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
Leinster
12 8 4 0 308 242 66 45 32 41
2
Glasgow Warriors
11 8 3 0 273 160 113 40 21 40
3
Cardiff Rugby
12 8 4 0 240 210 30 35 29 40
4
Munster
12 8 4 0 248 225 23 36 30 39
5
DHL Stormers
11 8 3 0 284 185 99 35 23 36
6
Ulster
11 7 4 0 312 229 83 44 31 36
7
Lions
12 6 5 1 325 342 -17 43 50 33
8
Vodacom Bulls
11 6 5 0 304 270 34 45 39 30
9
Ospreys
12 5 5 2 260 273 -13 39 42 29
10
Connacht
11 4 7 0 258 279 -21 34 39 25
11
Hollywoodbets Sharks
12 4 7 1 256 333 -77 38 43 24
12
Edinburgh
11 4 7 0 219 213 6 34 33 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
11 3 7 1 192 263 -71 26 36 16
16
Zebre Parma
11 2 9 0 187 318 -131 24 44 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
3 2 1 0 77 51 26 10 7 10
3
Munster
4 2 2 0 59 70 -11 8 9 10
4
Connacht
4 0 4 0 79 132 -53 10 19 2

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
4 3 1 0 85 52 33 13 6 15
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
4 1 3 0 90 112 -22 11 14 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
Vodacom Bulls
5 2 3 0 146 106 40 21 15 12
4
DHL Stormers
5 2 3 0 100 125 -25 12 16 9

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

Vodacom Bulls

14 Mar | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

14:00

DHL Stormers

Vodacom Bulls

20 Mar | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

19:00

Cardiff Rugby

Scarlets

20 Mar | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

21:45

Zebre Parma

Ulster

20 Mar | Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

21:45

Connacht

Lions

21 Mar | Ellis Park, Johannesburg

14:45

Edinburgh

Benetton

21 Mar | Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

17:00

Ospreys

Hollywoodbets Sharks

21 Mar | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

17:00

Munster

Glasgow Warriors

21 Mar | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

19:30

Leinster

RESULTS

28 Feb|Dunraven Brewery Field, Bridgend

Ospreys

21 - 10

Ulster

28 Feb|Thomond Park, Limerick

Munster

21 - 7

Zebre Parma

28 Feb|Rodney Parade, Newport

Dragons RFC

15 - 15

Benetton

28 Feb|Dexcom Stadium, Galway

Connacht

15 - 10

Glasgow Warriors