The addition of South African sides Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings has given the league an exciting new feel with the action set to kick-off on the opening weekend of September.
Wayne Pivac’s defending champions Scarlets will host the Kings in Llanelli on Saturday, September 2 while the Dragons face Irish raiders Leinster at Rodney Parade on the same day.
Cardiff Blues will meet Richard Cockerill’s Edinburgh Rugby the previous night in the Welsh capital, while the Ospreys will also be in action on Saturday 2 as they go head-to-head with Zebre.
It means Welsh rugby fans have a bumper few days of action to look forward to next month.
“The addition of the South African teams to the league is really exciting,” said Scarlets and former Ospreys back Tom Grabham.
“I’m really looking forward to facing them and I think they will bring something different to the division. It’s certainly something to look forward to this season.”
The Scarlets have their sights set on retainng the PRO12 title they won last year, and their opener with the Kings is set to attract a large crowd.
Pivac then takes his men to Italian side Zebre in round two, with new National Dual Contract signing Leigh Halfpenny likely to feature in one of those fixtures.
Later in September it will be Steve Tandy’s Ospreys who will make history as the first Welsh region to travel to South Africa for a PRO14 clash.
The Liberty Stadium outfit will face the Cheetahs on September 30.
Following that inaugral fixture in the southern hemisphere, the first round of Welsh derbies will take place in early October.
Cardiff Blues will host the Dragons on Friday, October 6 with the Scarlets travelling to their rivals in the west the Ospreys a day later.
The regular season will conclude with the annual Judgement Day Welsh derby double header at Principality Stadium in late April 2018, while the Christmas derbies also maintain their place in the calendar.
For a full fixture list of this season’s Guinness PRO14, please click here.
