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	14	11	3	0	378	239	139	48	31	51
2	Glasgow Warriors	13	10	3	0	342	187	155	51	25	50
3	Leinster	14	9	5	0	361	299	62	54	41	46
4	Lions	14	8	5	1	421	385	36	57	57	43
5	Ulster	13	8	5	0	371	274	97	53	38	42
6	Cardiff Rugby	14	8	6	0	262	271	-9	38	38	41
7	Munster	14	8	6	0	279	304	-25	41	41	41
8	Vodacom Bulls	14	8	6	0	397	340	57	58	49	40
9	Connacht	14	7	7	0	336	326	10	46	46	39
10	Hollywoodbets Sharks	14	6	7	1	322	348	-26	48	45	33
11	Ospreys	14	5	7	2	293	325	-32	44	50	30
12	Benetton	14	5	7	2	257	331	-74	31	45	28
13	Edinburgh	14	4	10	0	269	340	-71	42	52	23
14	Scarlets	14	4	9	1	261	347	-86	37	50	21
15	Dragons RFC	14	2	9	3	274	357	-83	36	53	21
16	Zebre Parma	12	2	10	0	204	354	-150	27	50	12