skills and learn more about life as a professional rugby player with the launch of the Celtic Cup.

The competition features development squads from the four Irish provinces of Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster, and Welsh regions Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons.

A joint initiative between the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), the Celtic Cup aims to provide a learning environment for players, coaches and referees.

It will run over seven consecutive weeks from Friday, September 7 and teams must prepare for a different opposition each week.

As well as that they will need to manage their physical preparation and recovery and analyse their performances as they grow as individuals and collectively.

The eight teams are divided into two conferences of four Welsh regions and four Irish provinces.

Each province plays each of the regions and two of their fellow Irish sides.

Similarly, the regions will face all four provinces and two of their Welsh counterparts.

The top ranked province from the Irish conference will meet the best region from the Welsh conference in the inaugural final.

“The Celtic Cup will bring significant value to the development of our emerging professional players, referees, coaches and support staff,” said IRFU performance director David Nucifora.

“It will challenge them to perform and manage themselves within a professional competition structure throughout a week-to-week campaign similar to the Guinness PRO14.

“The Celtic Cup is also a fantastic vehicle for the development of our next tier of coaches who will have to take the learnings from games each week to drive performance across the competition.”

WRU head of rugby performance Geraint John added: “We are excited about this new development for the performance pathway in Wales.

“The Celtic Cup will help develop players into senior professionals while also promoting and improving Welsh coaches and other performance staff such as strength and conditioning coaches, analysts and referees.

“The block programme of matches will greatly help all involved to build week-to-week in a professional environment and competition structure, helping to underpin the development of future regional and international players.”

Fixtures

Weekend 1 – Sep 7 – Munster v Connacht, Ulster v Leinster, Ospreys v Scarlets, Dragons v Cardiff Blues.

Weekend 2 – Sep 14/15/16 – Leinster v Cardiff Blues, Ospreys v Munster, Ulster v Scarlets, Dragons v Connacht.

Weekend 3 – Sep 21/22/23 – Scarlets v Leinster, Munster v Dragons, Cardiff Blues v Ulster, Connacht v Ospreys.

Weekend 4 – Sep 28/29/30 – Leinster v Ospreys, Cardiff Blues v Munster, Ulster v Dragons, Scarlets v Connacht.

Weekend 5 – Oct 5/6/7 – Dragons v Leinster, Munster v Scarlets, Ospreys v Ulster, Connacht v Cardiff Blues.

Weekend 6 – Oct 12/13/14 – Leinster v Munster, Connacht v Ulster, Cardiff Blues v Ospreys, Scarlets v Dragons.