The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English
Premiership and the French
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the
European Rugby Champions Cup and
Challenge Cup
The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
. Since 2022–23 South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions.
Name
The tournament has had a number of names as it has grown, both organisationally and because of sponsors. The current name for the tournament was adopted in 2021, when the league expanded to include four South African teams previously from the
SANZAR Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
competition and both sets of naming rights, BKT and Vodacom, were added in the 2022-23 season.
The genesis of the League can be traced to 1999 when two Scottish districts joined the professional
Welsh Premier Division, creating the
Welsh–Scottish League
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three ...
. When the Welsh-Scottish league was disbanded to create a similar competition with the provincial clubs from Ireland three years later, the new competition became known as the Celtic League The league was sponsored by Irish
cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...
makers
Magners
Magners Irish Cider is a brand of cider produced in County Tipperary in Ireland by the C&C Group. The product range includes the cider varieties: Original, Light, Berry, Pear and Rosé. The cider was originally produced as Bulmers Irish C ...
from the
2006–07 season until
2010–11, and was referred to as the Magner's League (or in the Republic of Ireland the Bulmer's League as the same sponsor traded under a different name there). At the start of the 2010–11 season, the league expanded from 10 to 12 teams, by adding two Italian teams, the first step outside the Celtic nations who had formed the league.
Following the end of Magners' sponsorship, the league adopted a Pro12 branding to acknowledge the move beyond the Celtic nations, with
RaboDirect coming on board as naming sponsor of the Rabobank Pro12 from
2011–12 through to
2013–14.
A further expansion to 14 teams (and the subsequent renaming to Pro14) took place from the
2017–18 season, with two South African teams not competing in the
Super rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
competition joining the Championship until the 2019–20 season. The sponsorship deal with
Guinness
Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...
began at the beginning of the 2014–15 season as the Guinness Pro14 , and concluded after the Guinness
Pro14 Rainbow Cup in July 2021. Following the arrival of the four South African Super Rugby franchises (and the departure of the two existing South African teams) a further rebranding to the United Rugby Championship (or the URC for short) occurred, while the league formed a new partnership with
Roc Nation
Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...
. BKT and Vodacom secured naming rights the following season.
Tournament format
Current format
As of the introduction of the United Rugby Championship in
2021–22, the championship season has broadly had a consistent format. It takes place between September and May, with teams split into four regional pools: The Irish Shield pool, the Welsh Shield pool, the South African Shield pool and the Scottish and Italian Shield pool for the purpose of fixture setting.
Teams play each of the other teams in their pool twice (home and away) and each team from the other pools once (either home or away, alternating annually). This ensures that Irish, South African and Welsh teams each play six derby matches. For Italy and Scotland, their respective clubs play their own nations' sides only twice. All teams are sorted in a single league table. Championship points are awarded using the
bonus points system; 4 points for a win and 2 for a draw. Bonus points can be earned so long as teams either score four or more tries in a game or lose by seven points or fewer – should a team do both, two bonus points are gained.
This creates an 18-match regular season before the play-offs, essentially a full single round robin with three additional 'derby ties' (or one extra derby and two extra Scottish-Italians ties in that pool).
The play-offs are made up of a seeded three round single-elimination tournament for the top eight teams. Teams are seeded 1–8 and the highest-seeded teams receive home advantage in every tie, including in the final. Prior to 2022, in common with the English
Gallagher Premiership competition, the finals had been held in pre-arranged venues, although unlike the Premiership -where the final was fixed at
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
, the event still travelled between hosts.
As for European qualification, As of 2022 the South African teams are eligible for European competition. As of 2023, the top eight teams qualify for the
Champions Cup, with the remaining teams qualifying for the
Challenge Cup
The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
, subject to lower ranked URC teams claiming qualification for the Champions Cup by winning a European trophy.
With three fewer regular season fixtures than in the Pro14, but with an extra round of playoffs, the season is truncated slightly to 21 match weeks and thus can still be scheduled to the same time period as previous models of the competition. Clashes between league matches and international weekends in November and during the
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...
have been reduced.
Due to the travelling distance between Europe and South Africa, home South African games are always played on a Saturday, allowing visiting teams to have a seven-day turnaround between fixtures, including five "clean days" that do not involve any travel. Should the draw see European teams play both South African teams away, the schedule will see the away team play the two matches back-to-back across two weeks, acting as a "mini-tour" and reducing air travel and freight.
URC Regional Shields
On 24 September 2021, URC confirmed that the top side in each regional pool after the end of the 18-game regular season would be awarded a subsidiary trophy, a regional Shield. In Ireland, Wales and South Africa, this shield (the URC Irish Shield, URC Welsh Shield and URC South African Shield respectively) functions as an informal national championship title for the main professional sides, while in Scotland and Italy's shared pool, it will be a joint regional trophy. The concept is comparable to the Divisional Championships in the
NFL which are also loosely geographically based. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons, the winners of each Shield were decided on the basis of all 18 regular season games played, and also guaranteed qualification for the European Rugby Champions Cup, regardless of their overall league position. However, since the start of the 2023-2024 season, this was no longer the case and the top eight teams in the league would qualify for Europe regardless of Shield position. In addition, the winners of the each Shield would be determined by the games played amongst the teams within their regional group, reaffirming its status as a specifically national and separate championship. In Scotland, the 'national' trophy is considered to be the
1872 Cup
The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.
Under the current format, Glasgow Warriors and Ed ...
played exclusively between the two Scottish clubs, usually as a double header over the Christmas and New Year periods.
Derby games have become a tradition in all five member nations over this holiday period, with most home teams achieving bumper crowds for the matches. In Wales, a tradition has also arisen for a double-header Judgment Day event, involving all four Welsh clubs in two Welsh derbies back-to-back at the
Principality Stadium. In Ireland and Scotland, certain derby games have been moved very successfully to the larger national stadia, or in the case of Connacht and Munster, to much larger local
GAA grounds.
Format history
The league has used a play-off structure since the 2009–10 season to determine the champions, similar to that used in the English Premiership. For the first two seasons there were two groups and a knockout to determine a winner. Starting from the 2003–04 season until the 2008–09 season, the champions were determined from league performance, with all the teams in one league. From the 2017–18 season, the regular season employed a conference structure rather than a single round robin league, with 'derby games' between teams from the same nation being protected, and an expanded playoff structure. This allowed the competition to control the calendar, and control the number of games per team.
League points are awarded using the bonus points system. Until and including the 2008–09 season, the champions were decided solely on the basis of who finished top of the league table, but since the 2009–10 season, the league champion has been decided by a play-off series, in line with other rugby club competitions such as
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
,
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
, and the
English Premiership: at the conclusion of the regular season, the top four placed teams enter the semi-final stage, with the winner of the first vs fourth and second vs third play-offs entering the final (known as the "grand final" in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
).
