Shane Williams was getting antsy yesterday, claiming that the organisation of the new Pro14 has been "shambolic", citing the absence of a fixture list as we head into August.
Heck, the fact that a couple of South African franchises have been added to the competition had yet to be officially confirmed. But this morning, there has been some white smoke from the Pro 12's lair, and they have rebranded to the Pro14 and have confirmed the draw and format of the new competition.
Here is the new Pro 14 format, explained.
Pro 14 Format
The competition has been cleaved into a couple of separate conferences. In Conference A:
Ospreys
Cardiff Blues
Munster
Connacht
Glasgow
Zebre
Cheetahs
And in the latter group:
Scarlets
Dragons
Leinster
Ulster
Edinburgh
Treviso
Kings
There will be 21 rounds of games overall. Sides grouped in the same conference will play each other at home and away, while there will be an additional seven cross-conference games, with sides playing each other at home or away. There will also be an additional two rounds of derby games, so the Irish sides can retain the present format of six derbies each.
From there, the top three will in each section progress to the play-offs at the end of the season. The top side in each conference go straight into the semi-finals, with the two sides ranked behind them going into the quarter-finals to scrap it out for a spot in the final four.
The six teams that qualify for the play-offs are guaranteed qualification for the Champions Cup. The South African sides, however, can't qualify for Europe, so they'll be replaced in the Champions Cup by the sides below them. The seventh and final Champions Cup spot goes to the side with the most points outside of those to qualify for the play-offs.
Eddie Butler has voiced this dramatic explainer to the new Pro14 format video:
The #GUINNESSPRO14 is here, watch the video to get the headlines pic.twitter.com/ue64jBJai0
— PRO12RUGBY (@PRO12rugby) August 1, 2017
The fixtures are expected to be announced next week.
