The four South African franchises got their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaigns off to winning start, with the Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers recording bonus–point wins, while the 10bet Lions edged the defending champions.
South African eyes will be on Galway, Johannesburg, Durban, and Parma this weekend as the DHL Stormers, 10bet Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks, and Vodacom Bulls get the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship season underway.
Springbok legend Breyton Paulse has tipped the 10bet Lions as the South African team to watch in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
DHL Stormers coach John Dobson has in his own mind made the connection as to what constitutes success for them in this season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The United Rugby Championship returns this month and will be a crucial season in the build-up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, writes Jon Cardinelli.
Leinster successfully defended their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title with a deserved 36-7 victory (half-time 22-0) over an uncharacteristic hapless Vodacom Bulls side in the Grand Final at Croke Park in Dublin on Friday evening.
The Vodacom Bulls will approach the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final against Leinster with the mindset of third time lucky when the teams meet in a repeat of last year’s decider at Croke Park in Dublin on Friday evening, in what is set to be a humdinger of a match.
Ruan Nortjé’s remarkable journey with the Vodacom Bulls draws to a close this Friday in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final against Leinster, where this humble hard man of the game hopes he can help give this union a trophy as a sign of his own gratitude for what they’ve done for him.
Handré Pollard believes the pure character of a Vodacom Bulls team that has been against the ropes several times this season and fought their way back will be their greatest asset as they chase a first Vodacom United Rugby Championship title in Dublin on Friday 19 June.
The Vodacom Bulls will return to Dublin for a second successive Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final against Leinster after the two teams won their respective semi-finals in an enthralling weekend of rugby.