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	Leinster	18	16	2	0	542	256	286	79	35	76
2	Vodacom Bulls	18	14	4	0	542	361	181	71	44	68
3	Hollywoodbets Sharks	18	13	5	0	436	402	34	55	59	62
4	Glasgow Warriors	18	11	7	0	468	327	141	70	40	59
5	DHL Stormers	18	10	8	0	507	418	89	66	57	55
6	Munster	18	9	9	0	444	429	15	67	59	51
7	Edinburgh	18	8	9	1	471	407	64	66	57	49
8	Scarlets	18	9	8	1	427	382	45	50	52	48
9	Cardiff Rugby	18	8	9	1	409	477	-68	63	65	47
10	Benetton	18	9	8	1	393	478	-85	50	65	46
11	Emirates Lions	18	8	10	0	402	440	-38	53	60	40
12	Ospreys	18	7	10	1	437	454	-17	60	63	40
13	Connacht	18	6	12	0	420	472	-52	64	62	39
14	Ulster	18	7	11	0	414	506	-92	59	72	38
15	Zebre Parma	18	5	12	1	302	503	-201	38	72	29
16	Dragons RFC	18	1	17	0	335	637	-302	43	92	9