Can Lions Topple Champions Leinster? All 4 SA Franchises Kick Off URC Season This Weekend
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, before attention shifts to the Springboks’ Test against Australia in Perth on Sunday.
It is still early days, but the Grand Final, scheduled for Saturday, 19 June 2027, will already be on the minds of all 16 teams as they begin their respective campaigns this weekend.
The DHL Stormers will be the first South African side in action when they take on Irish side Connacht in Galway on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the focus shifts to the Republic when the 10bet Lions host two-time defending champions Leinster, also from Ireland, in Johannesburg, before the Hollywoodbets Sharks take on the Ospreys from Wales in Durban.
The Vodacom Bulls’ clash against Zebre Parma in Italy will be the final match for a South African team in the opening round.
In Galway, two teams that made the playoffs last season will go hammer and tongs in their bid to get those valuable first log points on the board. The DHL Stormers, champions of the inaugural season in 2021/22, have won four of the last five Vodacom URC meetings between the sides, although Connacht won the most recent encounter in Cape Town last year.
John Dobson’s side will be well aware of Connacht’s recent run at home, where they are on a five-match winning streak. The DHL Stormers, however, were victorious on their last visit to Galway, winning 16-12 in May 2024.
At the same time, the Capetonians will be looking to turn around their recent fortunes in Ireland, where they have won just one of their last five matches.
In Johannesburg, the 10bet Lions will be keen to start with a bang after reaching the Vodacom URC playoffs for the first time last season.
Ivan van Rooyen’s side could hardly have asked for a tougher start, though, against a star-studded Leinster team that lifted the trophy in the last two seasons and eliminated the 10bet Lions in the 2025 quarter-finals along the way.
Leinster have struggled in South Africa, however, winning just one of their last eight matches in the Republic – against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in March 2025. The 10bet Lions, meanwhile, won the corresponding fixture 44-12 in April 2024.
The winners of the Welsh Shield last season, the Ospreys, are in Durban, where JP Pietersen’s Hollywoodbets Sharks will be aiming for a better campaign after both sides missed out on the playoffs last season.
The KwaZulu-Natalians finished last season with back-to-back victories but still ended in 10th place. They will also hope to benefit from home advantage after losing just once in their last eight Vodacom URC matches at the Shark Tank.
Furthermore, the Ospreys have lost their last five matches in South Africa, while the home team has won the last four meetings between the sides, including a 29-10 victory in May 2025.
The Vodacom Bulls, runners-up in the last two seasons of the Vodacom URC, will be very mindful of not underestimating Zebre Parma when the sides clash in northern Italy.
Johann Ackermann’s Pretoria side – who have never lost to the club from Parma – will be aiming to reach their fifth Grand Final in six years. That includes a 54-29 victory in Italy in November 2023. First, however, they must get points on the board against a Zebre side that started last season with back-to-back victories.
The Vodacom Bulls can take some early-season confidence into the clash, though, having won their opening Vodacom URC fixture in each of the last four seasons. They have also lost just once in their last five trips to Italy.
Match Information
Connacht v DHL Stormers
- Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
- Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway
- SA time: 20h45
- Referee: Sam Grove-White
- TV: SuperSport
10bet Lions v Leinster
- Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026
- Venue: 10bet Ellis Park, Johannesburg
- SA time: 13h30
- Referee: Ben Breakspear
- TV: SuperSport
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Ospreys
- Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026
- Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
- SA time: 16h00
- Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi
- TV: SuperSport
Zebre Parma v Vodacom Bulls
- Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026
- Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
- SA time: 18h30
- Referee: Andrew Brace
- TV: SuperSport
