The full BKT United Rugby Championship fixture list for the 2026/27 season has been officially released, setting a new benchmark for the earliest-ever publication of league fixtures in competition history.
With the new campaign set to kick off on Friday, September 25, the release comes 129 days ahead of round 1, beating last season's previous record of 128 days and giving supporters, tems, broadcasters, and venues more time than ever before to plan around the league’s biggest weekends. Click here for the full fixture list.
The 2026/27 schedule has been designed to provide greater balance across the regular season, with a more even spread of home and away matches and an optimised touring model for South African teams, who will each complete three two-game URC tours during the campaign.
Round 1 will begin with clashes across Ireland, Italy, South Africa, and Wales on the opening weekend, with all five competing territories in action across the first round.
Three of the Irish provinces will kick off the new season at home, as Connacht welcome the DHL Stormers to Dexcom Stadium, Ulster face Edinburgh at Affidea Stadium, and Thomond Park will be the venue for the meeting of 2023 champions Munster and 2024 winners Glasgow Warriors.
Leinster, who contest this Saturday's Investec Champions Cup final in Bilbao, will travel to Johannesburg for their 2026/27 opener, taking on the Lions. They wlll make their return to the RDS, the redeveloped and renamed Laya Arena, against Cardiff in early October.
The first interprovincial encounters are sure to light up rounds 3 and 4, as Ulster and Munster will lock horns in Belfast on Saturday, October 10, before the Leinster-Munster showdown, on Saturday, October 24, at a Dublin venue to be confirmed.
As is now the norm, BKT URC supporters across the globe can download fixtures directly to their devices via the Ecal URC 26/27 calendar, ensuring they never miss a kick-off, no matter their time zone. Please note updates may take up to an hour to sync.
The 2026/27 season promises another thrilling campaign following a record-breaking 2025/26 regular season, which produced the closest-ever 'race to the eight' as teams competed for play-off places and Investec Champions Cup qualification.
Festive derby rounds will again form a major part of the season, with rounds 7, 8, and 9 staged across December and early January, while the race to the eight will build from round 13 as the battle for knock-out rugby intensifies.
The format of the competition remains unchanged, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs. The quarter-finals will begin on Friday, May 28, with the semi-finals taking place from Saturday, June 5, before the final on Saturday, June 19 to crown the 2026/27 champions.
The BKT URC would like to thank its broadcast partners for their collaboration throughout the fixture process, which has played a key role in delivering improved certainty for teams and supporters across the competition.
Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, commented: "Publishing our fixtures earlier than ever before is a major achievement and an important step for our teams, supporters, broadcasters, and venues.
"Fan certainty is hugely important to us. The more notice we can provide around fixtures and kick-off times, the easier it becomes for supporters to plan their weekends, travel to games, and follow their teams throughout the season.
"This has been a very collaborative process with our teams and broadcasters, and we are grateful for the way they have worked with us to deliver a more balanced fixture list. The touring model has helped us create a better cadence of home and away games, while also supporting improved kick-off scheduling.
"After the closest-ever race to the eight in 2025/26, we are preparing for another incredibly dramatic BKT URC season. The level of competitiveness continues to grow and we know every round will have a major impact on the battle for play-off places, European qualification and, ultimately, the title."
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 2026/27 season, Ligalytics again supported the league in developing fixture models that helped deliver essential travel requirements, a balanced home-and-away cadence, stadium availability, local restrictions, and broadcaster needs.
* Please note fixtures may be subject to change
Three of the Irish provinces will kick off the new season at home, as Connacht welcome the DHL Stormers to Dexcom Stadium, Ulster face Edinburgh at Affidea Stadium, and Thomond Park will be the venue for the meeting of 2023 champions Munster and 2024 winners Glasgow Warriors.
Leinster, who contest this Saturday's Investec Champions Cup final in Bilbao, will travel to Johannesburg for their 2026/27 opener, taking on the Lions. They wlll make their return to the RDS, the redeveloped and renamed Laya Arena, against Cardiff in early October.
The first interprovincial encounters are sure to light up rounds 3 and 4, as Ulster and Munster will lock horns in Belfast on Saturday, October 10, before the Leinster-Munster showdown, on Saturday, October 24, at a Dublin venue to be confirmed.
As is now the norm, BKT URC supporters across the globe can download fixtures directly to their devices via the Ecal URC 26/27 calendar, ensuring they never miss a kick-off, no matter their time zone. Please note updates may take up to an hour to sync.
The 2026/27 season promises another thrilling campaign following a record-breaking 2025/26 regular season, which produced the closest-ever 'race to the eight' as teams competed for play-off places and Investec Champions Cup qualification.
Festive derby rounds will again form a major part of the season, with rounds 7, 8, and 9 staged across December and early January, while the race to the eight will build from round 13 as the battle for knock-out rugby intensifies.
The format of the competition remains unchanged, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs. The quarter-finals will begin on Friday, May 28, with the semi-finals taking place from Saturday, June 5, before the final on Saturday, June 19 to crown the 2026/27 champions.
The BKT URC would like to thank its broadcast partners for their collaboration throughout the fixture process, which has played a key role in delivering improved certainty for teams and supporters across the competition.
Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, commented: "Publishing our fixtures earlier than ever before is a major achievement and an important step for our teams, supporters, broadcasters, and venues.
"Fan certainty is hugely important to us. The more notice we can provide around fixtures and kick-off times, the easier it becomes for supporters to plan their weekends, travel to games, and follow their teams throughout the season.
"This has been a very collaborative process with our teams and broadcasters, and we are grateful for the way they have worked with us to deliver a more balanced fixture list. The touring model has helped us create a better cadence of home and away games, while also supporting improved kick-off scheduling.
"After the closest-ever race to the eight in 2025/26, we are preparing for another incredibly dramatic BKT URC season. The level of competitiveness continues to grow and we know every round will have a major impact on the battle for play-off places, European qualification and, ultimately, the title."
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 2026/27 season, Ligalytics again supported the league in developing fixture models that helped deliver essential travel requirements, a balanced home-and-away cadence, stadium availability, local restrictions, and broadcaster needs.
* Please note fixtures may be subject to change