2024–25 United Rugby Championship

The 2024–25 United Rugby Championship will be the 24rd season of the professional rugby union competition known as the United Rugby Championship, and the fourth season under that name. It will begin on 20 September 2024 and will end on 14 June 2025.[1]

2024–25 United Rugby Championship
Countries Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 South Africa
 Wales
Date20 September 2024 – 14 June 2025
Official website
unitedrugby.com

Format

The season consists of 21 rounds: 18 rounds of regular season play, followed by three rounds of play-offs.

There are four regional pools: The Irish Shield pool (featuring the four Irish teams), the Welsh Shield pool (featuring the four Welsh teams), the South African Shield pool (featuring the four South African teams) and the Scottish/Italian 'Azzurri/Blue' Shield pool (featuring the two Italian and two Scottish sides). The pools serve two functions; they guarantee a full slate of derby matches for each team, and they award a minor Regional Shield trophy to the top team in each pool, which thereby functions as a national championship in three of the four pools, and a cross-border regional championship in the Scottish–Italian pool. The winner of each Shield will be determined solely from the games played amongst the teams within their regional pool, mirroring the format of the old Interprovincial Championship in Ireland.[2]

Teams play six matches against their regional pool rivals home and away. The remaining twelve matches are made up by a single round robin, consisting of an even number of six home and six away matches against all the sides from the other pools.[3]

For the Championship itself, there is one main league table. The top eight sides in the table will qualify for the quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and a grand final, with teams seeded 1 to 4 with home advantage for the lowest seeded side. The Regional Shield pools have no direct link to the play-offs and by extension the Championship itself, and it is technically possible to win a Regional Shield but not contest the play-offs, as the Welsh sides showed in 2022 and 2023.[3]

Teams

United Rugby Championship

Team Country Coach /
Director of Rugby
Captain Stadium Capacity
Benetton Italy Marco Bortolami Eli Snyman
Michele Lamaro
Stadio Comunale di Monigo 5,000
Bulls South Africa Jake White Marcell Coetzee
Ruan Nortjé
Loftus Versfeld Stadium 51,762
Cardiff Wales Matt Sherratt Josh Turnbull Cardiff Arms Park 12,125
Connacht Ireland Peter Wilkins Jack Carty The Sportsground 8,129
Dragons Wales Dai Flanagan Steffan Hughes Rodney Parade 8,700
Edinburgh Scotland Sean Everitt Grant Gilchrist
Jamie Ritchie
Edinburgh Rugby Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium
7,800
67,144
Glasgow Warriors Scotland Franco Smith Kyle Steyn Scotstoun Stadium 7,351
Leinster Ireland Leo Cullen James Ryan
Garry Ringrose[4]
RDS Arena
Aviva Stadium
18,500
51,700
Lions South Africa Ivan van Rooyen Marius Louw Ellis Park Stadium 62,567
Munster Ireland Graham Rowntree Peter O'Mahony Thomond Park
Musgrave Park
25,600
8,008
Ospreys Wales Toby Booth Justin Tipuric Swansea.com Stadium 20,827
Scarlets Wales Dwayne Peel Josh Macleod Parc y Scarlets 14,870
Sharks South Africa John Plumtree Lukhanyo Am Kings Park Stadium 52,000
Stormers South Africa John Dobson Salmaan Moerat Cape Town Stadium
Danie Craven Stadium[5]
55,000
16,000
Ulster Ireland Richie Murphy Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196
Zebre Parma Italy Fabio Roselli David Sisi Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000

Locations

Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams:
2024–25 United Rugby Championship (the United Kingdom and Ireland)
Location of Italian teams:
2024–25 United Rugby Championship (Northern Italy)

Location of South African teams:

2024–25 United Rugby Championship (South Africa)

Regional Shield competitions

Regional shield standing will be based entirely on performances against other teams within the same conference.[2] Therefore, only six games for each team will count towards the regional shields.

