The full Vodacom United Rugby Championship schedule for the 2024/25 campaign is now available thanks to the first-ever in-season launch of the following seasons’ fixtures.
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.
As is the norm, URC fans across the world can download fixtures directly to their devices using this Ecal URC 24/25 link to ensure they never miss a kick-off no matter what time zone they are in. (Note: updates can take up to an hour).
The league will kick off on Friday, 20 September with Leinster visiting Edinburgh and Cardiff hosting Zebre Parma on the first day of the new 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 EPCR Challenge Cup champions, the Hollywoodbets Sharks, will take on the Emirates Lions in what is sure to be a highly entertaining encounter.
The derby showcase will also continue with the popular December coastal summer holiday fixtures that have been embraced by South African rugby fans and attracted some of the biggest fan turnouts in the history of the competition.
Cape Town will lead the way as the Mother City welcomes the Lions and Sharks for two clashes against the Stormers on Saturday 21 December and Saturday 28 December respectively. And the Bulls will travel to Durban to face the Sharks on Saturday 21 December.
The South African derbies have been a success story in the new competition leading to overall record attendance rounds throughout the league and highlighted by the North-South Derby between the Bulls and Stormers in March this year which drew over 50 000 spectators to Loftus Versfeld.
“The South African derbies are some of the biggest matches in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and they bring a whole different energy to the competition which fans have embraced, from selling out Loftus Versfeld to the incredible turnout for the festive season matches,” said Michelle van Eyden, Head of Sponsorship for Vodacom.
“The players have also expressed how the derbies create that sense of playing for something bigger amongst themselves, so we’re delighted that Season 4 will build on this and allow us to create even more value and entertainment for the fans.”
The South African teams also face an interesting start to their campaigns with an opportunity to gain some early points on tour.
After the opening round, the Bulls have two home fixtures against Edinburgh and Ulster but will then see an opportunity to pick up points on the road against the Ospreys, Scarlets, Benetton and Connacht.
The Stormers and Sharks travel immediately after the opening round.
The Stormers will also feel confident about the possibility of early away points as they face the Ospreys, Zebre Parma and Edinburgh.
The Sharks open their away campaign against Connacht followed by the Dragons and Benetton.
The Lions face Ulster and Edinburgh at home before taking to the road against the Dragons and Zebre Parma, and then have tough tour matches against Leinster and Munster.
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. A full FAQ on fixtures is available by clicking here.
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.
The league would also like to thank Dragons RFC and Ospreys, who both share venues with football teams, to allow the scheduling work to begin ahead of the publication of the EFL fixture list. This continues to allow considerable amount of progress to occur much earlier than in previous years and to deliver earlier publishing of the fixtures.
Also, in the previous season, all derby games in Wales will occur in afternoon or late afternoon slots thanks to the support of all broadcasters involved.
The Grand Final will take place on Saturday 14 June 2025.
Vodacom URC Round 1 fixtures – 2024/25 Season (SA times)
Friday, 20 September
8.35pm - Cardiff Rugby v Zebre Parma
8.35pm - Edinburgh Rugby v Leinster
Saturday, 21 September
3.45pm - Hollywoodbets Sharks v Emirates Lions
4pm - Dragons RFC v Ospreys
6.15pm - DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls
6.30pm - Munster v Connacht
8.35pm - Benetton v Scarlets
8.45pm - Ulster v Glasgow Warriors
For the full fixture list, please click here
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