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	Leinster	11	8	3	0	301	234	67	44	31	40
2	Glasgow Warriors	10	8	2	0	263	145	118	38	19	39
3	DHL Stormers	10	8	2	0	274	161	113	34	20	36
4	Ulster	10	7	3	0	302	208	94	42	28	36
5	Cardiff Rugby	11	7	4	0	232	203	29	34	28	36
6	Munster	11	7	4	0	208	200	8	33	29	35
7	Vodacom Bulls	10	5	5	0	263	258	5	38	37	25
8	Ospreys	11	4	5	2	239	263	-24	36	40	25
9	Hollywoodbets Sharks	10	4	5	1	222	258	-36	33	32	24
10	Lions	10	4	5	1	267	310	-43	36	46	24
11	Benetton	11	4	6	1	201	266	-65	22	35	21
12	Connacht	10	3	7	0	243	269	-26	32	37	21
13	Edinburgh	10	3	7	0	195	194	1	30	30	18
14	Dragons RFC	11	2	7	2	194	252	-58	27	40	18
15	Scarlets	10	3	6	1	173	239	-66	23	32	15
16	Zebre Parma	10	2	8	0	180	297	-117	23	41	12