BKT URC Fixtures Confirmed For 2025/26 Season

With the campaign set to get underway on September 26, this release arrives 128 days ahead of round 1, beating the previous benchmark of 114 days.

The record-setting publication offers fans and teams more time than ever before to plan their schedules around the league’s biggest moments.

Round 1 will kick off in Cape Town where eight-time league winners Leinster will play the DHL Stormers, who won the URC title in 2022, at DHL Stadium on Friday, September 26.

Matches will take place across the opening weekend in all five competing territories, with Connacht and Ulster both beginning the new season with home matches, respectively hosting Benetton Rugby in Galway on Saturday, September 27, and the Dragons in Belfast the previous night.

Munster, who have joined Leinster in this season’s URC play-offs, will head to Llanelli for their first game under incoming head coach Clayton McMillan. They visit the Scarlets for an early evening kick-off on Saturday, September 27.

As is now the norm, BKT URC supporters across the globe can download fixtures directly to their devices via the Ecal BKT URC 25/26 calendar, ensuring they never miss a kick-off — no matter their time zone. (Note: updates may take up to an hour to sync).

The full written fixtures are available to view here.

The 2025/26 season promises a packed calendar of action, including festive derby rounds which are once again locked in for rounds 7, 8, and 9, while the ‘Race to the Eight’ steps up from round 13 as teams compete for quarter-final places and Investec Champions Cup qualification.

The first interprovincial derbies will see Leinster and Munster go head-to-head on Saturday, October 18, and Munster and Connacht clash the following week.

Dexcom Stadium – with its new North Stand expected to be completed by the end of the year – and Thomond Park are sure to be packed out on Saturday, December 27 for the Connacht-Ulster and Munster-Leinster match-ups.

The Christmas cheer will give way to New Year celebrations when Ulster host Munster on Friday, January 2, ahead of Connacht’s encounter with Leinster in Dublin the next day.

A range of themed rounds such as the Kids Round, Origin Round, and Unity Round will be confirmed in the coming weeks, enhancing the match-day experience for fans and teams alike.

The format of the competition remains unchanged, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs which start on May 29. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday, June 6, followed by the final on Saturday, June 20 to crown the 2025/26 champions.

Broadcast coverage for fixtures will continue to evolve, with additional partners to be announced as talks with a free-to-air partner in the UK and in international territories continue.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “Advance planning is critical to the success of the United Rugby Championship, and it is fantastic that we have continued to raise the bar in publishing our fixtures as early as possible.

“For teams and fans, planning their weekends and knowing where their teams are playing so far ahead of time makes a big difference.

“The drama and excitement of the BKT URC is matched by the complexity of putting all of the pieces of the fixture list together, but it is made much easier thanks to the support of our teams and broadcasters to assist us in this process.

“For the moment, we look forward to the play-offs that kick off next week after another regular season full of surprises. The ‘Race to the Eight’ provided huge jeopardy, and now we move into the ultimate ‘win or go home’ stage of the competition which will lift the intensity up to another level.”

The BKT URC fixture process continues to benefit from its work with Ligalytics, a German sports data and scheduling firm trusted across rugby, football, cricket, basketball, and hockey.

For the 2025/26 season, Ligalytics produced 202 workable fixture models based on over 4,000 individual constraints – allowing the league to deliver on essential travel requirements, support a balanced cadence of home and away fixtures across the full competition, and accommodate stadium availability and local restrictions.

* Please note fixtures may be subject to change

Additional Information for the 2025/26 Season –

Touring Windows

• Multi-game tours can take place between rounds 1–5, and rounds 13–18
• Single-game tours are scheduled in rounds 6 and 10, aligning with EPCR windows

2025/26 BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – 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-OFFS –

Quarter-Finals: May 29/30
Semi-Finals: June 6/7
Final: June 20

2025/26 BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 1 FIXTURES:

Friday, September 26 –

DHL Stormers v LEINSTER, DHL Stadium, 7pm local time/6pm Irish time (live SuperSport/TG4/Premier Sports)

ULSTER v Dragons, Ulster Rugby Stadium, 8.05pm (live Premier Sports/SuperSport)

Glasgow Warriors v Hollywoodbets Sharks, Scotstoun Stadium, 8.05pm (live Premier Sports/SuperSport)

Saturday, September 27 –

Vodacom Bulls v Ospreys, Loftus Versfeld Stadium, 2pm local time (live SuperSport/Premier Sports)

Zebre Parma v Edinburgh, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 4.05pm local time (live Premier Sports/SuperSport)

Scarlets v MUNSTER, Parc y Scarlets, 5.30pm (live Premier Sports/SuperSport)

Cardiff v Emirates Lions, Cardiff Arms Park, 7.45pm (live Premier Sports/SuperSport)

CONNACHT v Benetton, Dexcom Stadium, 7.45pm (live TG4/Premier Sports/SuperSport)