The 2026/27 URC Fixtures Revealed

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, clubs, broadcasters and venues more time than ever before to plan around the league’s biggest weekends.

The 2026/27 fixture list has been designed to provide greater balance across the regular season, with a more even spread of home and away fixtures 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 fixtures across Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Wales on the opening weekend, with all five competing territories in action across the first round. The pick of the opening round sees the 2023 BKT URC champions Munster host 2024 champions Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park on Saturday, September 26.

Other Round 1 highlights include Connacht welcoming DHL Stormers to Dexcom Stadium, Lions hosting Leinster at Ellis Park, Ulster facing Edinburgh at Affidea Stadium, and Scarlets meeting Cardiff in a Welsh derby at Parc y Scarlets.

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. Themed rounds will also return during the 2026/27 campaign, with further details to be confirmed by the BKT URC in the near future.

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 Grand 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 clubs and supporters across the competition.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “Publishing our fixtures earlier than ever before is a major achievement and an important step for our clubs, 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 clubs 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 across the season, 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 across the league 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

Additional Information for the 2026/27 Season

 

BKT URC Season Schedule

Round 1: September 25/26
Round 2: October 2/3
Round 3: October 9/10
Round 4: October 23/24
Round 5: October 30/31
Round 6: December 4/5
Round 7: December 18/19
Round 8: December 25/26
Round 9: January 2/3
Round 10: January 22/23
Round 11: January 29/30
Round 12: February 26/27
Round 13: March 19/20
Round 14: March 26/27
Round 15: April 16/17
Round 16: April 23/24
Round 17: May 7/8
Round 18: May 14/15

Play-Off Schedule

 

Quarter-Finals: May 28/29
Semi-Finals: June 5
Grand Final: June 19

 

First 5 Rounds:

ROUND 2 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 

Cardiff v Zebre Parma 

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Edinburgh v DHL Stormers 

Hive Stadium, Edinburgh, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Benetton v Connacht 

Stadio Monigo, Treviso, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, TG4, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 

Lions v Ospreys 

Ellis Park, Johannesburg, KO 12.45 IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Dragons v Scarlets 

Rodney Parade, Newport, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Hollywoodbets Sharks v Leinster 

Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Munster v Vodacom Bulls 

Thomond Park, Limerick, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Glasgow Warriors v Ulster 

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

 

ROUND 3 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 

Glasgow Warriors v Connacht 

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, TG4, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Dragons v Ospreys 

Rodney Parade, Newport, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 

Vodacom Bulls v Lions 

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, KO 12.30 IRE & UK / 13.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

DHL Stormers v Hollywoodbets Sharks 

DHL Stadium, Cape Town, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Zebre Parma v Edinburgh 

Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Scarlets v Benetton 

Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Ulster v Munster 

Affidea Stadium, Belfast, KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Leinster v Cardiff 

Laya Arena, Dublin, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

 

ROUND 4 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 

Cardiff v Hollywoodbets Sharks 

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Connacht v Zebre Parma 

Dexcom Stadium, Galway, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Edinburgh v Lions 

Hive Stadium, Edinburgh, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 

Vodacom Bulls v Ulster 

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, KO 12.45 IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

DHL Stormers v Scarlets 

DHL Stadium, Cape Town, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Benetton v Glasgow Warriors 

Stadio Monigo, Treviso, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Leinster v Munster 

TBC, Dublin, KO 18.00 IRE & UK / 19.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Ospreys v Dragons 

St. Helen’s, Swansea, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

 

ROUND 5 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30 

Connacht v Leinster 

Dexcom Stadium, Galway, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Glasgow Warriors v Lions 

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 

DHL Stormers v Ulster 

DHL Stadium, Cape Town, KO 12.45 IRE & UK / 13.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Vodacom Bulls v Scarlets 

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Benetton v Edinburgh 

Stadio Monigo, Treviso, KO 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Munster v Hollywoodbets Sharks 

Thomond Park, Limerick, KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Dragons v Zebre Parma 

Rodney Parade, Newport, KO 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA 

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv 

Ospreys v Cardiff 

St. Helen’s, Swansea, KO 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA 

Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby, URC.tv