Two Italian teams – the former
National Championship of Excellence team
Benetton Treviso, and a new team,
Aironi – joined the league starting with the
2010–11 season. Aironi was replaced by
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...
from the
2012–13 season. Through the 2012–13 season, the Welsh, Irish, Scottish and Italian rugby unions used the league as the sole determinant for
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
qualification, and from
2013–14 they use it as the sole means of qualification for the successor to the Heineken Cup, the
European Rugby Champions Cup.
Two South African teams -
Southern Kings and
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
joined the competition in 2017 to create Pro14, while the four remaining professional franchises stayed in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
. The competition adopted a modified two-conference format rather than a full round-robin single table, with extra fixtures to maintain national derby matches. As weaker provinces, both struggled in the three years in which they took part, and were ineligible for European competition. The terminal financial difficulties at Southern Kings, and the COVID-19 pandemic effectively ended their participation in 2020, and there was no South African participation in the 2020 season, although the competition retained the Pro14 name.
Despite the difficulties, however, the competition proved attractive to the South African Rugby Football Union, due to shared time zones and reduced travelling, and the four major Super Rugby franchises -
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
,
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
,
Bulls and
Lions joined the renamed United Rugby Championship the following year, firstly through the transitional
Pro14 Rainbow Cup, held in a split tournament format across Europe and South Africa, and then the United Rugby Championship, this time eligible for European competition. Ironically, Cheetahs, no longer in the URC, were invited to join the European competition as well, along with Georgian side,
Black Lion. South African team, Stormers, won the first edition of URC in an all South African final, before being runner-up in the second season to Irish side, Munster.
Corporate organisation
The legal name of the body running the competition is ''PRO Rugby Championship
DAC'', a
private company limited by shares
A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareh ...
based in Ireland. The organisation is responsible for running and operating the URC and is currently owned equally by the
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where a ...
(IRFU), the
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...
(SRU) and the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...
(WRU). The
Italian Rugby Federation
The Italian Rugby Federation () or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of the Six Nations have two seats ...
(FIR) may become a shareholder subject to it meeting certain conditions.
The board of Celtic Rugby DAC is made up of representatives from the IRFU, SRU, WRU, ProRugby Wales, the FIR and the South African Rugby Union. The chief executive is Martin Anayi.
In 2020 the championship received an investment from
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners plc is a Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately €186 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, European, ...
who acquired a 28% share in the championship.
The organisation's headquarters are at Millbank House,
Sandyford,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
18.
Media coverage
Starting in the
2010–11 season, the League was broadcast live on
BBC Two Wales
BBC Two Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales as a variation of the BBC Two network. It is broadcast from BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House, Central Square in Cardiff with live continuity prov ...
,
BBC Two Northern Ireland
BBC Two Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland as a variation of the BBC Two network. It is broadcast via digital terrestrial transmitters and from the SES Astra 2E satell ...
,
RTÉ
(; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
, the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
channel
TG4
TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...
, the
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
channel
BBC Alba
BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...
, the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
channel
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
. The
BBC Two Wales
BBC Two Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales as a variation of the BBC Two network. It is broadcast from BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House, Central Square in Cardiff with live continuity prov ...
matches were usually made available to the rest of the United Kingdom via
BBC Red Button
BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...
. Complete match replays were also available on the
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...
. Each broadcaster provided feeds to the others for matches in their home territory. While this meant that the league was now available free to air in the UK and Ireland, in Italy it was only available on a subscription basis in its first year.
Commencing from the
2014–15 season,
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
became one of the league's broadcast partners, broadcasting 33 live games on a Saturday and also showing both the semi-finals and the final live. Its contract concluded at the end of 2017–18 season.
Also starting in the
2014–15 season, Italy's
Nuvolari began broadcasting the games involving the two Italian clubs live on its digital free-to-view channel.
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
matches were also broadcast live on
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...
.
From the 2018–19 season, coverage of the tournament was taken over by Premier Sports in the UK, EirSport in Ireland, DAZN in Italy, and Supersport in South Africa.
Coverage of the tournament can be found in other territories – on
beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its ...
in France, and on various
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...
channels around the globe (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South East Asia and the Middle East), as well as EuroSport.
Broadcast coverage history
Current broadcasters:
* URC TV (Ireland and other countries without broadcaster) (2021–present)
*
TG4
TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...
(Ireland - Irish language) (2001–2004, 2010–present)
*
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"),
more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...
(2023–present)
*
RTÉ Sport
RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ h ...
(Ireland) (2010–2014, 2021–2025)
*
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
(Wales - Welsh language) (2001–present)
*
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
(2001–2018, 2021–present)
*
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...
(2001–2004, 2010–2018, 2021–present)
*
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
(non-Core markets) (2016–present)
*
DAZN
DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...
(Germany) (2018–present)
*
FloSports
FloSports is an over-the-top subscription sports broadcaster and streaming service. The company is based in Austin, Texas, United States, and was founded in 2006. FloSports streams live sporting events to audiences around the world.
History
L ...
(USA) (2022–Present)
*
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
(Latin America) (2022–Present)
*
SuperSport (South Africa) (2017–present)
*
Viaplay Sports (UK and Ireland) (UK: 2018–present) (Ireland: 2021–present)
*
Premier Sports Asia
Premier Sports Asia is a pay television sports channel operating in the Asia Pacific region owned by Premier Media Broadcasting. It primarily airs the sport of rugby union.
History
The channel, a sister channel of Irish-based Premier Sports, wa ...
(2020−)
*
SKY Sport Italy (2003, 2023−)
Past broadcasters:
*
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
(2014–2018)
*
eir sport (Ireland) (2018–2021)
*
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...
(Live 2004–2010, Highlights 2010–2018)
The Rugby Channel(2016–2018)
*
beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its ...
(2014–2018)
*
BBC Alba
BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...
(2010–2018)
*
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
(UK)
*
STV (Live 2009–2010, Highlights 2010–2013)
*
Dahlia TV (2010–2011)
*
Sportitalia (2012–2013)
*
Nuvolari (2014–2015)
*
RAI Sport
Rai Sport HD is an Italian sports TV channel, launched in 1999 by the state-owned RAI television network. It broadcasts Italian and international sports events in Italy on DTT channel 58 on ''Rai Mux A'' from HDTV. It is also available on Sky ...
(2011–2012, 2015–2016)
*
DAZN
DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...
(Italy, Canada) (2018–2021)
*
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
(Italy) (2013–2014, 2021−2022)
*
Eurosport Italia: (2016–2018; 2022–2023)
*
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...
