About

VODACOM UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

Irish giants Leinster beat the Vodacom Bulls in the Grand Final in Dublin on 14 June 2025 to claim their first Vodacom United Rugby Championship title since the 2020/21 season. It was the Bulls' second successive final, after they were beaten by the Glasgow Warriors in the 2024 finale. In 2022, the DHL Stormers became the first holders of the title by beating the Bulls in the final. Four teams from South Africa, the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, Emirates Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks, are joined by 12 clubs from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales this competition that first kicked off in September 2021. All the teams are split into four conferences and the Hollywoodbets Sharks won the SA Shield in 2025.

The history

The Championship originated in 1999 when the Welsh and Scottish unions created a competition for their teams, and in 2001 four Irish provinces were added to create the Celtic League. The ambition amongst the three unions in 2001 was to create a vibrant and competitive professional club competition that would provide their players with the best preparation for Test level rugby. In 2010, two Italian teams were welcomed as the competition began to look boldly towards a more diverse future – this was reflected in the name change to PRO12 in later seasons. In a historic move in 2017, the Championship expanded to South Africa and, in keeping with its cross-border DNA, added the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings to become a cross-hemisphere club rugby tournament known as the PRO14.

Vodacom United Rugby Championship 2025_26 table
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
13 10 3 0 358 187 171 53 26 50
2
DHL Stormers
13 10 3 0 345 225 120 43 29 46
3
Ulster
13 8 5 0 371 274 97 53 38 42
4
Leinster
13 8 5 0 325 280 45 48 38 41
5
Cardiff Rugby
13 8 5 0 247 250 -3 36 35 40
6
Munster
13 8 5 0 248 270 -22 36 37 39
7
Lions
13 7 5 1 379 359 20 51 53 38
8
Vodacom Bulls
13 7 6 0 363 309 54 54 44 35
9
Connacht
13 6 7 0 315 312 3 43 44 35
10
Ospreys
13 5 6 2 279 304 -25 42 47 29
11
Hollywoodbets Sharks
13 5 7 1 301 333 -32 45 43 29
12
Benetton
13 5 6 2 247 300 -53 30 40 28
13
Edinburgh
13 4 9 0 255 307 -52 40 47 23
14
Scarlets
13 4 8 1 242 311 -69 34 44 21
15
Dragons RFC
13 2 8 3 248 315 -67 32 47 20
16
Zebre Parma
13 2 11 0 214 401 -187 29 57 12

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
5 4 1 0 137 99 38 19 12 19
2
Ulster
4 2 2 0 96 77 19 13 11 11
3
Munster
4 2 2 0 59 70 -11 8 9 10
4
Connacht
5 1 4 0 105 151 -46 14 22 7

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
5 4 1 0 132 62 70 20 8 20
2
Benetton
5 3 2 0 88 110 -22 9 15 14
3
Edinburgh
5 2 3 0 101 90 11 15 13 11
4
Zebre Parma
5 1 4 0 100 159 -59 13 21 7

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Lions
6 4 2 0 168 173 -5 21 25 19
2
Hollywoodbets Sharks
6 3 3 0 143 153 -10 21 19 16
3
DHL Stormers
6 3 3 0 132 144 -12 16 19 14
4
Vodacom Bulls
6 2 4 0 165 138 27 24 19 12

WELSH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Ospreys
4 3 0 1 97 73 24 15 11 16
2
Cardiff Rugby
4 2 2 0 85 90 -5 13 13 11
3
Dragons RFC
5 1 3 1 96 89 7 13 14 10
4
Scarlets
3 1 2 0 45 71 -26 7 10 5

FIXTURES

Hollywoodbets Sharks

27 Mar | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

19:00

Cardiff Rugby

Glasgow Warriors

27 Mar | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

21:45

Benetton

Leinster

27 Mar | TBC

21:45

Scarlets

Vodacom Bulls

28 Mar | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

14:00

Munster

Connacht

28 Mar | Dexcom Stadium, Galway

16:15

Ospreys

Lions

28 Mar | Ellis Park, Johannesburg

16:30

Dragons RFC

DHL Stormers

28 Mar | DHL Stadium, Cape Town

19:00

Edinburgh

Zebre Parma

28 Mar | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

21:45

Ulster

RESULTS

22 Mar|DHL Stadium, Cape Town

DHL Stormers

29 - 21

Dragons RFC

21 Mar|Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Glasgow Warriors

38 - 17

Leinster

21 Mar|Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

Benetton

31 - 19

Ospreys

21 Mar|Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Hollywoodbets Sharks

45 - 0

Munster