The four regional Shield trophies on offer in the BKT United Rugby Championship will carry greater reward this season with the league adding prizes for charities and foundations. The BKT URC will share its platforms and a number of promotional rights with the chosen charity partners of each Shield winner from this season and into the future. As part of the league's commitment to purpose-led campaigns, the BKT URC is eager to support the organisations that are so connected to the competition's teams and communities and add an extra layer of pride to the triumph of winning a regional shield. Introduced in 2021, the regional Shields covering Ireland, Italy and Scotland, South Africa and Wales, were used as a mechanism to award four of the league's places in the Investec Champions Cup. As of this season, the Shields no longer provide a qualifying place into the Investec Champions Cup and, as such, only the games against a team's Shield rivals (6) count towards their places in the mini tables. This format allows the BKT URC's closest competitors to trade blow for blow exclusively against each other, and now the four winners will have the added bonus of providing additional marketing assets to their chosen charity or foundation. The lucky charities or foundations will be invited to become guardians of their respective Shield for the following season while also taking part in a presentation ceremony. These organisations will receive match-day assets within the stadium for all of the derby games (12) connected to their respective Shield, while league digital platforms will provide spotlight content to promote their causes. United Rugby Championship CEO Martin Anayi said: "Local rivalries have always brought about a fight for bragging rights, and it's very fulfilling for us to attach tangible rewards for organisations and causes that seek to better the communities of our teams. "Everyone across our league uses their responsibilities as role models to make a positive impact – now through 'Shields for Good' their actions on the pitch will have even more resonance off it."

BKT URC SHIELD GROUPS

Irish: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, Ulster Italian x Scottish: Benetton, Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors, Zebre Parma South African: DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls Welsh: Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys, Scarlets How the Shield format works - Four teams per Shield - Each team plays its three rivals home and away - After all teams have completed their six Shield fixtures, the team ranked number 1 will earn the ‘Shields for Good’ assets for their chosen charity partner or foundation As it Stands – Shield Tables Irish Shield Leinster 14 points Ulster 13 points Connacht 10 points Munster 3 points All teams have played 4 of 6 games Italian x Scottish Shield Benetton 14 points Glasgow Warriors 14 points Edinburgh 9 points Zebre Parma 2 points Games played: Benetton 5, Glasgow Warriors 4, Edinburgh 4, Zebre Parma 3 South African Shield Vodacom Bulls 20 points DHL Stormers 17 points Emirates Lions 12 points Hollywoodbets Sharks 3 points All teams have played 5 of 6 games Welsh Shield Ospreys 14 points Cardiff 12 points Scarlets 11 points Dragons RFC 9 points Games played: Ospreys 4, Cardiff 5, Scarlets 5, Dragons 4 Remaining Fixtures: Irish Shield R16: Munster v Connacht R17: Ulster v Leinster R18: Leinster v Connacht R18: Munster v Ulster Italian x Scottish Shield R15: Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors R16: Edinburgh v Zebre Parma R18: Glasgow Warriors v Zebre Parma R18: Benetton v Edinburgh South African Shield R18: Hollywoodbets Sharks v Vodacom Bulls R18: DHL Stormers v Emirates Lions Welsh Shield R17: Ospreys v Dragons R18: Scarlets v Dragons R18: Cardiff v Ospreys