(Asia) (2011–2020)
*
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
(USA) (2018–2021)
*
Spark Sport (2021-2023)
From 2004 to 2009, the Scottish and Irish rights were owned by
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...
. Setanta closed down in Scotland in 2009, but
Setanta Ireland
Eir Sport 1 (formerly Setanta Ireland) was an Irish pay television sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription t ...
and
Setanta Sports 1 remained available to Irish subscribers. In 2010,
RTÉ Sport
RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ h ...
,
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...
,
TG4
TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...
,
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
,
BBC Alba
BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...
and
SKY Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo, and Sky TG24.
Pay TV services on the Sky ...
came together to buy the Celtic League broadcasting rights.
On 2 May 2013, Sky Sports announced that it had agreed a four-year deal to broadcast 33 live matches each season. This deal commenced at the start of season 2014–15, Sky have 30 exclusive matches but are only allowed to cover one set of fixtures; for instance, only one Leinster v Munster match was live on Sky with the other on TG4. Regional screening of matches continued, BBC Wales show Scrum V Live on Friday Night with S4C covering a match now on Sunday afternoons. BBC Alba also screened matches, with some also available in English on BBC Scotland, although BBC Alba did offer English language commentary via their Red Button service when the match was not shown on BBC Scotland. BBC Northern Ireland screened all Ulster matches not available on Sky Sports. RTÉ Sport dropped their coverage after the 2014 final due to budget cuts, making TG4 the only broadcasters of the competition in the Republic of Ireland. The semi-finals and finals are available to all broadcasters.
On 31 August 2017, SuperSport announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast matches within South Africa.
On 30 April 2018, PRO14 Rugby signed a partnership with
Premier Sports and
FreeSports to broadcast every Pro14 game live in high definition across the UK for at least the next three years. The agreement, which came into effect for the 2018–19 season, also saw at least one match per round shown live free-to-air on FreeSports.
Teams
The league is based on regionalised, provincial and franchise representation of the participating nations, except for
Benetton which represents the city of Treviso itself. Benetton was selected for its long history after the project of a second Italian regional team, Praetorians Roma, failed.
Zebre Parma
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
replaced an earlier franchise
Aironi in Italy. South Africa and Ireland use explicitly provincial structures, the former operating on a franchise system. Both countries have long organised domestic and representative rugby on a provincial basis going back decades. Wales employs a more recent regional structure, but built on an original club foundation where regions originally represented a combination of local premiership clubs, while Scotland employs the opposite, a 'two city club' system where each of the clubs maps over a previous regional team. A third Scottish regional team,
Border Reivers
Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...
and a fifth Welsh regional-club team
Celtic Warriors, were wound down by the respective unions early in the competition's history, while
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
and
Southern Kings left prior to the URC rebranding, with Cheetahs surviving to compete as an invitee team in the
European Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
and Kings being wound down for insolvency.
*In 2021,
Benetton Rugby
Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto which competes in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup, Europ ...
won the
Pro14 Rainbow Cup, a transitional 'spring league' conference-based tournament that took place between the Pro14 and URC incarnations of the competition. The victory is recognised as an official URC title for the Italians, the first ever won by a team from that country, but is not recognised as part of the annual continuity of the main tournament league.
Italian participation since 2010–11
The Celtic League board met in November 2008 to explore the possibility of Italian participation; the chief executive of the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...
, Roger Lewis, stated that the league was looking "favourably" on Italian participation.
Following a 19 December 2008 board meeting of the
Italian Rugby Federation
The Italian Rugby Federation () or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of the Six Nations have two seats ...
(FIR) to discuss proposals to improve Italian rugby, FIR announced that it would submit a proposal to join the Celtic League.
FIR had two possibilities – either entering four existing Italian clubs from the
National Championship of Excellence into the league; or creating two teams of Italy-qualified players exclusively for the competition.
On 18 July 2009, the FIR announced that
Aironi and Praetorians Roma would compete in the Celtic League from the start of the
2010–11 season – beating bids from
Benetton Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest. Praetorians would be based in Rome at the
Stadio Flaminio
The Stadio Flaminio is a stadium in Rome. It lies along the Via Flaminia, three kilometres northwest of the city centre, 300 metres away from the Parco di Villa Glori.
The interior spaces include a covered swimming pool, rooms for fencing, amate ...
, while Aironi would be based in Viadana but would play some matches in the city of
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
.
On 2 October 2009, the FIR proposed Benetton Treviso in place of Praetorians Roma.
On 28 January 2010, the FIR declared that they had withdrawn from negotiations with the Celtic League regarding two Italian teams joining the tournament, with the main issue being a €3 million warranty asked for by the league, but by 7 February, the Italian clubs had come up with the required funding. By 8 March 2010, a deal had been finalised for
Aironi and
Benetton Treviso to enter the Celtic League from the 2010–11 season, with each team guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup.
At the end of the
2011–12 season, however,
Aironi were no longer available to compete in future competitions as a regional club, as, on 6 April 2012, they were refused a licence to continue on financial grounds. They were replaced by another Italian side,
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...
(now Zebre Parma).
Former teams
Thirty separate teams have taken part in the various versions of the Championship. Of the fourteen teams no longer involved, nine were Welsh premiership clubs, replaced by five new regions. One of those Welsh regions, two South African franchises, one Scottish region and one Italian franchise make up the rest of the historic teams. Only the four Irish provinces and the original Scottish regions have been ever present (Cardiff Rugby, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons have changed their names). Of the fourteen, eight of the nine Welsh clubs and Cheetahs continue to compete in other competitions.
Notes:
* Before
regionalisation
Regionalisation is the tendency to form Decentralization, decentralised regions.
Regionalisation or land classification can be observed in various disciplines:
*In agriculture, see Agricultural Land Classification.
*In biogeography, see Biogeog ...
, Wales was represented by nine
Welsh Premiership clubs from 2001 to 2003. Following this they were replaced with five regional clubs, of which
Celtic Warriors only lasted a single season.
* The
Border Reivers
Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...
, added in 2002, were disbanded by the Scottish Rugby Union in 2007 as part of cost-cutting measures.
*
Aironi was replaced by
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...
in 2012, meaning that the number of Italian teams remained at two.
*The two South African clubs
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
and
Southern Kings exited the league in 2020 as a result of travel restrictions due to the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
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#> JOINED IN 2000 <#
bar:EDI color:Fullscot from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...
bar:GLA color:Fullscot from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
bar:CON color:Fullirish from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht B ...
bar:LEI color:Fullirish from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...
bar:MUN color:Fullirish from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, ...
bar:ULS color:Fullirish from:01/07/2001 till:end text:Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won ...
bar:BRI color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Bridgend Ravens
Bridgend Ravens () (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.