2024–25 United Rugby Championship Regional Shield Pools
Irish Shield
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts Pos overall
1 Connacht00000000000
2 Leinster00000000000
3 Munster00000000000
4 Ulster00000000000
Scottish/Italian Shield
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts Pos overall
1 Benetton00000000000
2 Edinburgh00000000000
3 Glasgow Warriors00000000000
4 Zebre Parma00000000000
South African Shield
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts Pos overall
1 Bulls00000000000
2 Lions00000000000
3 Sharks00000000000
4 Stormers00000000000
Welsh Shield
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts Pos overall
1 Cardiff00000000000
2 Dragons00000000000
3 Ospreys00000000000
4 Scarlets00000000000
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[6]
  1. number of matches won
  2. the difference between points for and points against
  3. the number of tries scored
  4. the most points scored
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against
  6. the fewest red cards received
  7. the fewest yellow cards received
Green background indicates teams currently leading the regional shield. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, these teams win their respective regional shields.

(S) : URC Shield champion

    URC league standings

    2023–24 United Rugby Championship
    Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
    1 Benetton000000000000
    2 Bulls000000000000
    3 Cardiff000000000000
    4 Connacht000000000000
    5 Dragons000000000000
    6 Edinburgh000000000000
    7 Glasgow Warriors000000000000
    8 Leinster000000000000
    9 Lions000000000000
    10 Munster000000000000
    11 Ospreys000000000000
    12 Scarlets000000000000
    13 Sharks000000000000
    14 Stormers000000000000
    15 Ulster000000000000
    16 Zebre Parma000000000000
    If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[7]
    1. number of matches won;
    2. the difference between points for and points against;
    3. the number of tries scored;
    4. the most points scored;
    5. the difference between tries for and tries against;
    6. the fewest red cards received;
    7. the fewest yellow cards received.
    Green background indicates teams that are in play-off places and earn a place in the 2025–26 European Champions Cup

    Pink background indicates teams that are in play-off places and earn a place in the 2025–26 European Challenge Cup
    Yellow background indicates the team that won the 2024–25 European Challenge Cup and thus qualify for the 2025–26 European Champions Cup, but are not in a play-off place
    Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2025–26 European Challenge Cup.
    Q: qualified for play-offs. H: home field advantage secured for quarter-and semi-final. h; home field advantage secured for quarter-final X: cannot reach play-offs. E: qualified for Champions Cup.

      European qualification

      Priority order for European Champions Cup qualification is:

      • 2024–25 United Rugby Championship champions
      • the European Rugby Champions Cup champions (if a URC team but not already qualified as above)
      • the EPCR Challenge Cup champions (if a URC team but not already qualified as above)
      • the next highest-ranked teams during regular season play not already qualified as above, until eight overall qualifiers have been selected.

      Matches

      The following are the match results for the 2024–25 United Rugby Championship regular season:

      Home \ Away BEN BUL CAR CON DRA EDI GLA LEI LIO MUN OSP SCA SHA STO ULS ZEB
      Benetton TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Bulls TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Cardiff TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Connacht TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Dragons TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Edinburgh TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Glasgow Warriors TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Leinster TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Lions TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Munster TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Ospreys TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Scarlets TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Sharks TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Stormers TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Ulster TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
      Zebre Parma TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC

      Colours: Green: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win; Blue: upcoming matches

      Regular season

      Round 1

      20 September 2024
      19:35
      Cardiff v Zebre Parma
      Cardiff Arms Park
      21 September 2024
      15:45
      Sharks v Lions
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      21 September 2024
      15:00
      Dragons v Ospreys
      Rodney Parade, Newport
      21 September 2024
      18:15
      Stormers v Bulls
      Cape Town Stadium
      21 September 2024
      17:30
      Munster v Connacht
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      21 September 2024
      20:35
      Benetton v Scarlets
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      21 September 2024
      19:45
      Ulster v Glasgow Warriors
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast

      Round 2

      27 September 2024
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Benetton
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      27 September 2024
      19:35
      Leinster v Dragons
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      28 September 2024
      13:45
      Lions v Ulster
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      28 September 2024
      16:00
      Bulls v Edinburgh
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      28 September 2024
      16:00
      Zebre Parma v Munster
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
      28 September 2024
      17:15
      Scarlets v Cardiff
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      28 September 2024
      19:35
      Connacht v Sharks
      The Sportsground, Galway
      28 September 2024
      19:35
      Ospreys v Stormers
      Swansea.com Stadium

