Competition hub · 2026/27
United Rugby
Championship (URC)
Standings, match results, fixtures, club guide and competition news. Follow all 16 teams across Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa — in one place.
2026/27 standings
16 clubs · 40 final scores40 verified full-time results · calculated standings, not a live feed. Official disciplinary adjustments and rare tie-breaks involving try totals require manual checks.
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | BP | +/− | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow Warriors | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | +36 | 23 |
| 2 | Vodacom Bulls | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +108 | 21 |
| 3 | DHL Stormers | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +65 | 21 |
| 4 | Hollywoodbets Sharks | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +33 | 19 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Rugby | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +28 | 19 |
| 6 | Leinster Rugby | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | +68 | 18 |
| 7 | Cardiff Rugby | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +6 | 14 |
| 8 | Dragons RFC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | +9 | 14 |
| 9 | Ospreys | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -35 | 11 |
| 10 | Benetton Rugby | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | +11 | 11 |
| 11 | Connacht Rugby | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -52 | 10 |
| 12 | Munster Rugby | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -20 | 10 |
| 13 | Lions | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -55 | 9 |
| 14 | Scarlets | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | -57 | 9 |
| 15 | Ulster Rugby | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -39 | 9 |
| 16 | Zebre Parma | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | -106 | 2 |
P = played; W = won; D = drawn; L = lost; BP = bonus points; +/− = score difference. League points include bonus points.
Round 4 standings and results source ↗Match centre
2026/27 · All 18 rounds144 regular-season fixtures · 40 verified results · match times are UK/Ireland local. Two Round 8 South African derbies take place in February 2027. Dates and times can change.
URC news & analysis
Editorial previews using verified source material. Independent summaries and original RugbyOrbit match analysis, with external sources provided where relevant.
The third round puts the regional rivalries in focus
The opening derbies provided contrasting tests across South Africa, Ireland and Wales. Compare the match results and read the official round preview.
8 Oct 2026 · URC sourceRead source ↗The 2026/27 schedule creates new derby weekends
Eighteen rounds run from September into May. See when Benetton and Zebre meet and how the regular season is arranged.
19 May 2026 · FIR sourceRead source ↗Why bonus points can change the URC playoff race
Four league points for a win, extra points for four tries or a narrow defeat: understand the impact on qualification.
Explainer · URC rulesRead source ↗These are original RugbyOrbit summaries linking to external sources, not republished third-party articles. No URC media images are copied.
Explore all 16 URC clubs
Select any club to see its available fixtures and results in the Match Centre. Full RugbyOrbit club profiles will follow.
Clubs are grouped by country here. The competition has four regional Shields: Scotland and Italy share one Shield.
Official URC club directory ↗Round 3 by the numbers
Calculated from eight recorded URC match results on 9–10 October 2026, not season-long player statistics.
Player leaderboards and team form statistics will be added when a reliable licensed data source is available.
Previous URC champions
The competition’s five finals since the United Rugby Championship name was introduced in 2021/22.
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Leinster Rugby | Vodacom Bulls | 36–7 ↗ |
| 2024/25 | Leinster Rugby | Vodacom Bulls | 32–7 ↗ |
| 2023/24 | Glasgow Warriors | Vodacom Bulls | 21–16 ↗ |
| 2022/23 | Munster Rugby | DHL Stormers | 19–14 ↗ |
| 2021/22 | DHL Stormers | Vodacom Bulls | 18–13 ↗ |
Scores show the champion’s points first. Each final links to an independent or official match report. A full historical season archive is planned.
2025/26 regular-season standings ↗RugbyOrbit analysis · 11 October 2026
Three things the Round 3 scorelines reveal
A short original recap based on completed results, with no speculation about unreported performances.
Bulls make the biggest impact
The Vodacom Bulls beat the Lions 57–15, the round’s widest victory and highest individual team score. The 42-point gap is much larger than any other Round 3 result.
A close finish for Scarlets
Scarlets edged Benetton 27–26, a one-point result with obvious implications for league bonus points. Meanwhile, the Ospreys won 38–31 away to Dragons in another Welsh derby.
No winner in Belfast
Ulster and Munster finished level at 26–26, the only draw in this set of eight results. Each receives two league points before any applicable try bonus is added.
Results source: official URC homepage ↗. Summary reflects Round 3 scores only, not match-by-match tactical footage or season-wide rankings.
REGIONAL COMPETITION
The four URC Shields
2026/27 · After Round 3 · Provisional snapshot (verified 16 October 2026)
Four local rivalries, four separate standings. Only derby games between clubs in the same regional Shield count towards the points below. These points are separate from the main URC table.
Irish Shield
| Club | P | W | D | L | +/− | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Munster Rugby | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2Ulster Rugby | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3Connacht Rugby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4Leinster Rugby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Welsh Shield
| Club | P | W | D | L | +/− | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dragons RFC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +5 | 3 | 7 |
| 2Ospreys | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 1 | 5 |
| 3Cardiff Rugby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 0 | 4 |
| 4Scarlets | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -18 | 2 | 2 |
Scottish / Italian Shield
| Club | P | W | D | L | +/− | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Edinburgh Rugby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +17 | 1 | 5 |
| 2Benetton Rugby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3Glasgow Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4Zebre Parma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -17 | 0 | 0 |
South African Shield
| Club | P | W | D | L | +/− | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Vodacom Bulls | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +42 | 1 | 5 |
| 2DHL Stormers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +17 | 1 | 5 |
| 3Hollywoodbets Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -17 | 0 | 0 |
| 4Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -42 | 0 | 0 |
Key: P played · W won · D drawn · L lost · +/− points difference · BP bonus points · Pts Shield competition points.
Data note: Provisional figures derived from 2026/27 derby results through 10 October, using match bonus points. The official URC Shield webpage currently shows an earlier snapshot, so these are not official live tables. Figures are manually calculated from completed regional derby matches and may differ from the organiser’s delayed Shield webpage. Official URC Shields ↗ · League table reference ↗
How the URC works
Clear answers to questions supporters frequently ask about the league.
Each club plays its three regional rivals twice, home and away, and faces the other 12 teams once. All results count in one combined league table.
Four points for a win and two for a draw, with a bonus point available for four tries scored or for losing by seven points or fewer.
The top eight qualify for quarter-finals. The winners advance to semi-finals and then the final to decide the champion.
What are the four geographical pools?
Irish, Welsh, South African and Scottish/Italian. They schedule local derby matches and contribute to regional Shield competitions, while all 16 clubs compete in the same overall standings.
Why can a losing team still earn a league point?
A losing team can collect a bonus point for scoring at least four tries, for losing by seven points or fewer, or both. A narrow loss with four tries can therefore be worth two league points.
Does the team finishing first win the URC?
No. Finishing first gives a high playoff seeding, but the title is decided through quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.
Building the full RugbyOrbit competition network
Explore the standings, fixtures, match results and regional derbies in one place. RugbyOrbit uses independently assembled, dated competition information. Check the official match centre for late fixture changes.
URC 2026/27 at a glance
One competition, five rugby nations, and a single league table.
The United Rugby Championship brings together professional clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa. Teams play a regular season of 18 matches, and the top eight in the combined league table advance to a knockout playoff series. Four geographical groups also shape derby fixtures. This independent guide is designed to help supporters follow both the national rivalries and the overall race for the title.