The Vodacom Bulls will begin their 2025/26 campaign on home soil, welcoming the Ospreys to Loftus Versfeld Stadium as the tournament confirms the full Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture list for the coming season, marking the earliest-ever publication of league fixtures in competition history.
- Download and automatically populate the 2025/26 season fixtures into a calendar, here: https://ql.e-c.al/URCFixtures
The men from the South African capital will remain home for the second round, welcoming Irish giants Leinster before they jet off to the North for a three-week tour featuring clashes against Ulster, Connacht and Glasgow Warriors. They will then return home for round six at home before travelling to Durban for round seven, followed by a visit from South rivals in round eight, with a return derby in Cape Town in round nine.
As is now the norm, Vodacom URC supporters across the globe can download fixtures directly to their devices via the Ecal URC 25/26 calendar, ensuring they never miss a kick-off – no matter their time zone. (Note: updates may take up to an hour to sync.)
The herd will get back on the road in round ten, going to Europe for a single league tour match in Scotland before returning to Mzansi for the Jukskei derby in Johannesburg. That derby is followed by a visit from the Durbanites in round twelve before visits from the Welsh and South Irelanders. Round fifteen and sixteen will see team return to Europe for trips to Dragons and Scarlets before wrapping up the league phase at home against the two Italians outfits.
The 2025/26 season promises a packed calendar of action, including festive derby rounds which are once again locked in for Rounds 7, 8 and 9, while the Race to the Eight steps up from Round 13 as teams compete for Play-Off places and Investec Champions Cup qualification.
In addition, a range of themed rounds such as Kids Round, Origin Round, and Unity Round will be confirmed in the coming weeks, enhancing the match-day experience for fans and clubs alike.
The format of the competition remains unchanged, with the top eight teams progressing to the Play-Offs beginning May 29. The Semi-Finals will be played on June 6, followed by the Grand Final on June 20 to crown the 2025/26 champions.
Broadcast coverage for fixtures will continue to evolve, with additional partners to be announced as talks with a Free-to-air partner in the UK and in international territories continue.
Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “Advance planning is critical to the success of the United Rugby Championship and it is fantastic that we have continued to raise the bar in publishing our fixtures as early as possible.
“For clubs and fans, planning their weekends and knowing where their teams are playing so far ahead of time makes a big difference. The drama and excitement of the Vodacom URC is matched by the complexity of putting all of the pieces of the fixture list together but it is made much easier thanks to the support of our teams and broadcasters to assist us in this process.
“For the moment, we look forward to the Play-Offs that kick off next week after another regular season full of surprises. The Race to the Eight provided huge jeopardy and now we move into the ultimate win or go home stage of the competition which will lift the intensity up to another level.”
The Vodacom URC fixture process continues to benefit from its work with Ligalytics, a German sports data and scheduling firm trusted across rugby, football, cricket, basketball, and hockey. For the 2025/26 season, Ligalytics produced 202 workable fixture models based on over 4,000 individual constraints — allowing the league to deliver on essential travel requirements, support a balanced cadence of home and away fixtures across the full competition, and accommodate stadium availability and local restrictions.
Additional Information for the 2025/26 Season
Touring Windows
– Multi-game tours can take place between Rounds 1–5 and Rounds 13–18.
– Single-game tours are scheduled in Rounds 6 and 10, aligning with EPCR windows.
Season Schedule
Round 1: September 26/27
Round 2: October 3/4
Round 3: October 10/11
Round 4: October 17/18
Round 5: October 24/25
Round 6: November 28/29
Round 7 (Festive Derbies): December 19/20
Round 8 (Festive Derbies): December 26/27
Round 9 (Festive Derbies): January 2/3
Round 10: January 23/24
Round 11: January 30/31
Round 12: February 27/28
Round 13: March 20/21
Round 14: March 27/28
Round 15: April 17/18
Round 16: April 24/25
Round 17: May 8/9
Round 18: May 15/16
Play-Off Schedule
Quarter-Finals: May 29/30
Semi-Finals: June 6/7
Grand Final: June 20
- The full 2025/26 fixture list can be found here: https://www.unitedrugby.com/latest/news/urc-fixtures-2025-26-written
https://www.unitedrugby.com/content-pages/urc-202526-fixtures
Round 1 Fixtures
Friday, Sep 26
DHL Stormers vs Leinster (DHL Stadium)
KO: 18:00 UK / 19:00 ITA / 19:00 SA
Live On: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports
Ulster vs Dragons RFC (Ulster Rugby Stadium)
KO: 20:05 UK / 21:05 ITA / 21:05 SA
Live On: Premier Sports, SuperSport
Glasgow Warriors vs Hollywoodbets Sharks (Scotstoun Stadium)
KO: 20:05 UK / 21:05 ITA / 21:05 SA
Live On: Premier Sports, SuperSport
Saturday, Sep 27
Vodacom Bulls vs Ospreys (Loftus Versfeld Stadium)
KO: 13:00 UK / 14:00 ITA / 14:00 SA
Live On: SuperSport, Premier Sports
Zebre Parma vs Edinburgh (Stadio Lanfranchi)
KO: 15:05 UK / 16:05 ITA / 16:05 SA
Live On: Premier Sports, SuperSport
Scarlets vs Munster (Parc Y Scarlets)
KO: 17:30 UK / 18:30 ITA / 18:30 SA
Live On: Premier Sports, SuperSport
Cardiff vs Emirates Lions (Cardiff Arms Park)
KO: 19:45 UK / 20:45 ITA / 20:45 SA
Live On: Premier Sports, SuperSport
Connacht vs Benetton (Dexcom Stadium)
KO: 19:45 UK / 20:45 ITA / 20:45 SA
Live On: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport
