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	DHL Stormers	5	5	0	0	157	39	118	20	4	23
2	Glasgow Warriors	5	4	1	0	161	64	97	23	8	20
3	Munster	4	4	0	0	108	74	34	15	12	19
4	Ulster	4	3	1	0	135	103	32	19	15	16
5	Cardiff Rugby	4	3	1	0	91	68	23	15	8	16
6	Vodacom Bulls	5	3	2	0	139	147	-8	21	21	14
7	Leinster	5	2	3	0	126	136	-10	19	19	11
8	Lions	5	2	3	0	133	145	-12	18	21	11
9	Zebre Parma	5	2	3	0	92	153	-61	12	23	10
10	Benetton	5	2	3	0	88	129	-41	10	18	9
11	Edinburgh	3	1	2	0	90	51	39	14	8	8
12	Connacht	3	1	2	0	61	57	4	9	7	8
13	Hollywoodbets Sharks	5	1	3	1	96	136	-40	14	19	8
14	Ospreys	5	1	3	1	110	140	-30	16	21	7
15	Dragons RFC	5	0	3	2	74	151	-77	10	22	5
16	Scarlets	4	0	4	0	58	126	-68	8	17	0