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
DHL Stormers
7 7 0 0 218 87 131 27 10 32
2
Munster
7 6 1 0 172 126 46 25 19 29
3
Cardiff Rugby
7 5 2 0 157 122 35 24 16 26
4
Glasgow Warriors
7 5 2 0 185 99 86 27 12 25
5
Ulster
6 4 2 0 202 140 62 29 20 22
6
Leinster
7 4 3 0 174 166 8 27 23 21
7
Lions
7 3 4 0 203 212 -9 27 30 17
8
Vodacom Bulls
7 3 4 0 184 211 -27 26 30 15
9
Connacht
6 2 4 0 148 139 9 21 19 15
10
Benetton
7 3 4 0 122 191 -69 13 27 13
11
Edinburgh
6 2 4 0 140 112 28 22 18 13
12
Hollywoodbets Sharks
7 2 4 1 134 192 -58 20 24 12
13
Zebre Parma
7 2 5 0 121 203 -82 16 29 11
14
Dragons RFC
7 1 4 2 132 203 -71 17 30 10
15
Scarlets
6 2 4 0 102 143 -41 13 19 8
16
Ospreys
7 1 5 1 137 185 -48 20 28 8

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Munster
2 2 0 0 48 29 19 7 5 9
2
Leinster
2 1 1 0 38 51 -13 6 7 5
3
Connacht
1 0 1 0 15 17 -2 3 3 1
4
Ulster
1 0 1 0 20 24 -4 3 4 1

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Benetton
3 2 1 0 37 72 -35 3 11 8
2
Edinburgh
3 1 2 0 83 55 28 13 8 7
3
Glasgow Warriors
2 1 1 0 38 28 10 6 3 6
4
Zebre Parma
2 1 1 0 46 49 -3 6 6 6

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Lions
2 1 1 0 70 67 3 9 9 6
2
DHL Stormers
1 1 0 0 34 27 7 4 3 5
3
Hollywoodbets Sharks
1 1 0 0 21 12 9 3 0 4
4
Vodacom Bulls
2 0 2 0 45 64 -19 5 9 1

WELSH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Cardiff Rugby
2 1 1 0 41 38 3 6 5 6
2
Scarlets
1 1 0 0 21 17 4 3 2 4
3
Dragons RFC
2 0 1 1 36 43 -7 5 7 3
4
Ospreys
1 0 0 1 19 19 0 3 3 2

FIXTURES

Cardiff Rugby

26 Dec | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

17:00

Dragons RFC

Scarlets

26 Dec | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

19:30

Ospreys

Zebre Parma

27 Dec | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

16:30

Benetton

Edinburgh

27 Dec | Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh

17:00

Glasgow Warriors

Connacht

27 Dec | Dexcom Stadium, Galway

19:30

Ulster

Munster

27 Dec | Thomond Park, Limerick

21:45

Leinster

Dragons RFC

01 Jan | Rodney Parade, Newport

17:00

Scarlets

Ospreys

01 Jan | TBC

19:30

Cardiff Rugby

RESULTS

20 Dec|Rodney Parade, Newport

Dragons RFC

48 - 28

Connacht

20 Dec|Dunraven Brewery Field, Bridgend

Ospreys

10 - 26

Munster

20 Dec|Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Hollywoodbets Sharks

21 - 12

Vodacom Bulls

20 Dec|Hampden Park, Glasgow

Glasgow Warriors

24 - 12

Edinburgh