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
Cardiff Rugby
4 3 1 0 91 68 23 15 8 16
2
DHL Stormers
3 3 0 0 95 10 85 12 2 14
3
Munster
3 3 0 0 77 60 17 11 10 14
4
Vodacom Bulls
4 3 1 0 127 126 1 19 18 14
5
Glasgow Warriors
3 2 1 0 98 35 63 14 4 11
6
Ulster
2 2 0 0 70 28 42 10 4 10
7
Zebre Parma
3 2 1 0 53 72 -19 7 10 9
8
Benetton
4 2 2 0 72 98 -26 9 15 9
9
Edinburgh
3 1 2 0 90 51 39 14 8 8
10
Connacht
3 1 2 0 61 57 4 9 7 8
11
Leinster
3 1 2 0 62 79 -17 9 11 6
12
Ospreys
3 1 2 0 74 79 -5 11 12 5
13
Dragons RFC
4 0 3 1 55 132 -77 7 19 3
14
Hollywoodbets Sharks
3 0 2 1 41 83 -42 6 12 2
15
Lions
3 0 3 0 55 96 -41 7 14 1
16
Scarlets
2 0 2 0 21 68 -47 3 9 0

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2
Connacht
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3
Ulster
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Munster
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Edinburgh
2 1 1 0 71 31 40 11 4 7
2
Zebre Parma
1 1 0 0 31 28 3 4 4 5
3
Benetton
2 1 1 0 16 57 -41 1 9 4
4
Glasgow Warriors
1 0 1 0 14 16 -2 2 1 1

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Lions
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2
Hollywoodbets Sharks
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3
DHL Stormers
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Vodacom Bulls
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

WELSH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Cardiff Rugby
1 1 0 0 24 17 7 4 2 5
2
Dragons RFC
1 0 1 0 17 24 -7 2 4 1
3
Ospreys
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Scarlets
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FIXTURES

Lions

18 Oct | Ellis Park, Johannesburg

13:45

Scarlets

Hollywoodbets Sharks

18 Oct | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

16:00

Ulster

Leinster

18 Oct | TBC

18:15

Munster

Ospreys

18 Oct | TBC

20:45

Glasgow Warriors

Zebre Parma

18 Oct | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

20:45

DHL Stormers

Glasgow Warriors

24 Oct | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

20:45

Vodacom Bulls

Lions

25 Oct | Ellis Park, Johannesburg

13:45

Ulster

Hollywoodbets Sharks

25 Oct | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

16:00

Scarlets

RESULTS

17 Oct|Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

43 - 0

Benetton

17 Oct|Rodney Parade, Newport

Dragons RFC

17 - 24

Cardiff Rugby

17 Oct|Dexcom Stadium, Galway

Connacht

27 - 28

Vodacom Bulls

11 Oct|Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby

14 - 8

Connacht