Today · 3:00 PM UTC
Glasgow Warriors vs Edinburgh
Today · 8:05 PM UTC
Lyon OU vs Stade Toulousain
Dec 26, 5:15 PM UTC
Dragons vs Cardiff
Dec 28, TBD
DHL Stormers vs Sharks
Dec 28, 1:00 PM UTC
Section Paloise vs RC Vannes
Dec 28, 3:00 PM UTC
Edinburgh vs Glasgow Warriors
Dec 28, 3:00 PM UTC
Aviron Bayonnais vs Castres Olympique
Dec 28, 3:00 PM UTC
Zebre Parma vs Benetton
Dec 28, 5:00 PM UTC
ASM-Rugby vs MHR
Dec 28, 8:05 PM UTC
Union Bordeaux vs RC Toulonnais
Dec 29, 3:00 PM UTC
Racing 92 vs Lyon OU
Dec 29, 5:00 PM UTC
Perpignan vs Stade Rochelais
Dec 29, 8:05 PM UTC
Stade Toulousain vs Stade Francais
Jan 1, 2025, TBD
Vodacom Bulls vs Lions
Jan 1, 2025, TBD
Connacht vs Ulster

How To Watch Leinster Rugby In The United States In 2024-2025

How To Watch Leinster Rugby In The United States In 2024-2025

Leinster Rugby begin its 2024-2025 season, and every match is streaming in the United States. Here's how.

Sep 20, 2024 by Joe Harrington
Jamison Gibson-Park vs Northampton Saints

Leinster Rugby enters the 2024-2025 season hoping to finish the job this year. 

The Dublin club that recently was ranked as the No. 2 team in the world has reached three consecutive Investec Champions Cup Finals, finished in the top 3 of the United Rugby Championship table and generally has beaten just about all the top teams in Europe and South Africa over the last three years. 

But they haven’t won a major championship since 2021, the last season before the South African Shield joined the Guinness PRO14, transforming that league into the URC. Leinster hasn’t won a Champions Cup since 2018, sitting on four, just behind Toulouse, which won its sixth title this past spring by beating Leinster. 

But it's a new year, and no team re-stocked itself more than Leinster, which will welcome South African star and former Munster Rugby star RG Snyman, along with New Zealand All Blacks captain Jordie Barrett to the team this season. They join a team that already is loaded with stars, including Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Dan Sheehan. 

Every Leinster Rugby match is streaming live in the United States. Here’s what to know:

How To Watch Leinster Rugby In The United States

Every URC and Investec Champions Cup 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 sports fans in the United States 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 in which they play, 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, though it used to be named "Benetton Rugby Treviso" after the town in which it plays. 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: 


URC Clubs

PL

W

D

L

BP

PF

PA

DIFF

PTS

1

MUNSTER RUGBY

18

13

1

4

14

483

318

165

68

2

VODACOM BULLS

18

13

0

5

14

639

433

206

66

3

LEINSTER RUGBY

18

13

0

5

13

554

350

204

65

4

GLASGOW WARRIORS

18

13

0

5

13

519

353

166

65

5

DHL STORMERS

18

12

0

6

11

468

348

120

59

6

ULSTER RUGBY

18

11

0

7

10

437

409

28

54

7

BENETTON RUGBY

18

11

1

6

8

411

400

11

54

8

OSPREYS

18

10

0

8

10

414

449

-35

50

9

EMIRATES LIONS

18

9

0

9

14

526

398

128

50

10

EDINBURGH RUGBY

18

11

0

7

5

416

397

19

49

11

CONNACHT RUGBY

18

9

0

9

9

404

432

-28

45

12

CARDIFF RUGBY

18

4

1

13

14

389

414

-25

32

13

SCARLETS

18

5

0

13

7

313

575

-262

27

14

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS

18

4

0

14

9

343

431

-88

25

15

DRAGONS RFC

18

3

0

15

4

300

611

-311

16

16

ZEBRE PARMA

18

1

1

16

9

345

643

-298

15

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

The EPCR Championships weekend is at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. There are championship games 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: 

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social