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
7 7 0 0 212 92 120 32 12 34
2
Glasgow Warriors
7 5 2 0 215 129 86 32 16 27
3
Vodacom Bulls
6 5 1 0 165 108 57 23 12 24
4
Cardiff Rugby
7 4 3 0 161 178 -17 24 24 21
5
Munster
8 4 4 0 185 205 -20 30 28 21
6
Emirates Lions
6 4 2 0 139 112 27 17 16 19
7
Hollywoodbets Sharks
6 4 2 0 163 167 -4 20 24 19
8
Edinburgh
7 3 4 0 196 180 16 26 26 18
9
Connacht
7 3 4 0 177 188 -11 26 25 18
10
Ulster
8 3 5 0 189 210 -21 29 32 18
11
Scarlets
7 3 3 1 151 134 17 18 19 17
12
Benetton
7 2 4 1 152 195 -43 19 26 14
13
DHL Stormers
6 2 4 0 133 148 -15 15 20 11
14
Ospreys
7 2 5 0 128 170 -42 16 22 11
15
Zebre Parma
7 2 5 0 106 181 -75 13 25 11
16
Dragons RFC
7 1 6 0 129 204 -75 15 28 7

IRISH SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Leinster
3 3 0 0 86 44 42 13 6 15
2
Munster
3 2 1 0 69 78 -9 11 12 10
3
Ulster
3 1 2 0 71 76 -5 10 12 7
4
Connacht
3 0 3 0 72 100 -28 11 15 4

SCOTTISH/ITALIAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Glasgow Warriors
2 2 0 0 75 13 62 11 1 10
2
Edinburgh
1 1 0 0 50 33 17 7 5 5
3
Benetton
2 0 2 0 43 92 -49 6 13 1
4
Zebre Parma
1 0 1 0 3 33 -30 0 5 0

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
Hollywoodbets Sharks
1 1 0 0 21 15 6 3 2 4
2
DHL Stormers
1 0 1 0 15 21 -6 2 3 1
3
Emirates Lions
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
Vodacom Bulls
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
3 2 1 0 74 63 11 11 7 11
2
Scarlets
2 1 1 0 40 43 -3 5 7 4
3
Dragons RFC
2 1 1 0 46 52 -6 4 6 4
4
Ospreys
1 0 1 0 21 23 -2 2 2 1

TOP SCORERS

FIXTURES

Benetton

21 Dec | Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso

15:00

Zebre Parma

DHL Stormers

21 Dec | DHL Stadium, Cape Town

15:45

Emirates Lions

Hollywoodbets Sharks

21 Dec | Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

18:00

Vodacom Bulls

Glasgow Warriors

22 Dec | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

17:00

Edinburgh

RESULTS

20 Dec|Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Ulster

19 - 22

Munster

30 Nov|Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

50 - 33

Benetton

30 Nov|Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

Zebre Parma

22 - 17

Ospreys

30 Nov|Thomond Park, Limerick

Munster

17 - 10

Emirates Lions