Vodacom URC 24/25 fixtures confirmed
The full Vodacom United Rugby Championship schedule for the 2024/25 campaign has been announced in the first-ever in-season launch of the following seasons’ fixtures.
The DHL Stormers will start their campaign with a North-South clash against the Vodacom Bulls at DHL Stadium on 21 September.
The DHL Stormers will then leave on a three-match tour to Europe which will see them take on Ospreys, Zebre Parma and Edinburgh away from home.
As the current campaign comes down to the most competitive final round in the league’s history, supporters can now benefit from the earliest-ever release of fixtures which comes 114 days before kick-off.
September 20 will see the Vodacom URC kick off with Leinster visiting Edinburgh and Cardiff hosting Zebre Parma on the first Friday of the season.
In South Africa, derbies will headline the Saturday games with the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls meeting in a blockbuster game in Cape Town and in Durban, the newly crowned Challenge Cup winners, Hollywoodbets Sharks, will take on the Emirates Lions in what is sure to be a highly entertaining encounter.
Not to be left out, Wales and Ireland will also host derby games with Dragons RFC facing Ospreys and Munster battling it out with Connacht in Limerick. In Italy, Benetton Rugby will open their home fixture list against Scarlets while Ulster will host familiar rivals Glasgow Warriors in the opening round’s final fixture.
The sequence of home or away fixtures against non-Shield opponents is in year two. This means all fixtures from last season are reversed so that each team will complete their balance of home and away games against the same opponents over a two-year cycle.
Additionally, the earlier generation of fixtures will assist all teams in their cross-hemisphere travel with improved access to different seat classes and cost efficiencies related to bookings made further in advance.
Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “Given the complexity of our scheduling we are thrilled to have our fixtures published earlier than ever before.
“Our fixture list is at the core of our entire league with fans, teams, broadcasters and media all setting their schedules to it and now we have set a new standard by delivering it while the current season is still in play.
“Our whole team is focused on making the United Rugby Championship the best league in the world and setting fan-friendly goals is key to that. Our clubs have been more engaged than ever in supporting this while our broadcast partners also play a crucial role in allowing the kick-off times to be set so far in advance.
“This weekend we will discover who has triumphed in the Race to Eight before the gripping drama of our Play-Offs takes centre stage. Now, no matter how the season ends fans can immediately look to next season’s fixtures to begin planning for another thrilling campaign.”
The league’s supplier arrangement with Ligalytics, a German sports scheduling firm who work with many sports including rugby, football, cricket, basketball and hockey continues to help improve the processes and efficiencies in fixture generation.
Due to calendar restrictions the outbound tours for South African teams will occur in blocks of three, two and one week(s). For teams travelling from the north, only five windows for touring exist in rounds 2-3, 5-6, 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18.
R1 – Friday, September 20
Cardiff Rugby v Zebre Parma 20:35
Edinburgh Rugby v Leinster 20:35
Saturday, September 21
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Emirates Lions 15:45
Dragons RFC v Ospreys 16:00
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls 18:15
Munster v Connacht 18:30
Benetton v Scarlets 20:35
Ulster v Glasgow Warriors 20:45
R2 – Friday, September 27
Glasgow Warriors v Benetton 20:35
Leinster v Dragons RFC 20:35
Saturday, September 28
Emirates Lions v Ulster 13:45
Vodacom Bulls v Edinburgh Rugby 16:00
Zebre Parma v Munster 16:00
Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby 18:15
Connacht v Hollywoodbets Sharks 20:35
Ospreys v DHL Stormers 20:35
R3 – Friday, October 4
Scarlets v Connacht 20:35
Cardiff v Glasgow Warriors 20:35
Saturday, October 5
Emirates Lions v Edinburgh Rugby 13:45
Vodacom Bulls v Ulster 16:00
Benetton v Leinster 18:15
Dragons RFC v Hollywoodbets Sharks 8:15
Munster v Ospreys 20:35
Zebre Parma v DHL Stormers 20:35
R4 – Friday, October 11
Glasgow Warriors v Zebre Parma 20:35
Saturday, October 12
Benetton v Hollywoodbets Sharks 16:00
Cardiff Rugby v Scarlets 16:00
Edinburgh v DHL Stormers 18:15
Leinster v Munster 18:45
Ospreys v Vodacom Bulls 20:35