      Round 3

      4 October 2024
      19:35
      Scarlets v Connacht
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      5 October 2024
      13:45
      Lions v Edinburgh
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      5 October 2024
      16:00
      Bulls v Ulster
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      5 October 2024
      18:15
      Benetton v Leinster
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      5 October 2024
      17:15
      Dragons v Sharks
      Rodney Parade, Newport
      5 October 2024
      19:35
      Munster v Ospreys
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      5 October 2024
      20:35
      Zebre Parma v Stormers
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

      Round 4

      11 October 2024
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Zebre Parma
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      12 October 2024
      16:00
      Benetton v Sharks
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      12 October 2024
      15:00
      Cardiff v Scarlets
      Cardiff Arms Park
      12 October 2024
      17:45
      Leinster v Munster
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      12 October 2024
      19:35
      Ospreys v Bulls
      Swansea.com Stadium
      12 October 2024
      20:00
      Ulster v Connacht
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
      13 October 2024
      Dragons v Lions
      Rodney Parade, Newport

      Round 5

      18 October 2024
      19:35
      Scarlets v Bulls
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      18 October 2024
      19:35
      Ulster v Ospreys
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
      19 October 2024
      13:30
      Zebre Parma v Lions
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
      19 October 2024
      15:45
      Sharks v Glasgow Warriors
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      19 October 2024
      18:00
      Stormers v Munster
      Cape Town Stadium
      19 October 2024
      19:35
      Connacht v Leinster
      The Sportsground, Galway
      19 October 2024
      19:35
      Dragons v Benetton
      Rodney Parade, Newport

      Round 6

      25 October 2024
      19:35
      Scarlets v Zebre Parma
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      25 October 2024
      19:35
      Benetton v Bulls
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      26 October 2024
      16:00
      Sharks v Munster
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      26 October 2024
      17:15
      Leinster v Lions
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      26 October 2024
      19:35
      Connacht v Dragons
      The Sportsground, Galway
      26 October 2024
      19:35
      Cardiff v Ulster
      Cardiff Arms Park

      Round 7

      29 November 2024
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      29 November 2024
      19:35
      Ulster v Leinster
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
      30 November 2024
      16:00
      Sharks v Stormers
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      30 November 2024
      17:15
      Cardiff v Dragons
      Cardiff Arms Park
      30 November 2024
      17:30
      Connacht v Bulls
      The Sportsground, Galway
      30 November 2024
      19:35
      Munster v Lions
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      30 November 2024
      20:35
      Zebre Parma v Ospreys
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

      Round 8

      21 December 2024
      TBC
      Stormers v Lions
      Cape Town Stadium
      21 December 2024
      14:00
      Benetton v Zebre Parma
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      21 December 2024
      17:00
      Sharks v Bulls
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      21 December 2024
      17:15
      Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      26 December 2024
      15:00
      Dragons v Cardiff
      Rodney Parade, Newport
      26 December 2024
      17:15
      Ospreys v Scarlets
      Swansea.com Stadium

      Round 9

      TBC
      TBC
      Munster v Leinster
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      29 December 2024
      TBC
      Stormers v Sharks
      Cape Town Stadium
      29 December 2024
      16:00
      Zebre Parma v Benetton
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
      29 December 2024
      15:00
      Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors
      Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
      1 January 2025
      15:00
      Cardiff v Ospreys
      Cardiff Arms Park
      1 January 2025
      17:15
      Scarlets v Dragons
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

      Round 10

      24 January 2025
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Connacht
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      24 January 2025
      19:35
      Ospreys v Benetton
      Swansea.com Stadium
      25 January 2025
      14:45
      Lions v Bulls
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      25 January 2025
      15:00
      Scarlets v Edinburgh
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      25 January 2025
      17:00
      Leinster v Stormers
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      25 January 2025
      17:15
      Cardiff v Sharks
      Cardiff Arms Park
      25 January 2025
      19:35
      Dragons v Munster
      Rodney Parade, Newport
      26 January 2025
      17:30
      Ulster v Zebre Parma
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast

      Round 11

      14 February 2025
      19.35
      Ospreys v Leinster
      Swansea.com Stadium
      15 February 2025
      14:30
      Lions v Stormers
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      15 February 2025
      17:00
      Bulls v Sharks
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      15 February 2025
      18:15
      Benetton v Ulster
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      15 February 2025
      17:15
      Munster v Scarlets
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      15 February 2025
      19:35
      Connacht v Cardiff
      The Sportsground, Galway
      15 February 2025
      19:35
      Dragons v Glasgow Warriors
      Rodney Parade, Newport

