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
8 8 0 0 231 95 136 29 11 36
2
Munster
10 7 3 0 186 169 17 29 25 34
3
Ulster
8 6 2 0 259 167 92 36 23 31
4
Cardiff Rugby
9 6 3 0 201 174 27 31 24 31
5
Leinster
9 6 3 0 239 191 48 36 26 30
6
Glasgow Warriors
8 6 2 0 206 102 104 30 12 29
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
9 4 5 0 173 229 -56 19 31 19
11
Edinburgh
9 3 6 0 175 166 9 27 26 18
12
Dragons RFC
10 2 6 2 181 233 -52 26 37 17
13
Connacht
8 2 6 0 189 220 -31 26 31 16
14
Hollywoodbets Sharks
8 2 5 1 156 215 -59 24 27 14
15
Zebre Parma
8 2 6 0 144 240 -96 18 33 11
16
Scarlets
8 2 6 0 126 197 -71 17 27 9

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
4 3 1 0 103 76 27 15 10 14
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
3 0 3 0 56 98 -42 8 15 2

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Benetton
5 3 2 0 88 110 -22 9 15 14
2
Edinburgh
5 2 3 0 101 90 11 15 13 11
3
Glasgow Warriors
3 2 1 0 59 31 28 9 3 10
4
Zebre Parma
3 1 2 0 69 86 -17 8 10 6

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Lions
3 2 1 0 93 89 4 12 13 10
2
DHL Stormers
2 2 0 0 47 35 12 6 4 9
3
Hollywoodbets Sharks
2 1 1 0 43 35 8 7 3 6
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

Scarlets

24 Jan | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

17:00

Ulster

Connacht

24 Jan | Dexcom Stadium, Galway

19:30

Leinster

DHL Stormers

24 Jan | DHL Stadium, Cape Town

19:30

Hollywoodbets Sharks

Zebre Parma

24 Jan | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

21:45

Glasgow Warriors

Cardiff Rugby

24 Jan | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

21:45

Benetton

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

RESULTS

23 Jan|Virgin Media Park, Cork

Munster

3 - 2

Dragons RFC

23 Jan|Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

17 - 19

Vodacom Bulls

23 Jan|Dunraven Brewery Field, Bridgend

Ospreys

24 - 24

Lions

03 Jan|Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Glasgow Warriors

47 - 10

Zebre Parma