Ulster v Connacht 21:00
Sunday, October 13
Dragons RFC v Emirates Lions 15:30
R5 – Friday, October 18
Scarlets v Vodacom Bulls 20:35
Ulster v Ospreys 20:35
Saturday, October 19
Zebre Parma v Emirates Lions 13:30
Hollywoodbets Sharks 15:45
DHL Stormers v Munster 18:00
Edinburgh Rugby v Cardiff Rugby 18:15
Connacht v Leinster 20:35
Dragons RFC v Benetton 20:35
R6 – Friday, October 25
Scarlets v Zebre Parma 20:35
Benetton v Vodacom Bulls 20:35
Saturday, October 26
DHL Stormers v Glasgow Warriors 13:45
Ospreys v Edinburgh Rugby 16:00
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Munster 16:00
Leinster v Emirates Lions 18:15
Connacht v Dragons RFC 20:35
Cardiff Rugby v Ulster 20:35
R7 – Friday, November 29
Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets 20:35
Ulster v Leinster 21:35
Saturday, November 30
Hollywoodbets Sharks v DHL Stormers 16:00
Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC 19:15
Connacht v Vodacom Bulls 19:30
Munster v Emirates Lions 21:35
Zebre Parma v Ospreys 21:35
Edinburgh Rugby v Benetton 21:35
R8 – Saturday, December 21
DHL Stormers v Emirates Lions TBC
Benetton v Zebre Parma 15:00
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Vodacom Bulls 17:00
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh Rugby 19:15
Thursday, December 26
Dragons RFC v Cardiff Rugby 17:00
Ospreys v Scarlets 19:15
Ulster v Munster TBC
Leinster v Connacht TBC
R9 – Saturday, December 28
DHL Stormers v Hollywoodbets Sharks TBC
Zebre Parma v Benetton 17:00
Edinburgh Rugby v Glasgow Warriors 17:00
Wednesday, January 1
Cardiff Rugby v Ospreys 17:00
Scarlets v Dragons RFC 19:15
Vodacom Bulls v Emirates Lions TBC
Munster v Leinster TBC
Connacht v Ulster TBC
R10 – Friday, January 24
Glasgow Warriors v Connacht 21:35
Ospreys v Benetton 21:35
Saturday, January 25
Emirates Lions v Vodacom Bulls 14:45
Scarlets v Edinburgh 17:00
Leinster v DHL Stormers 19:00
Cardiff Rugby v Hollywoodbets Sharks 19:15
Dragons RFC v Munster 21:35
Sunday, January 26
Ulster v Zebre Parma 19:30
R11 – Friday, February 14
Edinburgh Rugby v Zebre Parma 21:35
Ospreys v Leinster 21:35
Saturday, February 15
Emirates Lions v DHL Stormers 14:30
Vodacom Bulls v Hollywoodbets Sharks 17:00
Benetton v Ulster 19:15
Munster v Scarlets 19:15
Connacht v Cardiff Rugby 21:35
Dragons RFC v Glasgow Warriors 21:35
R12 – Friday, February 28
Munster v Edinburgh Rugby 21:35
Zebre Parma v Dragons RFC 21:35
Saturday, March 1
Emirates Lions v Hollywoodbets Sharks 14:30
Vodacom Bulls v DHL Stormers 17:00
Leinster v Cardiff Rugby 17:00
Ulster v Scarlets 19:15
Connacht v Benetton 21:35
Glasgow Warriors v Ospreys 21:35
R13 – Friday, March 21
Cardiff Rugby v Emirates Lions 21:35
Glasgow Warriors v Munster 21:35
Saturday, March 22
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Zebre Parma 14:45
Benetton v Edinburgh Rugby 17:00
Vodacom Bulls v Leinster 17:00
Dragons RFC v Ulster 19:15
Ospreys v Connacht 19:15
Scarlets v DHL Stormers 21:35
R14 – Friday, March 28
Ulster v DHL Stormers 21:35
Edinburgh Rugby v Dragons RFC 21:35
Saturday, March 29
Vodacom Bulls v Zebre Parma 14:45
Scarlets v Ospreys 17:00
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Leinster 19:15
Benetton v Cardiff Rugby 21:35
Glasgow Warriors v Emirates Lions 21:35
Connacht v Munster TBC
R15 – Friday, April 18
Edinburgh Rugby v Hollywoodbets Sharks 20:35
Saturday, April 19
Emirates Lions v Benetton 13:45
Ospreys v Cardiff Rugby 16:00
DHL Stormers v Connacht 16:00
Munster v Vodacom Bulls 18:15
Dragons RFC v Scarlets 18:30
Leinster v Ulster 20:35
Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors 20:35
R16 – Friday, April 25
Glasgow Warriors v Vodacom Bulls 20:35
Cardiff Rugby v Munste 20:35
Saturday, April 26
Emirates Lions v Connacht 16:00
Ospreys v Dragons RFC 16:00
DHL Stormers v Benetton 18:15
Scarlets v Leinster 18:15
Ulster v Hollywoodbets Sharks 20:35
Zebre Parma v Edinburgh Rugby 20:35
R17 – Friday, May 9
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Ospreys 19:00
Munster v Ulster 20:35
Saturday, May 10
Vodacom Bulls v Cardiff Rugby 16:45
DHL Stormers v Dragons RFC 18:15
Leinster v Zebre Parma 18:15
Benetton v Glasgow Warriors 18:15
Connacht v Edinburgh Rugby 20:35
Sunday, May 11
Emirates Lions v Scarlets 15:00
R18 – Friday, May 16
DHL Stormers v Cardiff Rugby 19:00
Edinburgh Rugby v Ulster 20:35
Munster v Benetton 21:00
Saturday, May 17
Vodacom Bulls v Dragons RFC 15:00
Emirates Lions v Ospreys 17:15
Zebre Parma v Connacht 18:00
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Scarlets 19:30
Leinster v Glasgow Warriors 20:35
Quarter Final – Friday, May 30/Saturday, May 31
Semi Final – Saturday, June 7
Grand Final – Saturday, June 14
