2001–02 Celtic League
The 2001–02 Celtic League was the inaugural season of the Celtic League. The first season would see fifteen teams compete: the four Irish provinces, two Scottish teams and all nine Welsh Premier Division teams.
Played alongside each country's own national competitions, the teams were split into two groups and played a series of round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the knock-out phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the 2001-02 Welsh-Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.
The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners.
Background
Wales and Scotland had joined forces for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, with the expansion of the Welsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh and Glasgow to form the Welsh-Scottish League.In 2001, an agreement was made between the Irish Rugby Football Union, Scottish Rugby Union and Welsh Rugby Union to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League.
Teams
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City, Area |
 Bridgend | Brewery Field | 6,000 | Bridgend, Wales |
| Caerphilly | Virginia Park | 5,000 | Caerphilly, Wales |
| Cardiff | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,500 | Cardiff, Wales |
 Connacht | Galway Sportsgrounds | 6,000 | Galway, Republic of Ireland |
| Ebbw Vale | Eugene Cross Park | 8,000 | Ebbw Vale, Wales |
 Edinburgh | Myreside | 5,500 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Glasgow | Hughenden Stadium | 6,000 | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Leinster | Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Llanelli | Stradey Park | 10,800 | Llanelli, Wales |
| Munster | Thomond Park Musgrave Park | 13,200 8,500 | Limerick, Republic of Ireland Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Neath | The Gnoll | 6,000 | Neath, Wales |
| Newport | Rodney Parade | 11,676 | Newport, Wales |
| Pontypridd | Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd, Wales |
| Swansea | St Helen's | 4,500 | Swansea, Wales |
| Ulster | Ravenhill | 12,300 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Pool stage
The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a single round-robin - each team played the other teams in its pool once only.Pool A Table
Pool A Fixtures
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Pool B Table
Pool B Fixtures
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