They currently play in Super Rygbi Cymru and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team.
Origin
Bridgend RFC first fo ...
bar:CRC color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...
bar:CAE color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Caerphilly RFC
Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team founded in 1887. Their home ground is The Mollex stadium in Caerphilly and their nickname is ''The Cheesemen''. Caerphilly RFC currently play in the WRU Division One East Central and ...
bar:EBV color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Ebbw Vale RFC
Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.
The club play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and act as a feeder club for the Dragons regional team.
History
Evidence of rugb ...
bar:LLA color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...
bar:NEA color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a whi ...
bar:NEW color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Newport RFC
Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk.
Ever ...
bar:PON color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Pontypridd RFC
Pontypridd Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It competes in the Admiral Premiership and the WRU Premiership Cup, a trophy which they won for the 7th time in 2025. Their last league title ...
bar:SWA color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2003 text:Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours.
History ...
bar:BRI color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:CRC color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:CAE color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:EBV color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:LLA color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:NEA color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:NEW color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:PON color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
bar:SWA color:Nonleague from:01/07/2003 till:end text: transferred to WRU leagues
#> JOINED IN 2002 <#
bar:BOR color:Formerscot from:01/07/2002 till:30/06/2007 text:Border Reivers
Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...
bar:BOR color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2002 text:SIDC
#> JOINED IN 2003 <#
bar:CAR color:Fullwelsh from:01/07/2003 till:end text:Cardiff Rugby
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
bar:CWA color:Formerwelsh from:01/07/2003 till:30/06/2004 text: Celtic Warriors
bar:DRA color:Fullwelsh from:01/07/2003 till:end text:Dragons
A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...
bar:OSP color:Fullwelsh from:01/07/2003 till:end text: Ospreys
bar:SCA color:Fullwelsh from:01/07/2003 till:end text:Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
#> JOINED IN 2010 <#
bar:AIR color:Formeritalian from:01/07/2010 till:30/06/2012 text: Aironi
bar:BEN color:Fullitalian from:01/07/2010 till:end text: Benetton Treviso
bar:BEN color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2010 text:Italian Top10
#> JOINED IN 2012 <#
bar:ZEB color:Fullitalian from:01/07/2012 till:end text:Zebre Parma
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
#> JOINED IN 2017 <#
bar:CHE color:Fullsa from:01/07/2017 till:30/06/2020 text:Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
bar:CHE color:Nonleague from:01/07/2020 till:end text:Currie Cup & ECHR
bar:CHE color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:30/06/2017 text:Currie Cup
bar:CHE color:Nonleague from:01/01/2006 till:30/06/2017 text:Super Rugby & Currie Cup
bar:STK color:Formersa from:01/07/2017 till:30/06/2020 text: Southern Kings
bar:STK color:Nonleague from:01/01/2013 till:31/12/2013 text:Super Rugby
bar:STK color:Nonleague from:01/01/2016 till:30/06/2017
#> JOINED IN 2021 <#
bar:BUL color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:31/12/2020 text:Super Rugby
bar:BUL color:Fullsa from:01/01/2021 till:end text: Bulls
bar:SHA color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:31/12/2020 text:Super Rugby
bar:LIO color:Fullsa from:01/01/2021 till:end text: Lions
bar:STO color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:31/12/2012 text:Super Rugby
bar:STO color:Nonleague from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2020
bar:SHA color:Fullsa from:01/01/2021 till:end text:Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
bar:LIO color:Nonleague from:01/07/2001 till:31/12/2020 text:Super Rugby
bar:STO color:Fullsa from:01/01/2021 till:end text:Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
Other nations
After the successful negotiations with Italy, talks were held intermittently with South Africa about the possible expansion of the Pro12.
A 24-team Rainbow Cup involving 11 Celtic, 9 South African and 4 Italian teams was announced in 2005, but the idea was abandoned because of financial issues on the European end of the deal
and changes in the leadership of the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
(SARU).
London Welsh
London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...
expressed interest in 2006 in joining the Celtic League if promotion and relegation were to be removed from the
English Premiership.
In February 2009, South Africa was rumoured to be negotiating entry of its current
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
teams into the Celtic League, to take effect when the media contract between
SANZAR and
News Corporation
The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
expires after the 2010 season;
these rumours were immediately denied by SA Rugby, the commercial arm of SARU. In the end, nothing came of these rumours, and the competition remained a strictly European affair.
In a 2016 interview with ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'',
IRFU CEO Philip Browne indicated that the Pro12 was seriously considering establishing a
US franchise on
the country's Atlantic coast in the near future, seeing the recent growth of the sport in the US as an opportunity to help close some of the financial gap between Pro12 and Europe's two major domestic leagues, the English Premiership and France's
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
. Browne added that Pro12 was also looking to expand further into Continental Europe by teaming with major
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
clubs, some of which already have rugby sections.
In August 2016, Pro12 officials began talks with the unions of both Canada and the United States about expansion before the end of the decade, with interest in putting teams on the east coasts of both countries. In September 2016, it emerged that Vancouver and Houston may be target cities, primarily due to weather considerations, though the distance from the other teams may make that more of a challenge.
While the North American plan remains active, media attention turned in 2017 toward a new possibility of South African teams entering the competition. Following the decision of
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
organiser
SANZAAR
SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs fr ...
to drop three teams from the competition (two from South Africa), multiple media reports indicated that the two likeliest South African sides to be axed, the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
and
Southern Kings, could be added to Pro12 as early as the 2017–18 season. A later
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
report indicated that the Cheetahs and Kings would be added once their removal from Super Rugby was formally announced on 7 July, though neither Celtic Rugby Limited, the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
, nor the two teams would comment on the report. A week after the Cheetahs and Kings' departure from Super Rugby was confirmed, the BBC reported that Celtic Rugby Limited was expected to officially add those teams at the organisation's next board meeting on 18 July. While no announcement came on that date, media in both South Africa and Britain reported that SARU's chief executive was at Celtic Rugby's headquarters in Dublin to finalise the addition of the Cheetahs and Kings, with
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
calling the expansion "the worst kept secret in rugby". The addition of the two South African teams was officially confirmed on 1 August 2017. The Southern Kings entered liquidation in September 2020 and therefore withdrew from the league.
In September 2020, the league confirmed they were looking for a replacement team for Southern Kings and possible expansion to more teams in South Africa to enter the league in 2021.
Later that month, SA rugby voted that their Super Rugby sides (
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...
,
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
,
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
,
Bulls) would enter the Pro 14 to replace the liquidated Kings and the Cheetahs, who were withdrawn before the 2021 season.
Current standings
The most recent regular season began on 20 September 2024. It ended on the 14th of June 2025 with
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
winning the trophy against the
Bulls in
Croke Park
Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
with a 32 to 7 victory.
