The United Rugby Championship returns on Sept. 20 with the fourth season under its current format that features 16 teams divided into four shields. 

The season will begin on Sept. 20 with Round 1 action and will span 18 rounds of regular season matches before the playoffs begin on May 30. 

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The top eight teams from the league qualify for the playoffs and the mission is to end the season at the Grand Final, which will be played at the highest-seeded team’s home grounds at 10 a.m. ET on June 14. 

URC action is streaming live in the United States all season long. Here’s what to know. 

How To Watch URC Rugby In The United States

Every URC match is streaming live in the United States on FloRugby and the FloSports app. Replays, highlights and breaking news will be on both platforms.

What Is The United Rugby Championship Format?

The URC is 16 clubs divided into four shields: 

Irish Shield: 

• Leinster Rugby 
• Munster Rugby 
• Ulster Rugby
• Connacht Rugby

Italian And Scottish Shield: 

• Glasgow Warriors 
• Edinburgh Rugby 
• Zebre Parma 
• Benetton Rugby 

South African Shield: 

• Vodacom Bulls
• DHL Stormers
• Emirates Lions
• Hollywoodbets Sharks

Welsh Shield: 

• Ospreys 
• Scarlets
• Cardiff Rugby 
• Dragons RFC

The shields used to play a bigger role in the EPCR qualifications, but Investec Champions Cup more or less ignores the shield winners and takes the top eight teams. 

How Do URC Teams Make The Playoffs?

The top eight teams in the standings, or table, advance to the playoffs. The team with the best record in the regular season will host the playoff game. 

How Does The 2024-2025 URC Season Schedule Work?

The rugby schedule in general can be a difficult one to understand, especially for U.S. sports fans used to seeing teams play in one league for eight months straight. 

The URC plays 16 rounds from Sept. 20 to May 17. In that span, the league will enter several hiatuses.

The teams that finished in the top eight of the standings the previous season will play for the Investec Champions Cup-- the European Professional Club Championship. The bottom eight teams will play in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Last year, Leinster Rugby lost for the third straight year in the Champions Cup Final, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks won the Challenge Cup. 

This year there will be nearly a month between Round 7 and Round 8 (Nov. 30-Dec. 20) as the European championship tournaments pool play begins on Dec. 6. Another month gap will be between Round 9 and Round 10 (Jan. 1-Jan. 24).

The URC season also deal with international teams taking players for the Autumn Nations and Six Nations tournaments. 

Here's Where To Find The URC Schedule On FloRugby

Where Are The United Rugby Championship Teams From?

Some teams bear the name of the cities they are from. The Scottish teams are from Glasgow and Edinburgh. But the rest can be confusing. 

Irish Shield: 

Irish teams are named after their provinces in Ireland. Leinster in the east, Munster in the south, Connacht in the west and Ulster in the north. Here are the cities they call home:

• Leinster Rugby: Dublin
• Munster Rugby: Limerick and Cork
• Ulster Rugby: Belfast
• Connacht Rugby: Galway

Italian And Scottish Shield: 

The Scottish clubs keep things easy. The Italians not so much. Zebra Parma is named after the town they play in, Parma, Italy, but the first name comes from the Zebra-like stripes the club wears. Benetton is named after the clothing company that has owned the team since 1979. But it used to be named "Benetton Rugby Treviso" after the town it plays in. Here's where the teams play:

• Glasgow Warriors
• Edinburgh Rugby
• Zebre Parma: Parma
• Benetton Rugby: Treviso

South African Shield: 

South African clubs have sponsorship deals that provide the names. Here's where the clubs play:

• Vodacom Bulls: Pretoria
• DHL Stormers: Cape Town
• Emirates Lions: Johannesburg
• Hollywoodbets Sharks: Durban

Welsh Shield: 

Here's where the clubs are from: 

• Ospreys: Swansea
• Scarlets: Llanelli
• Cardiff Rugby: Cardiff 
• RFC Dragons: Newport

What Were The 2023-2024 URC Final Standings?

Here is the table from last season: 

When Does The 2024-2025  Investec Champions Cup Begin? When Is The Champions Cup Final?

The Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup begin on Dec. 6 and the four-round pool play action ends on Jan. 19, 2025. The Round of 16 starts on April 4, while the quarterfinals are April 11-13 and the semifinals are May 2-4. 

The EPCR Championships weekend is in Cardiff, Wales at Principality Stadium. There are championship games on May 23 (EPCR Challenge Cup) and May 24 (Investec Champions Cup). 

What Are The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Pools?

Here are the pools. 

Investec Champions Cup: 

• Toulouse (Stade Toulousain)
• Bordeaux-Bègles (Union Bordeaux-Bègles)
• Hollywoodbets Sharks
• Exeter Chiefs
• Leicester Tigers
• Ulster Rugby

Pool 2:

• Leinster Rugby
• Clermont Auvergne (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
• La Rochelle (Stade Rochelais)
• Bristol Bears
• Benetton Rugby
• Bath Rugby

Pool 3:

• Northampton Saints
• Munster Rugby
• Vodacom Bulls
• Stade Français Paris
• Saracens
• Castres Olympique

Pool 4:

• Glasgow Warriors
• Racing 92
• Sale Sharks
• DHL Stormers
• Toulon (RC Toulon)
• Harlequins

EPCR Challenge Cup

Pool 1:

• Cardiff Rugby
• Connacht Rugby
• Toyota Cheetahs
• Perpignan (USAP)
• Lyon Olympique Universitaire (Lyon O.U.)
• Zebre Parma

Pool 2:

• Montpellier Hérault Rugby
• Pau (Section Paloise)
• Newcastle Falcons
• Dragons RFC
• Emirates Lions
• Ospreys

Pool 3:

• RC Vannes
• Black Lion
• Bayonne (Aviron Bayonnais)
• Scarlets
• Edinburgh Rugby
• Gloucester Rugby

How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby

FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to: 

• Investec Champions Cup
• EPCR Challenge Cup
• Currie Cup
• Top 14
• Super Rugby
• And more

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

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