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
11 11 0 0 318 142 176 46 20 52
2
Glasgow Warriors
10 7 3 0 277 172 105 41 22 37
3
Vodacom Bulls
9 7 2 0 250 182 68 33 21 35
4
Hollywoodbets Sharks
9 6 3 0 245 230 15 30 34 29
5
Cardiff Rugby
10 5 4 1 220 255 -35 34 34 29
6
Scarlets
10 5 4 1 235 196 39 26 28 27
7
Munster
10 5 5 0 230 252 -22 37 35 26
8
Edinburgh
11 4 7 0 261 272 -11 36 38 25
9
Ospreys
11 4 6 1 226 227 -1 29 28 23
10
Ulster
10 4 6 0 220 232 -12 33 35 23
11
DHL Stormers
10 4 6 0 230 247 -17 31 33 23
12
Benetton
10 4 5 1 187 260 -73 24 35 23
13
Zebre Parma
11 4 7 0 165 247 -82 21 35 20
14
Emirates Lions
8 4 4 0 171 176 -5 21 25 19
15
Connacht
10 3 7 0 215 247 -32 32 32 19
16
Dragons RFC
10 1 9 0 185 298 -113 23 42 8

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
5 5 0 0 134 63 71 19 9 24
2
Ulster
4 2 2 0 88 83 5 12 13 11
3
Munster
4 2 2 0 76 106 -30 12 16 10
4
Connacht
5 0 5 0 91 137 -46 14 19 4

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
4 3 1 0 115 37 78 17 4 16
2
Edinburgh
4 2 2 0 91 95 -4 13 14 10
3
Benetton
4 2 2 0 78 114 -36 11 16 10
4
Zebre Parma
4 1 3 0 47 85 -38 6 13 5

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
DHL Stormers
4 2 2 0 100 84 16 16 11 13
2
Vodacom Bulls
3 2 1 0 85 74 11 10 9 11
3
Hollywoodbets Sharks
3 2 1 0 61 56 5 7 8 9
4
Emirates Lions
2 0 2 0 32 64 -32 4 9 0

WELSH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Cardiff Rugby
5 3 1 1 111 98 13 17 11 18
2
Scarlets
4 2 2 0 94 81 13 10 12 10
3
Ospreys
3 1 1 1 57 58 -1 6 5 7
4
Dragons RFC
4 1 3 0 83 108 -25 9 14 5

TOP SCORERS

FIXTURES

Emirates Lions

15 Feb | Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

14:30

DHL Stormers

Vodacom Bulls

15 Feb | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

17:00

Hollywoodbets Sharks

Munster

15 Feb | Thomond Park, Limerick

19:15

Scarlets

Benetton

15 Feb | Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

19:15

Ulster

RESULTS

14 Feb|Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

17 - 22

Zebre Parma

14 Feb|Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea

Ospreys

19 - 22

Leinster

08 Feb|DHL Stadium, Cape Town

DHL Stormers

32 - 33

Vodacom Bulls

26 Jan|Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Ulster

14 - 15

Zebre Parma