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
6 6 0 0 184 60 124 23 7 27
2
Cardiff Rugby
6 5 1 0 140 101 39 22 13 25
3
Munster
6 5 1 0 146 116 30 21 18 24
4
Ulster
5 4 1 0 182 116 66 26 16 21
5
Glasgow Warriors
6 4 2 0 161 87 74 23 10 20
6
Leinster
6 3 3 0 150 146 4 23 20 16
7
Lions
6 3 3 0 176 178 -2 24 26 16
8
Vodacom Bulls
6 3 3 0 172 190 -18 26 27 15
9
Connacht
5 2 3 0 120 91 29 17 13 14
10
Edinburgh
5 2 3 0 128 88 40 20 14 13
11
Zebre Parma
6 2 4 0 106 182 -76 14 27 10
12
Benetton
6 2 4 0 101 176 -75 11 25 9
13
Ospreys
6 1 4 1 127 159 -32 19 24 8
14
Hollywoodbets Sharks
6 1 4 1 113 180 -67 17 24 8
15
Dragons RFC
6 0 4 2 84 175 -91 11 26 5
16
Scarlets
5 1 4 0 81 126 -45 10 17 4

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
Connacht
1 0 1 0 15 17 -2 3 3 1
3
Ulster
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Leinster
1 0 1 0 14 31 -17 2 4 0

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Edinburgh
2 1 1 0 71 31 40 11 4 7
2
Zebre Parma
1 1 0 0 31 28 3 4 4 5
3
Benetton
2 1 1 0 16 57 -41 1 9 4
4
Glasgow Warriors
1 0 1 0 14 16 -2 2 1 1

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Lions
1 1 0 0 43 33 10 6 5 5
2
Vodacom Bulls
1 0 1 0 33 43 -10 5 6 1
3
Hollywoodbets Sharks
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
DHL Stormers
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
1 1 0 0 24 17 7 4 2 5
2
Dragons RFC
2 0 1 1 36 43 -7 5 7 3
3
Ospreys
1 0 0 1 19 19 0 3 3 2
4
Scarlets
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FIXTURES

Cardiff Rugby

19 Dec | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

21:45

Scarlets

Leinster

19 Dec | TBC

21:45

Ulster

DHL Stormers

20 Dec | DHL Stadium, Cape Town

15:30

Lions

Benetton

20 Dec | Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

16:00

Zebre Parma

Glasgow Warriors

20 Dec | Hampden Park, Glasgow

17:00

Edinburgh

Hollywoodbets Sharks

20 Dec | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

18:00

Vodacom Bulls

Ospreys

20 Dec | TBC

19:30

Munster

Dragons RFC

20 Dec | Rodney Parade, Newport

21:45

Connacht

RESULTS

29 Nov|Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

Scarlets

23 - 0

Glasgow Warriors

29 Nov|Dexcom Stadium, Galway

Connacht

44 - 17

Hollywoodbets Sharks

29 Nov|Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

19 - 17

Ospreys

29 Nov|Thomond Park, Limerick

Munster

21 - 27

DHL Stormers