History
Formative years and the Welsh-Scottish League
Pan-Celtic tournaments were proposed throughout the early professional era, with the creation of the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
in 1995 demonstrating that inter-domestic competitions were financially viable. From 1995 onwards, the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...
(WRU),
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...
(SRU) and
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where a ...
(IRFU) discussed a number of Celtic league and cup competitions, discussions were also held with the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
(RFU) to form a British & Irish league. These discussions would eventually lead the WRU and the RFU to establish the
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
in 2005, and all four unions to establish the
British and Irish Cup
The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...
in 2009.
The first material steps toward a Celtic league were taken before the 1999–2000 season, when the Scottish districts
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
were formally invited to join the fully professional
Welsh Premier Division, creating the
Welsh–Scottish League
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three ...
. By 2001, an agreement was made with the
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where a ...
(IRFU) to bring in the four Irish provinces. The 2001–02 season saw additional matches and a new league structure played alongside the continuing Welsh–Scottish League and the Inter-Provincial Championship in Ireland. The new format was named the Celtic League. The Celtic League had developed by 2005, and the tournament became the sole professional league in Ireland and Scotland (the Anglo-Welsh Cup and semi-pro
Welsh Premiership continued in Wales) and had entirely replaced both the Welsh–Scottish League, and the Inter-Provincial Championship.
Celtic League (2001–2011)
2001–02
The first full season of a pan-Celtic competition saw 15 teams compete: the four Irish provinces (
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
,
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
,
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
), two Scottish teams (
Edinburgh Reivers and
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
) and all nine Welsh professional teams (
Bridgend
Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...
,
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain.
It is north of Cardiff an ...
,
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...
,
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...
,
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
,
Neath
Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...
,
Newport,
Pontypridd
Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre.
Geography
Pontypridd comprises the ...
and
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
).
Played alongside each country's own domestic competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of eight and seven) and played a series of
round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the
knock-out
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...
phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the Welsh–Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.
The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the thrilling final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners.
2002–03
Champions Leinster failed to make the quarter-final stage in 2003. In their absence, Munster went on to win the competition by beating Connacht 33–3 in the quarter-finals, Ulster 42–10 in the semi-finals, and Neath 37–17 in the final played in Cardiff.
The format of the Celtic League remained the same for the second season, but saw the addition of a third Scottish district, the newly re-established
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...
. However, the Welsh-Scottish league structure ended permanently in 2002, allowing for the expansion of the Celtic league format in the following season.
2003–04
A major change in Celtic League came before the start of the 2003–04 season. The Welsh Rugby Union voted to create five new regional sides (
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
,
Celtic Warriors,
Llanelli Scarlets,
Neath–Swansea Ospreys and
Newport Gwent Dragons). It was agreed that the Celtic League would become the sole professional league of the three countries, incorporating the four Irish, three Scottish and five new Welsh professional teams.
Reformatted into a traditional league competition (
double round-robin style, all clubs play each other twice, once home, once away), which meant that a season long 22-round match program was launched, and with a new strength in depth due to the amalgamation of Welsh teams and the continuing strengthening of Irish and Scottish teams through the re-signing and retention of star players, the league has been in rugby terms a success. Also introduced for the 2003–04 season was the Celtic Cup, a straight knock-out cup competition between the 12 Celtic League teams.
However, the unfortunate timing of the league's launch and poor organisation of a working calendar meant that first the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...
and later the
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...
prevented many of the league's top stars from playing in over half the games. This caused the league to struggle commercially, especially regarding the newly adopted regions in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
where the game has always traditionally been played on a club basis, not having the regional histories of Ireland or
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The season ended with the Llanelli Scarlets running out as eventual winners, four points ahead of Ulster.
2004–05
The
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...
controversially purchased and liquidated the
Celtic Warriors so that the 2004–05 season saw eleven teams compete in the Celtic League. The new format took the league into what many saw as a make-or-break season, clear of massive distractions such as the
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport.
The tournament is administer ...
. With the Welsh regions partly embedded, the signs were that the Celtic League would be a competition that could continue. It was suggested that Italian sides might join an expanded Celtic League, an idea that eventually happened in 2010.
The league format was further refined at the end of the 2003–04 season, with the participants better managing the dates of the matches so as to not interfere with the national squad set-ups and to make the league more commercially viable. The league was played until April, and then the Celtic Cup was contested among the top eight teams.
The 2004–05 season was the first season that Ireland agreed to use the Celtic League standings to determine which provinces would enter the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
. The
IRFU had previously classed Connacht as a "development" team and so nominated Leinster, Munster and Ulster over Connacht.
The IRFU also insisted on International squad training sessions taking precedence over Celtic League matches, with Irish provinces (especially Munster and Leinster) occasionally fielding virtual second teams for Celtic League games. Some claimed this had the effect of devaluing the competition. However, despite this approach, Munster finished second and Leinster third, with Munster winning the Celtic Cup. The Ospreys topped the league table, making it two in a row for Welsh regional sides.
2005–06
In 2005, there were discussions over a potential
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
competition which some saw as undermining the Celtic League. Despite Welsh assurances that the proposed Anglo-Welsh tournament would not interfere with their commitments to either the Celtic League in its present format or an expanded 'Rainbow League', the WRU made arrangements to play games on five weekends that clashed with Celtic League fixtures. The SRU and IRFU then threatened to expel the Welsh sides from the Celtic League in June 2005. It was proposed that the competition would continue as a Scottish and Irish affair for the 2005–06 season, with the possible addition of four Italian sides and the re-admittance of Welsh sides for the 2006–07 season. However a deal was reached that allowed for the Celtic League to continue with the Anglo-Welsh cup fixtures involving Welsh clubs rescheduled.
Despite these problems, the league enjoyed its most successful season, with the record attendance at a Celtic League match being broken four times, from 12,436 at the match between the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons in December to 15,327 for the match between the Cardiff Blues and Leinster at the Millennium Stadium. The total attendances for the season were up nearly 50,000 at 571,331 compared to 521,449 for the previous season.
The league went down to the last round with Ulster and Leinster both in contention. Following Leinster's victory over Edinburgh and with Ulster losing against the Ospreys, it looked like the cup would go to Dublin but
David Humphreys kicked a last-minute drop goal from 40 metres to clinch the game and the league for Ulster.
2006–07
In May 2006, ''
Magners Irish Cider'' were named as the competition sponsors for the next five seasons, and the league was renamed as the ''Magners League''. Although known as Bulmers Irish Cider in the Republic of Ireland, the Magners brand name was used there for the league.
The sponsorship followed on from Magners' previous sponsorship deals with
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and the
London Wasps.