      Round 12

      28 February 2025
      19:35
      Munster v Edinburgh
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      28 February 2025
      20:35
      Zebre Parma v Dragons
      Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
      1 March 2025
      14:30
      Lions v Sharks
      Kings Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      1 March 2025
      17:00
      Bulls v Stormers
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      1 March 2025
      15:00
      Leinster v Cardiff
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      1 March 2025
      17:15
      Ulster v Scarlets
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
      1 March 2025
      19:35
      Connacht v Benetton
      The Sportsground, Galway
      1 March 2025
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Ospreys
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

      Round 13

      21 March 2025
      19:35
      Cardiff v Lions
      Cardiff Arms Park
      21 March 2025
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Munster
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      22 March 2025
      14:45
      Sharks v Zebre Parma
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      22 March 2025
      16:00
      Benetton v Edinburgh
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      22 March 2025
      17:00
      Bulls v Leinster
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      22 March 2025
      17:15
      Dragons v Ulster
      Rodney Parade, Newport
      22 March 2025
      19:35
      Scarlets v Stormers
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

      Round 14

      28 March 2025
      19:35
      Ulster v Stormers
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
      29 March 2025
      14:$5
      Bulls v Zebre Parma
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      29 March 2025
      15:00
      Scarlets v Ospreys
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      29 March 2025
      19:15
      Sharks v Leinster
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      29 March 2025
      20:35
      Benetton v Cardiff
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      29 March 2025
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Lions
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

      Round 15

      19 April 2025
      13:45
      Lions v Benetton
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      19 April 2025
      15:00
      Ospreys v Cardiff
      Principality Stadium, Cardiff
      19 April 2025
      17:15
      Munster v Bulls
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      19 April 2025
      17:30
      Dragons v Scarlets
      Principality Stadium, Cardiff
      19 April 2025
      19:35
      Leinster v Ulster
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin

      Round 16

      25 April 2025
      19:35
      Glasgow Warriors v Bulls
      Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
      25 April 2025
      19:35
      Cardiff v Munster
      Cardiff Arms Park
      26 April 2025
      16:00
      Lions v Connacht
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      26 April 2025
      17:15
      Scarlets v Leinster
      Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
      26 April 2025
      19:35
      Ulster v Sharks
      Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast

      Round 17

      9 May 2025
      19:00
      Sharks v Ospreys
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      9 May 2025
      19:35
      Munster v Ulster
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      10 May 2025
      16:45
      Bulls v Cardiff
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      10 May 2025
      17:15
      Leinster v Zebre Parma
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin
      10 May 2025
      18:15
      Benetton v Glasgow Warriors
      Stadio Monigo, Treviso
      10 May 2025
      19:35
      Connacht v Edinburgh
      The Sportsground, Galway
      11 May 2025
      15:00
      Lions v Scarlets
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

      Round 18

      16 May 2025
      20:00
      Munster v Benetton
      Thomond Park, Limerick
      17 May 2025
      15:00
      Bulls v Dragons
      Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
      17 May 2025
      17:15
      Lions v Ospreys
      Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
      17 May 2025
      19:30
      Sharks v Scarlets
      Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      17 May 2025
      19:35
      Leinster v Glasgow Warriors
      Aviva Stadium, Dublin

      Knockout stage

      Bracket

      Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
               
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

      The play-off draw is seeded based on final positions in the regular season league table.

      The higher-ranked teams have home advantage in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

      Quarter-finals

      30/31 May 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC
      30/31 May 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC
      30/31 May 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC
      30/31 May 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC

      Semi-finals

      7 June 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC
      7 June 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC

      Final

      14 June 2025
      TBCvTBC
      TBC

      References

      1. "Full 2024/2025 URC Fixture List". United Rugby Championship.
      2. "Meritocracy Qualification Will Make URC Stronger". United Rugby Championship. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
      3. "United Rugby Championship Format Explained". Pro14. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
      4. "Leinster Name Garry Ringrose And James Ryan As Co-Captains", Irish Rugby, 9 November 2023
      5. "DHL Stormers to face Edinburgh at DHL Stadium". The Stormers. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
      6. League Format (3) "Competition Rules". United Rugby Championship. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
      7. League Format (3) "Competition Rules". United Rugby Championship. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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