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Pro14 final kick-off time moved to avoid clash with Champions League final

Either Leinster or Munster will be involved in this year’s decider on 26 May, with Liverpool set to take on Real Madrid on the same evening.

THE GUINNESS PRO14 final scheduled to take place at the Aviva Stadium later this month has been moved forward by half an hour to avoid a fixture clash with the Champions League final.

A general view of the Aviva Stadium Dublin's Aviva Stadium hosts the inaugural Pro14 final later this month. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

The Pro14 final was due to kick-off at 6.30pm on Saturday 26 May, but will now get underway at 6pm after organisers went to ‘great effort’ to get it moved forward.

Last week, Pro14 CEO Martin Anayi said they were working ‘furiously’ with the relevant stakeholders to avoid a clash, which would have had a detrimental effect on ticket sales for the Aviva Stadium final.

Liverpool’s involvement in the Champions League decider against Real Madrid at 7.45pm on the same night increased Irish and British interest, with a statement from Pro14 organisers explaining the decision was taken ‘in order to accommodate fans at the Aviva Stadium or at home’ who wished to watch both finals.

“Once the finalists for the Champions League were confirmed, Pro14 Rugby immediately set about working to change the kick-off time of the Guinness Pro14 final,” a statement read.

While the potential of an All-Ireland Pro14 final is no longer a possibility, there will at least be one Irish province in the decider with Leinster and Munster to meet in a mouth-watering semi-final tie on 19 May.

The other semi-final sees Glasgow Warriors, who topped their conference after the regular season games, host defending champions Scarlets for the right to contest the final in Dublin on the final weekend of May.

The Pro14 final will still be shown in its entirety on Sky Sports Action from 5.30pm, while TG4 will carry live free-to-air coverage in Ireland.

TV3 and RTÉ, meanwhile, will show the Champions League final live from Kiev at 7.45pm.

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