The
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...
announced that the Borders territory would be disbanded from the end of the 2006–07 season. It may be revived when the
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...
debt decreases enough to make it financially viable along with a possible fourth Scottish territory (four professional teams being the original plan for the SRU) with Falkirk, Stirling or a London-based team being possible locations; or even the
Caledonia Reds
Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union team. They participated in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland, North and Midlands, in 1996.
Their home games were shared betwe ...
, the forgotten Scottish region. In the meantime Scotland would have only two professional teams based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The league's record attendance was smashed in this season with a full house at
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...
(48,000) for Leinster v Ulster. This was the last game in the stadium prior to its demolition, and was billed as "The Last Stand".
The league was won by the Ospreys on the final day of fixtures. The Blues' home win over Leinster allowed the Ospreys to top the league by a single point and take the title with an away win at Borders.
2007–08
Only ten teams competed in the 2007–08 season, after the Borders were disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season. Glasgow Warriors moved their home games to
Firhill. After missing out on the title on the last day for the previous two seasons, Leinster finally won the 2007–08 title with one game remaining. They had been runaway leaders for much of the season.
In April 2008 it was announced that the Celtic League was to introduce a play-off system commencing in the 2009–10 season to determine the winner, thus generating a greater climax to the season and bringing it in line with other major leagues such as the English Premiership and French Top 14.
2008–09
The 2008–09 season was decided quite early in the season as
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
claimed the title without playing, as they were preparing for their Heineken Cup semi-final against
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
. The final challenge from
Ospreys was snuffed out when the Dragons denied them a bonus point win on 30 April. Munster had led pretty much from the start of the season with a team largely captained by
Mick O'Driscoll showing Munster's squad depth. Munster lost only four games, three to the other Irish teams, including a double loss to
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
.
Felipe Contepomi finished as league top scorer for Leinster, the year they went on to win the Heineken Cup.
2009–10
The 2009–10 season was the last 10-team league as the Italian teams joined in 2010–11. The league was one of the most competitive in years with perennial wooden-spooners
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
challenging
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
all the way for the third Irish
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
spot. Ulster needed a superb away
bonus point win at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
to seal it, ending Edinburgh's own play-off hopes.
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
had a disappointing campaign as typical Welsh underdogs the Dragons had a great season, eventually finishing mid table and comfortably qualifying for the Heineken Cup. Luckily for the Scarlets, Cardiff Blues won the
Amlin Cup and thereby earned Wales an extra Heineken Cup place. 2009–10 was also the first time a play-off was used to decide the champion, previously the top team at the end of the season was champion. The Scottish teams and particularly Glasgow came of age and had a fine season, finishing third in the end.
The four qualifiers for the play-offs were
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
,
Ospreys,
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
in that order, each country having at least one team. In the semi-finals Leinster defeated Munster at the RDS, after Ospreys overcame Glasgow in Swansea. In the
2010 Celtic League Grand Final at the RDS in Dublin the Ospreys shocked Leinster, winning the title 17–12 with their first win in Dublin in five years.
2010–11
The 2010–11 saw the introduction of the two Italian sides,
Aironi and
Benetton Treviso. In the new 12 team format, the play-offs came down to Munster hosting the Ospreys in one semi-final, and Leinster hosting Ulster in the other.
The two home sides went on to win their respective matches and the final was held in Thomond Park, home of Munster rugby, where they defeated Leinster (who had just been crowned champions of Europe a week earlier).
The Pro12 (2011–2017)
2011–12
The 2011–12 season saw a re-branding of the competition as the
RaboDirect Pro12.
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
were the runaway winners of the regular season, with a 10-point cushion over the
Ospreys in second. The top four were
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
,
Ospreys,
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
and
Warriors
A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
in that order.
Ospreys easily overcame Munster at home in the first semi-final in Swansea while Leinster beat the Glasgow Warriors in the
RDS after giving up a strong lead. In the final, also held at the RDS, Leinster were aiming to become the first Celtic League team to complete a domestic and European double, after beating Ulster the previous week in the Heineken Cup final. After trailing for most of the game, Ospreys took a late lead through a try by Shane Williams. Dan Biggar then landed a difficult conversion to give Ospreys their fourth title by a single point, 31–30.
After two years in the competition
Aironi played their final match, as their licence to compete was revoked by the
FIR
Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...
for financial reasons.
2012–13
With the demise of Aironi they were replaced with a new FIR controlled team to be based in
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
called
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...
, near the Aironi base in
Viadana. The Welsh clubs chose to operate under a new self-imposed salary cap, which led to a number of departures from the Welsh teams as they strove to balance their books. Some high-profile Welsh players moved to the French
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
, but other Pro12 teams also benefited with the likes of
Casey Laulala going to
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
from
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
,
Sean Lamont to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
from
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
,
Dan Parks
Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978) is a professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a fly-half.
Parks played professionally for Pro12 sides Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Connacht Rugby as well as English side Le ...
from
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
to
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
and
Tommy Bowe
Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
After his playing career ...
from
Ospreys back to
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
.
Ulster topped the table in the regular season, with Leinster, Glasgow and Scarlets completing the top 4 in that order. They then went on to comfortably beat Scarlets 28–17 in Belfast, while Leinster were hard pressed by Glasgow in a tense 17–15 win for the hosts. In the final (held in the R.D.S. due to redevelopment of Ravenhill) Leinster prevailed 24–18 to win their 3rd title.
2013–14
Rabo Direct announced that this was to be their last season as sponsors. This, combined with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the European Cup, meant that there were concerns over the future commercial viability of the tournament. However, despite all off-field issues it was a successful season with a new high for both total attendance and for a single game (51,700 for Leinster v Munster).
In the end Leinster topped the table, having led for most of the season. Glasgow had a late surge to finish 2nd overtaking Munster and Ulster in the process. All four teams showed they were worthy contenders in the next round with Leinster needing to score a late try to beat Ulster 13–9 in Dublin while Glasgow just got past Munster in Scotstoun by one point to win 16–15. The final in the R.D.S. was also a close game for most of the match with Leinster forced to defend for long periods. However they eventually pulled clear, adding two late scores which made the final result look somewhat lopsided at 34–12.
2014–15
The
RaboDirect title sponsor was replaced by
Guinness
Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...
. With the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
being replaced by the 20-team
European Rugby Champions Cup in the 2014–15 season, the Pro12 table had a greater impact on qualification. Under the previous format, the Pro12 provided a minimum of 10 teams, with Scotland and Italy providing two teams each, and Ireland and Wales both providing three. The new system saw a total of seven teams, with one place now being reserved for the highest-finishing Pro12 team from each of four participating countries and three other qualifiers based solely on league position. The other teams were entered in the new second-tier competition, the
European Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
.
