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
10 10 0 0 296 123 173 43 17 48
2
Glasgow Warriors
10 7 3 0 277 172 105 41 22 37
3
Vodacom Bulls
8 6 2 0 217 150 67 29 16 30
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
10 4 6 0 244 250 -6 33 35 24
9
Ulster
10 4 6 0 220 232 -12 33 35 23
10
Benetton
10 4 5 1 187 260 -73 24 35 23
11
Ospreys
10 4 5 1 207 205 2 26 25 22
12
DHL Stormers
9 4 5 0 198 214 -16 26 29 21
13
Emirates Lions
8 4 4 0 171 176 -5 21 25 19
14
Connacht
10 3 7 0 215 247 -32 32 32 19
15
Zebre Parma
10 3 7 0 143 230 -87 18 32 16
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
Benetton
4 2 2 0 78 114 -36 11 16 10
3
Edinburgh
3 2 1 0 74 73 1 10 11 9
4
Zebre Parma
3 0 3 0 25 68 -43 3 10 1

SOUTH AFRICAN SHIELD
Pos Team PL W L D PF PA DIFF TF TA PTS
1
DHL Stormers
3 2 1 0 68 51 17 11 7 11
2
Hollywoodbets Sharks
3 2 1 0 61 56 5 7 8 9
3
Vodacom Bulls
2 1 1 0 52 42 10 6 4 6
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

DHL Stormers

08 Feb | DHL Stadium, Cape Town

14:00

Vodacom Bulls

Edinburgh

14 Feb | Hive Stadium, Edinburgh

21:35

Zebre Parma

Ospreys

14 Feb | Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea

21:35

Leinster

Emirates Lions

15 Feb | Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

14:30

DHL Stormers

RESULTS

26 Jan|Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Ulster

14 - 15

Zebre Parma

26 Jan|Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Glasgow Warriors

22 - 19

Connacht

25 Jan|Rodney Parade, Newport

Dragons RFC

19 - 38

Munster

25 Jan|Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby

22 - 42

Hollywoodbets Sharks