# 2024–25 United Rugby Championship

The 2024–25 United Rugby Championship is the 24th season of the professional rugby union competition known as the United Rugby Championship, the highest level domestic rugby competition in South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. This season is the fourth season under that name. It began on 20 September 2024 and will end on 14 June 2025. Glasgow Warriors enter as the reigning champions, their second overall title.

## Format

The 2024-25 season once again consists of 21 rounds: 18 rounds of regular season play, followed by three rounds of play-offs. The competition runs from September 2024 to June 2025, with the regular season ending in mid May. The season also contains breaks for the 2024 end-of year internationals, the 2025 Men's Six Nations and the various matchdays of the 2024-25 European Rugby Champions and Challenge Cup. Some South African teams will play derby matches throughout the Men's Six Nations window, as this is a competition in which the South Africa national team are not involved.
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 shared Italian-Scottish Shield pool (featuring the two Italian and two Scottish sides). The pools serve two functions; they guarantee a full slate of home-and-away derby matches for each team (which are often the best attended and most remunerative fixtures for the clubs involved), and they award a minor Regional Shield trophy to the top team in each pool, which thereby functions as a de facto 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.
In Scotland, the two pool games involving both Scottish sides, played back to back over the Christmas and New Year period, also decide the 1872 Cup, effectively a Scottish national professional championship. The two Italian sides have no individual trophy to play for.
Teams therefore play six matches against their regional pool rivals, in a home and away double round-robin. The remaining twelve matches are made up by a single round robin of the remaining teams, consisting of an even number of six home and six away matches against all the sides from the other pools, with home advantage alternating each year. Generally each team will play two of the teams in each of the other pools at home, and two away, with the matches away to South African teams usually held back to back as a 'mini-tour' to reduce travel.
For the Championship itself, there is one main league table. The top eight sides in that table at the end of the regular season will qualify for the play-offs quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and a grand final. The playoffs are seeded, with the top four seeds having home advantage at the quarter-final stage. In the semi-finals and final, the better ranked club in each tie has home advantage. 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.

## Teams
### United Rugby Championship

| Team | Country | Coach / Director of Rugby | Captain | Stadium | Capacity |
| Benetton current season | Italy | Marco Bortolami | Eli Snyman Michele Lamaro | Stadio Comunale di Monigo | 5,000 |
| Bulls current season | South Africa | Jake White | Marcell Coetzee Ruan Nortjé | Loftus Versfeld Stadium | 51,762 |
| Cardiff current season | Wales | Matt Sherratt | Liam Belcher | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 |
| Connacht current season | Ireland | Peter Wilkins | Cian Prendergast | The Sportsground MacHale Park | 8,129* 25,369 |
| Dragons current season | Wales | Dai Flanagan | Ben Carter | Rodney Parade | 8,700 |
| Edinburgh current season | Scotland | Sean Everitt | Grant Gilchrist Ben Vellacott | Hive Stadium Murrayfield Stadium | 7,800 67,144 |
| Glasgow Warriors current season | Scotland | Franco Smith | Kyle Steyn | Scotstoun Stadium Hampden Park | 7,351 51,866 |
| Leinster current season | Ireland | Leo Cullen | Caelan Doris | RDS Arena Aviva Stadium Croke Park | 18,500 51,700 82,300 |
| Lions current season | South Africa | Ivan van Rooyen | Marius Louw | Ellis Park Stadium | 62,567 |
| Munster current season | Ireland | Graham Rowntree | Tadhg Beirne | Thomond Park Musgrave Park | 25,600 8,008 |
| Ospreys current season | Wales | Mark Jones | Jac Morgan | Swansea.com Stadium Brewery Field | 20,827 8,000 |
| Scarlets current season | Wales | Dwayne Peel | Josh Macleod | Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 |
| Sharks current season | South Africa | John Plumtree | Lukhanyo Am | Kings Park Stadium | 52,000 |
| Stormers current season | South Africa | John Dobson | Salmaan Moerat | Cape Town Stadium Danie Craven Stadium | 55,000 16,000 |
| Ulster current season | Ireland | Richie Murphy | Iain Henderson | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 |
| Zebre Parma current season | Italy | Massimo Brunello [it] | Danilo Fischetti | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | 5,000 |