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
were the defending champions having beaten
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
in the previous season's
playoff final, to become the first team in the league to successfully retain the trophy. Leinster were unable to defend their title as they failed to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs for the top four teams after the regular season. Glasgow Warriors finished the regular season on top of the table, and were crowned champions for the first time, beating second seeded team
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
31–13 in the final. Thus, the Warriors became the first Scottish team to win a professional trophy, beating
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
's appearance in the final of the
2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
2015–16
With the
2015 Rugby World Cup
The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...
taking place during the opening months of the season, changes were made to the usual fixture schedule to minimise the effect on teams who released players to take part. The low number of games in the opening weeks of the season led to fixture congestion at the end of the tournament, with each team playing a game every weekend for 16 weeks straight from October 2015 to January 2016, including European matches.
As in the previous season, qualification to the
European Champions Cup was guaranteed to the top team from each country participating in the league, with the three highest placed team's not already qualified also earning a berth. Unlike in the previous season where the 20th tournament spot was decided by a play-off involving teams from the Pro12, France's
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
and the
English Premiership, due to fixture congestion from the World Cup, the final spot in the tournament was reserved for the winner of the
2015 European Challenge Cup if not already qualified.
The delayed start to the season, and absence of established international players during international Test and
Six Nations windows, arguably gave some advantage to 'lesser' teams, and
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
, coached by
Pat Lam
Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby.
Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...
, duly led the league for much of the season. Despite not ultimately finishing top of the league, they converted their form into a maiden championship title in the post-league play-off matches, including a home semi-final victory over reigning champions
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
, and the Pro12 Final against league-topping
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
at the neutral venue of
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotla ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
.
2016–17
Despite losing their first three matches, the Scarlets finished third in the league. They became the first team in the Pro 12's history to win an away semi-final, beating Leinster 27–15 at the
RDS Arena, before beating league-topping Munster 46–22 at the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...
. Scarlets wing
Steff Evans ended up as the league's top try scorer with 11 tries.
The Pro14 Championship (2017–2021)
2017–18
Big changes happened this season with the addition of two South African teams and a change from a league format of home and away to a conference structure championship. The 14 teams were split into two conferences of seven teams each. They play each team in their own conference twice (12 games) and each team in the other conference once (7 games), plus two derby games against the team(s) in the other conference from their own country, making 21 matches in total. The team that finishes top in each conference qualifies directly, one for each of the semi-finals, while the teams that finish second and third in each conference qualify as the four quarter-finalists to determine the other two semi-finalists.
Leinster would regain the title at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and would become the first Pro14 side to ever win a European and Domestic double, they did so by beating previous holders Scarlets in a high scoring affair, 40-32. The two sides had already met in the European Semi-Final only a few weeks prior to the playoff final in very similar circumstances, at the same stadium and with much of the same lineup either side. It was Leinsters fifth domestic title.
2018–19
The two conference format continued this season. The top three eligible European teams in each conference automatically qualified for following year's Champions Cup. The fourth ranked eligible team in each conference met in a play-off match with the winner taking the seventh Champions Cup place. As Leinster lost the Champions Cup final on 11 May 2019, Ospreys hosted Scarlets in the play-off on 18 May 2019.
Ospreys secured the sole Wales Champions Cup place for following season by defeating Scarlets 21-10. The Pro14 final was played between
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
and
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
and was played at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
in Glasgow. Leinster won the game 18–15 to retain the title.
2019–20
All teams played their normal schedule until round 13 after which an additional two rounds of derby matches were played by the 12 European teams.
The Southern Kings announced in August 2020 that they had voluntarily withdrawn from the league for the remainder of 2020. The top four eligible European teams in both conferences automatically qualify for the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup. (The South African teams did not compete in the Champions Cup.) Qualification was based on league position after round 13. The grand final match was due to be held at
Cardiff City Stadium
The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team.
Following expansion of the Ninian S ...
, however, on 19 March 2020, Celtic Rugby DAC cancelled the event due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
The re-arranged match took place on 12 September 2020 at the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...
between defending champions
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
. Leinster won the match 27–5 to defend their title and complete a hat-trick of title wins.
2020–21
Twelve teams competed in this season — four Irish teams:
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
,
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
,
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
; two Italian teams:
Benetton and
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...
; two Scottish teams:
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
; and four Welsh teams:
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
,
Dragons
A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...
,
Ospreys and
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
. Neither of the two South African teams competed this season, with the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
unable to compete due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and the
Southern Kings having entered into voluntary liquidation due to heavy financial losses.
Due to the delays experienced during the 2019–20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later than usual on 2 October 2020. Leinster won their fourth consecutive Pro14 title and 8th overall defeating Munster in the grand final on 27 March.
Rainbow Cup
The
2020–21 Pro14
The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''P ...
was reduced to twelve teams as the two South African teams - the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
and
Southern Kings - were not allowed to travel internationally in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In September 2020, the Southern Kings ceased operations and the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
council began exploring the possibility of the four South African former
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
teams - the
Bulls,
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...
,
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
and
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
- joining an expanded Pro14. PRO14 Rugby announced in December 2020 that the 2020–21 Pro14 regular season would conclude after 16 rounds, and the top team from each conference would advance to a 2021 Pro14 Grand Final, final in March 2021. The ''Pro14 Rainbow Cup'' then commenced in April and introduced the four new South African teams.
The first-placed teams from each tournament,
Benetton and
Bulls, played in the final in Treviso. Benetton won 35–8 in front of their home crowd for a historic first win of an international competition for any Italian club.
United Rugby Championship
2021–22
The tournament consisted of 18 rounds of regular season play, and three rounds of play-offs. There were 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). 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.
The first United Rugby Championship Final was an all-South African derby, ensuring the first ever South African winner of the tournament, the
Bulls having narrowly missed out on winning the transitional
Pro14 Rainbow Cup competition. It also marked the first time in the history of the competition that a Grand final play-off match has not included at least one Irish province, a run of 14 finals.
The
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
defeated the
Bulls 18–13 in Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town.
2022–23
The tournament consisted of 21 rounds; 18 rounds of regular season play, followed by three rounds of play-offs. The 2023 United Rugby Championship final, final, held on 27 May 2023, saw
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
defeat defending champions the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
by a score of 19–14.
Results
Since its inception, the competition has been dominated by Irish teams; in 24 years of the competition, Ireland has provided 15 of the champions, and 13 runners-up. The dominant team in this era has been
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
, who have appeared in eleven out of 15 playoff finals, been both a winner and runner up in the 'round-robin' era, and have won 9 league titles in total, including 'four in a row' between 2017 and 2021. The two closest rivals to this dominance have been domestic and European rivals
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
with four titles and five runners-up spots, and Welsh flagship
Ospreys with two titles in the round-robin era and two in the play-offs era.
