About

VODACOM UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

Scottish side Glasgow Warriors dethroned Munster from Ireland as champions of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship after they beat the Vodacom Bulls in the Grand Final in Pretoria on 22 June 2024. In 2022, the DHL Stormers became the first holders of the title by beating fellow-SA team the Vodacom 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 Vodacom Bulls won the SA Shield in 2024. Previously, it was called the PRO12 and later PRO14.

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 2024_25 table
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
6 6 0 0 185 72 113 28 10 29
2
Glasgow Warriors
6 4 2 0 198 114 84 30 14 23
3
Vodacom Bulls
5 4 1 0 137 94 43 19 10 19
4
Emirates Lions
5 4 1 0 129 95 34 16 13 18
5
Connacht
6 3 3 0 163 160 3 24 21 18
6
Scarlets
6 3 2 1 136 117 19 16 17 16
7
Ulster
6 3 3 0 150 161 -11 24 24 16
8
Cardiff Rugby
6 3 3 0 130 155 -25 20 22 16
9
Hollywoodbets Sharks
5 3 2 0 142 152 -10 17 22 15
10
Edinburgh
6 2 4 0 146 147 -1 19 21 13
11
Benetton
6 2 3 1 119 145 -26 14 19 13
12
Munster
6 2 4 0 146 176 -30 23 24 12
13
DHL Stormers
5 2 3 0 118 127 -9 13 17 10
14
Ospreys
6 2 4 0 111 148 -37 14 19 10
15
Dragons RFC
6 1 5 0 106 173 -67 13 24 7
16
Zebre Parma
6 1 5 0 84 164 -80 10 23 7

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
2 2 0 0 59 24 35 9 4 10
2
Ulster
1 1 0 0 32 27 5 5 4 5
3
Munster
2 1 1 0 47 59 -12 7 9 5
4
Connacht
3 0 3 0 72 100 -28 11 15 4

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
2 2 0 0 75 13 62 11 1 10
2
Edinburgh
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3
Zebre Parma
1 0 1 0 3 33 -30 0 5 0
4
Benetton
1 0 1 0 10 42 -32 1 6 0

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Emirates Lions
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2
DHL Stormers
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3
Vodacom Bulls
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Hollywoodbets Sharks
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
2 1 1 0 43 40 3 7 5 6
2
Dragons RFC
1 1 0 0 23 21 2 2 2 4
3
Scarlets
2 1 1 0 40 43 -3 5 7 4
4
Ospreys
1 0 1 0 21 23 -2 2 2 1

TOP SCORERS

FIXTURES

Glasgow Warriors

29 Nov | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

21:35

Scarlets

Ulster

29 Nov | Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

21:35

Leinster

Hollywoodbets Sharks

30 Nov | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

17:00

DHL Stormers

Cardiff Rugby

30 Nov | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

19:15

Dragons RFC

RESULTS

26 Oct|Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby

21 - 19

Ulster

26 Oct|Dexcom Stadium, Galway

Connacht

31 - 7

Dragons RFC

26 Oct|Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Leinster

24 - 6

Emirates Lions

26 Oct|Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Hollywoodbets Sharks

41 - 24

Munster