### Locations

| Location of Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams: UlsterConnachtLeinsterMunsterGlasgow WarriorsEdinburghScarletsOspreysDragonsCardiff2024–25 United Rugby Championship (the United Kingdom and Ireland) | Location of Italian teams: BenettonZebre Parma2024–25 United Rugby Championship (Northern Italy) Location of South African teams: BullsLionsSharksStormers2024–25 United Rugby Championship (South Africa) |

## Regional Shield competitions

Regional shield standing will be based entirely on performances against other teams within the same conference. Therefore, only six games for each team will count towards the regional shields. Leinster Rugby became the first team to win their regional shield for the season, in their case the Irish Shield, their fourth from four since the competition was introduced. On 9 March 2024, the Sharks confirmed their first South African Shield.
as of 14 February 2025:
2024–25 United Rugby Championship Regional Shield Pools
view · watch · · discuss :
| Irish Shield |||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | Pos overall |
| 1 | Leinster (S) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 63 | +71 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 2 | Ulster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 88 | 83 | +5 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 14 |
| 3 | Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 106 | –30 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
| 4 | Connacht | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 91 | 137 | –46 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Italian x Scottish Shield |||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | Pos overall |
| 1 | Glasgow Warriors | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 37 | +78 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 2 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 95 | -4 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| 3 | Benetton | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 78 | 114 | -36 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| 4 | Zebre Parma | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 85 | -38 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| South African Shield |||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | Pos overall |
| 1 | Sharks (S) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 129 | 135 | -6 | 17 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 4 |
| 2 | Stormers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 142 | 130 | +12 | 19 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 12 |
| 3 | Bulls | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 151 | 141 | +10 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 3 |
| 4 | Lions | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 141 | 157 | -16 | 19 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| Welsh Shield |||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | Pos overall |
| 1 | Cardiff | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 111 | 98 | +13 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 6 |
| 2 | Scarlets | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 94 | 81 | +13 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | Ospreys | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 57 | 58 | –1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| 4 | Dragons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 83 | 108 | –25 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received 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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leinster | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 360 | 166 | +194 | 52 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 57 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 2 | Glasgow Warriors | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 353 | 225 | +128 | 53 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 44 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 3 | Bulls | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 316 | 249 | +67 | 41 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 41 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 4 | Sharks | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 313 | 309 | +4 | 40 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 39 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 5 | Munster | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 287 | 294 | −7 | 46 | 41 | 8 | 1 | 33 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 6 | Cardiff | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 263 | 321 | −58 | 41 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 31 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 295 | 300 | −5 | 41 | 41 | 5 | 5 | 30 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 8 | Lions | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 280 | 269 | +11 | 36 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 29 | Quarter-finals; Qualification for the 2024–25 Champions Cup |
| 9 | Connacht | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 277 | 296 | −19 | 42 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 29 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Scarlets | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 271 | 255 | +16 | 29 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 28 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 11 | Ospreys | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 258 | 258 | 0 | 34 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 28 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 12 | Stormers | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 272 | 293 | −21 | 34 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 28 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 13 | Benetton | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 251 | 317 | −66 | 31 | 44 | 5 | 1 | 28 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 14 | Ulster | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 269 | 294 | −25 | 39 | 42 | 3 | 4 | 27 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 15 | Zebre Parma | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 196 | 268 | −72 | 25 | 38 | 2 | 3 | 25 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |
| 16 | Dragons | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 226 | 374 | −148 | 28 | 53 | 1 | 3 | 8 | Qualification for the 2024–25 Challenge Cup |

## European qualification

Priority order for 2025-26 European Rugby Champions Cup qualification is as follows:
* 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.
As a result of the priority order, the top five teams in the regular season standings are guaranteed qualification to the Champions Cup.
The eight remaining teams automatically qualify for the 2025-26 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

