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
10 8 2 0 279 133 146 41 17 39
2
DHL Stormers
9 8 1 0 250 125 125 32 15 36
3
Leinster
10 7 3 0 273 214 59 40 28 35
4
Cardiff Rugby
10 7 3 0 218 182 36 32 25 35
5
Munster
10 7 3 0 186 169 17 29 25 34
6
Ulster
9 6 3 0 281 194 87 39 26 32
7
Lions
9 4 4 1 250 258 -8 34 38 24
8
Ospreys
10 3 5 2 220 250 -30 33 39 21
9
Vodacom Bulls
9 4 5 0 211 241 -30 30 35 20
10
Benetton
10 4 6 0 181 246 -65 20 32 19
11
Hollywoodbets Sharks
9 3 5 1 186 234 -48 28 30 19
12
Edinburgh
9 3 6 0 175 166 9 27 26 18
13
Dragons RFC
10 2 6 2 181 233 -52 26 37 17
14
Connacht
9 2 7 0 212 254 -42 28 35 16
15
Scarlets
9 3 6 0 153 219 -66 20 30 13
16
Zebre Parma
10 2 8 0 175 313 -138 23 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
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
Hollywoodbets Sharks
3 2 1 0 73 54 19 11 6 11
2
Lions
3 2 1 0 93 89 4 12 13 10
3
DHL Stormers
3 2 1 0 66 65 1 9 8 9
4
Vodacom Bulls
3 0 3 0 53 77 -24 6 11 2

WELSH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Ospreys
3 2 0 1 78 60 18 12 10 12
2
Cardiff Rugby
4 2 2 0 85 90 -5 13 13 11
3
Dragons RFC
4 1 2 1 83 70 13 12 11 9
4
Scarlets
3 1 2 0 45 71 -26 7 10 5

FIXTURES

Glasgow Warriors

30 Jan | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

21:45

Munster

Benetton

30 Jan | Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

21:45

Scarlets

Lions

31 Jan | Ellis Park, Johannesburg

14:30

Vodacom Bulls

Hollywoodbets Sharks

31 Jan | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

17:00

DHL Stormers

Zebre Parma

31 Jan | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

17:00

Connacht

Leinster

31 Jan | TBC

19:30

Edinburgh

Ulster

31 Jan | Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

21:45

Cardiff Rugby

Ospreys

31 Jan | TBC

21:45

Dragons RFC

RESULTS

24 Jan|Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

Zebre Parma

21 - 26

Glasgow Warriors

24 Jan|Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby

17 - 8

Benetton

24 Jan|Dexcom Stadium, Galway

Connacht

23 - 34

Leinster

24 Jan|DHL Stadium, Cape Town

DHL Stormers

19 - 30

Hollywoodbets Sharks