SA Rugby becomes shareholder in URC

The United Rugby Championship confirmed on Wednesday that the South African Rugby Union has become the league’s sixth shareholder, joining the Irish, Italian, Scottish and Welsh rugby unions, along with CVC Capital Partners, as shareholders in Pro Rugby Championship DAC, the company that operates the league.

SA Rugby’s relationship with the competition dates back to 2018 when the Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings joined the PRO14. In 2021, the launch of the Vodacom URC introduced the Lions, DHL Stormers, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls.

Since then, the Vodacom URC has achieved significant growth across broadcast audiences, digital engagement and match attendances, with SA Rugby and its teams playing a pivotal role in that success.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “There is no doubt about the hugely positive impact South African rugby has had on our league and confirmation of their addition as a shareholder was always part of the roadmap. In 2018 and again in 2021, South African rugby showed vision and courage in reshaping where their teams competed, and this milestone is a testament to that foresight.

“From a fan’s perspective, nothing changes. But from a business standpoint, our URC team will now work even more closely with South African teams, partners, broadcasters and stakeholders to continue elevating the league. This alignment across both hemispheres will create day-to-day efficiencies and open the door to exploring new ideas at a faster pace.

“On behalf of our chairman, David Lynn and the rest of our board, we extend our thanks to Rian Oberholzer, Mark Alexander and the team at SA Rugby for reaching this point. Our five territories remain fully committed to the URC’s vision and we look forward to building on the successes of the past four years.”

Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “This is red letter day for South African rugby and marks the completion of a journey that began eight years ago when we first contemplated a northern hemisphere future. There have been doubters over the years but the vision we shared with Martin Anayi and the URC team has now come to pass and we look forward to growing the competition as full partners with our colleagues in the north.

“The competition has gone from strength-to-strength and with four different winners in the first four seasons of our participation it has proved itself as arguably the most competitive league in rugby. It has been good for our rugby and we look forward to many more years of success.”

The URC and SA Rugby would also like to express their immense gratitude to the league’s key commercial stakeholders in South Africa – title sponsors Vodacom, broadcast partners SuperSport as well as Qatar Airways, SA Breweries and Outsurance – whose support has helped change the game.

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