That meant there were two equal pools of eight - with teams still playing each other just once - and the final was set to be played at Principality Stadium after eight teams qualified for the knockouts.
The stage was set for another fine season and 302 tries were racked up by the time the final whistle was blown, which levelled out at just under 4.8 tries a game.
Try bonus points and losing bonus points were also in play for the first time, which ultimately proved crucial during the course of the season.
THE EARLY WINNERS
The front-runners had a much more cosmopolitan feel about them in the Celtic League's second season after all four Irish provinces finished in the top two of both pools in 2001.
Indeed Edinburgh, after finishing second to last in Pool B the previous season, lost just once this time around on their way to a second-place finish.
That run included toppling Ulster on their own turf - a feat never easily accomplished - and their sole loss came to Pool A winners Munster.
A last-gasp try by Lions centre Rob Henderson, along with the unerring boot of Jeremy Staunton, secured a 28-21 win in Edinburgh.
But only by virtue of their four try-bonus points did Munster finish on top, one point ahead of Edinburgh, when the regular season was done and dusted.
Joining them in the quarter-finals was Ulster and a first appearance in the knockouts for Neath.
That came despite Neath losing their last two fixtures to Edinburgh and Munster, as fifth-place Llanelli fell to Ulster on the final day.
But in Pool B came the biggest shock of the season - as a Leinster side that had romped to a first Celtic League title finished short of the play-off places.
Successive losses to Glasgow, Connacht, Cardiff and Borders - their first competitive victory since reformation thanks to an all-action display by Kevin Utterson - left Leinster with it all to do
Ultimately they could not catch up and Pontypridd were left atop the table by the end of October.
Home wins over Glasgow and Cardiff, who finished second and third respectively, were crucial as Brett Davey came to the fore.
And Connacht squeaked into fourth place, despite losing their last two games of the season.
THE KNOCKOUTS
Apart from Munster's 33-3 victory over Connacht, the other three quarter-finals were very tight affairs.
Ulster were made to hang onto a 20-17 win in Glasgow, making the semis for the second successive season thanks to that man, David Humphreys, sinking a 65th-minute penalty.
In an all-Welsh affair between Pontypridd and Neath it was the latter that squeaked through 13-12 after replacement Lee Jarvis kicked two penalties against his former club.
And Edinburgh, so strong in the pool, were rocked by Cardiff after the Blue and Blacks came back from 16 points behind to record a 26-22 triumph.
If the quarters were tit-for-tat, then the semis were very much one-sided as Munster stormed to a 40-12 victory over Ulster at Thomond Park, while Neath dished out a 32-10 defeat to Cardiff at The Gnoll.
The stage was set for the finale in Cardiff and Munster were men on a mission after losing both the Celtic League final to Leinster and the Heineken Cup Final to Leicester Tigers the season before.
Ronan O'Gara was on form from the kicking tee but his four penalties were to be his only contribution after being forced off through injury early on.
Jarvis kept Neath in touch with penalties either side of half-time, but the match looked effectively done when Marcus Horan was pushed over early in the second half.
Henderson - on for O'Gara - also crossed but the man-of-the-match honours would fall to flanker Alan Quinlan, who also came out with a try in the 37-17 triumph.
THE TOP SCORERS
It shows just how effective Brendan Laney was with his boot as, though Edinburgh lost out in the quarters, the New Zealand-born back finished top of the point-scorers pile with 137 points.
Tommy Hayes was the only other centurion after he collected 105 points with Glagow, while Iestyn Harris and Lee Jarvis finished on 95 points apiece for Cardiff and Neath respectively.
It was a three-way tie as far as the race for top try-scorer was concerned, as Mossie Lawlor, Mike Mullins (Munster) and Craig Morgan (Cardiff) all collected six tries.
Behind them came Leinster's Denis Hickie and Derrick Lee of Edinburgh with five apiece.
To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
63x46.png){kind=logo}