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.

Pos	Team	PL	W	L	D	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	PTS
1	Glasgow Warriors	12	9	3	0	320	170	150	47	23	45
2	DHL Stormers	12	9	3	0	316	204	112	39	26	41
3	Ulster	12	8	4	0	352	248	104	50	34	41
4	Leinster	12	8	4	0	308	242	66	45	32	41
5	Cardiff Rugby	12	8	4	0	240	210	30	35	29	40
6	Munster	12	8	4	0	248	225	23	36	30	39
7	Lions	12	6	5	1	325	342	-17	43	50	33
8	Vodacom Bulls	12	6	6	0	323	302	21	48	43	30
9	Connacht	12	5	7	0	289	293	-4	39	41	30
10	Ospreys	12	5	5	2	260	273	-13	39	42	29
11	Hollywoodbets Sharks	12	4	7	1	256	333	-77	38	43	24
12	Edinburgh	12	4	8	0	238	253	-15	37	39	23
13	Benetton	12	4	6	2	216	281	-65	25	37	23
14	Dragons RFC	12	2	7	3	227	286	-59	29	43	20
15	Scarlets	12	3	8	1	206	294	-88	28	41	16
16	Zebre Parma	12	2	10	0	197	365	-168	26	51	12