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
,
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
,
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
(twice, once as Llanelli Scarlets, once as Scarlets),
Glasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...
and
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
have also taken home the title. The 2021–22 United Rugby Championship, 2021–22 tournament marked the first title won by a South African team: the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
. That year's competition also featured the first grand final not to contain a single Irish team as the losing finalists, the
Bulls, were also South African.
No Italian side has yet reached an ordinary league final. The best play-off performances from the nation have been two quarter-final appearances: in 2019 and 2024 for
Benetton Rugby
Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto which competes in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup, Europ ...
for Italy. Benetton did however emerge as champions of the Covid-affected transitional championship, the
Pro14 Rainbow Cup, which was designed to introduce the former Super Rugby sides to European rugby competition. Although not treated as a championship in the ordinary lineal line, the 2021 Rainbow Cup is considered an official URC competition, along with the defunct Celtic Cup knockout tournament. As such, every country in the competition has at least once taken home league-wide silverware.
As of 2022, four Regional Shields will also be awarded annually. The inaugural winners of the Irish, Welsh, South African and Scottish-Italian URC Shields were Leinster, Ospreys, Stormers and Edinburgh respectively.
By year
League
Below are the list of champions, runners-up and table toppers each season.
Of the 18 seasons to 2024 including play-offs, the same team both topped the table and won the play-offs on only seven occasions; Leinster on four occasions, Munster two and Glasgow Warriors once. It has yet to be achieved in the URC era. Leinster have topped the table eleven times, including once in the era when doing so won the title. No Italian or South African team has ever topped the table, while three Welsh teams topped the table in the era when doing so won the title, but never in a season with play-offs - despite which, Welsh teams have won three play-off finals.
Regional Shields
From the 2021–2022 season, a trophy will be awarded to each team that finishes top of its regional 'pool' (with Scottish and Italian teams sharing a trophy). the Irish Shield, Welsh Shield, South African Shield and Scottish-Italian Shield respectively. Prior to 2023, all matches counted, since then only matches with shield rivals are counted.
Celtic Cup
The Celtic Cup (rugby union), Celtic Cup was a short-lived single elimination knock-out competition, held alongside the League. It was cancelled after the Welsh teams left to join the
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
.
Rainbow Cup
The
Pro14 Rainbow Cup was a one-off 'transitional' or 'Spring Season' tournament created to facilitate the integration of the four South African sides into the United Rugby Championship. ahead of the 2021–22 season. Heavily truncated from its already short format by coronovirus regulations, for the first time, an Italian team and a South African team reached the final of an official Celtic League/Pro Rugby competition, with
Benetton Treviso beating
Bulls for Italy's first-ever trophy at Pro Rugby level.
By championship wins
By country
By season and team : URC era
In four seasons of the United Rugby Championship, twelve of the sixteen teams have reached the play-offs at least once, the exceptions being
Zebre Parma
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
,
Cardiff Rugby
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
, Dragons RFC, Dragons and
Lions. In contrast, Bulls, Glasgow Warriors, Leinster, Munster and Stormers have yet to miss the knock-out rounds.
'Perfect Seasons' and League-Europe 'doubles'
Only one team has achieved the feat of winning every match during a season of the competition,
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...
, who have achieved the 'perfect season
' twice; 2001–02 Celtic League, 2001-02 and 2019–20 Pro14, 2019-20.
Leinster are also the only team from the competition to achieve a domestic and European double, winning a 'minor double' with the 2012–13 Pro12, 2012–13 Pro12 title and the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup, before claiming the 'full double' of the 2017–18 Pro14 and the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup.
URC clubs have won the Champions Cup on seven occasions, Leinster four times,
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
twice and Ulster Rugby, Ulster once. The Challenge Cup has come back to the league four times, once with Leinster, twice with
Cardiff Rugby
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
and once with
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
.
Player of the year
Player statistics
Career
Bold indicates active player in United Rugby Championship
''Updated as of 14 June 2025''
''Statistics do not include those from Celtic Cup or Rainbow Cup matches.''
* Most successful kicks: 397 –
Dan Parks
Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978) is a professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a fly-half.
Parks played professionally for Pro12 sides Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Connacht Rugby as well as English side Le ...
, Glasgow, Cardiff Blues and Connacht
Season
''Updated as 29 May 2023''
* Most successful kicks: 99 – Neil Jenkins, Celtic Warriors, 2003–04
* Most appearances: 24 – Rob Harley, Glasgow, 2013–14; Finlay Bealham, Connacht, 2015–16; Hadleigh Parkes, Scarlets, 2016–17
Attendance
List of final venues
From 2002 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2014, the higher ranked team in the final were the hosting team. Between 2003 and 2010, no play-off was held and final standings determined the champion. However, from the 2014–15 Pro12 season onward, a pre-determined stadium was chosen at the start of the season that would host the final. In 2021–22, the inaugural United Rugby Championship season, the competition reverted to the highest seeded team hosting the final.
With 5 finals,
RDS Arena, the home stadium of
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...
, has hosted the final most often. Of the five participating nations, only Italy have not yet hosted a linear final, although
Benetton Rugby
Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto which competes in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup, Europ ...
did host the transitional Pro14 Rainbow Cup final in their stadium, Stadio Comunale di Monigo.
Notes
See also
*
1872 Cup
The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.
Under the current format, Glasgow Warriors and Ed ...
– Scottish derby
*Celtic Cup (rugby union), Celtic Cup (2003), a short-lived knockout tournament for Celtic League teams
*Celtic Cup (2018 rugby union tournament), Celtic Cup (2018), a tournament of the same name for Pro14 development teams from Ireland and Wales
*
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
*
British and Irish Cup
The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...
*European Challenge Cup
*European Professional Club Rugby
*
European Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
*
European Rugby Champions Cup
*
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
*Judgement Day (rugby union), Judgement Day – Welsh derbies
*Sports league attendances
*
Welsh Premier Division
*Major League Rugby
*Súper Liga Americana de Rugby
*List of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom
References
External links
*
{{Top-level rugby union club competitions
United Rugby Championship,
Rugby union leagues in Europe,
International organisations based in Ireland
Inter-Celtic organisations
Rugby union competitions in Europe for clubs and provinces
Rugby union leagues in Ireland,
Rugby union leagues in Scotland,
Rugby union leagues in Wales,
Rugby union leagues in Italy,
Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom
Professional sports leagues in South Africa, Rugby union
Professional sports leagues in Italy, Rugby union
Professional sports leagues in Ireland, Rugby union
Multi-national sports leagues in Europe
Multi-national professional rugby union leagues
Multi-national professional sports leagues
CVC Capital Partners companies