## 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 | | 15-17 | R14 | | | R13 | R17 | 5-35 | | | | 20-20 | 38-10 | | 34-19 | 11-10 |
| Bulls | | | R17 | | R18 | 22-16 | | R13 | 31-19 | | | | 19-29 | 16–19 | 47-21 | R14 |
| Cardiff | | | | | 31-23 | | 36-52 | | R13 | R16 | 13-13 | 19-25 | 22-42 | | 21-19 | 22-17 |
| Connacht | 38–30 | 14-28 | 24-19 | | 31-7 | R17 | | 12-33 | | R14 | | | 36-30 | | 7-17 | |
| Dragons | 21-31 | | 22-24 | | | | 20-45 | | 19-23 | 19-38 | 23-21 | R15 | 30-33 | | R13 | |
| Edinburgh | 50-33 | | 27-8 | | R14 | | 10-7 | 31-33 | | | | | R15 | 38-7 | R18 | 17-22 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 42-10 | R16 | | 22-19 | | 33-14 | | | R14 | R13 | 31–32 | 17-15 | | | | 33-3 |
| Leinster | | | 42–24 | 20-12 | 34-6 | | R18 | | 24-6 | 26-12 | | | | 36-12 | R15 | R17 |
| Lions | R15 | 22-35 | | R16 | | 55-21 | | | | | R18 | R17 | 38–14 | 30–23 | 35-22 | |
| Munster | R18 | R15 | | 35-33 | | 28–34 | | 7-28 | 17-10 | | 23-0 | 29-8 | | | R17 | |
| Ospreys | 43-0 | 19-29 | R15 | R13 | R16 | 22-13 | | 19-22 | | | | 23-22 | | 37-24 | | |
| Scarlets | | 23-22 | 15-24 | 23-24 | 32-15 | 30-24 | | R16 | | | R14 | | | R13 | | 30-8 |
| Sharks | | 20-17 | | | | | 28-24 | R14 | 25–22 | 41-24 | R17 | R18 | | 21-15 | | R13 |
| Stormers | R16 | 32–33 | R18 | R15 | R17 | | 17-28 | | 29-10 | 34-19 | | | 24-20 | | | |
| Ulster | | | | 32-27 | | | 20-19 | 20-27 | | 19-22 | 36-12 | 30–28 | R16 | R14 | | 14-15 |
| Zebre Parma | 12-24 | | | R18 | 31–21 | R16 | R15 | | 9-10 | 42-33 | 22-17 | | | 5-36 | | |
Colours: Green: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win; Blue: upcoming matches

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | 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.

### Final
## Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.
As of 1 March 2025

## Attendances

The all-time attendance record for a single round was broken in round 8, and then again in round 9 with a total attendance of 153,398 and 160,780 respectively.

### Highest attendances

as of 12 February 2025
| Rank | Date | Home | Score | Away | Attendance | Venue |
| 1 | 21 December 2024 | Leinster | 28–12 | Munster | 80,468 | Croke Park, Dublin |
| 2 | 8 February 2025 | Stormers | 32–33 | Bulls | 47,171 | Cape Town Stadium |
| 3 | 28 December 2024 | Stormers | 24–20 | Sharks | 46,002 | Cape Town Stadium |
| 4 | 28 December 2024 | Edinburgh | 10–7 | Glasgow Warriors | 40,063 | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh |
| 5 | 21 December 2024 | Sharks | 20–17 | Bulls | 34,827 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban |
| 6 | 21 December 2024 | Leinster | 20–12 | Connacht | 33,903 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 7 | 30 November 2024 | Sharks | 21–13 | Stormers | 33,744 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban |
| 8 | 19 October 2024 | Stormers | 24–19 | Munster | 28,013 | Cape Town Stadium |
| 9 | 22 December 2024 | Glasgow Warriors | 33–14 | Edinburgh | 27,538 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| 10 | 27 December 2024 | Munster | 7–28 | Leinster | 26,267 | Thomond Park, Limerick |