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	17	12	4	1	488	322	166	62	44	59
2	Leinster	17	11	6	0	447	356	91	67	49	58
3	Glasgow Warriors	16	11	5	0	406	306	100	61	42	55
4	Vodacom Bulls	17	11	6	0	521	387	134	75	56	54
5	Lions	17	10	6	1	515	449	66	71	67	53
6	Munster	17	10	7	0	372	359	13	56	49	51
7	Cardiff Rugby	17	10	7	0	331	356	-25	48	51	50
8	Ulster	17	9	7	1	472	394	78	68	56	50
9	Connacht	17	9	8	0	416	390	26	58	55	49
10	Hollywoodbets Sharks	17	7	9	1	413	409	4	63	54	41
11	Ospreys	17	7	8	2	362	386	-24	53	59	39
12	Edinburgh	17	7	10	0	357	413	-56	56	62	38
13	Benetton	17	6	9	2	308	448	-140	38	64	33
14	Scarlets	17	4	12	1	326	425	-99	47	59	25
15	Dragons RFC	17	3	11	3	315	446	-131	42	66	25
16	Zebre Parma	16	2	14	0	283	486	-203	38	70	15