United Rugby Championship's 2026-27 fixtures revealed

Breaking news from the world of sport: United Rugby Championship unveil 2026-27 fixturesImage source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, The United Rugby Championship includes teams from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Italy and South Africa Published30 minutes agoThe United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures for the 2026-27 season have been released more than a month before the current season finishes. It is the earliest occasion the calendar has been issued and is 129 days before the tournament begins on Friday, 25 September. The fixture list has been designed to provide greater balance across the regular season with more of a spread of home and away fixtures.

The South African teams will each complete three two-game URC tours during the campaign. The format remains unchanged with the top eight still qualifying for the play-offs at the end of May and the 2026-2027 Grand Final scheduled for Saturday, 19 June. "Publishing our fixtures earlier than ever before is a major achievement and an important step for our clubs, supporters, broadcasters and venues," said URC chief executive Martin Anayi.

Match Details

"Fan certainty is 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. "Ospreys host Dragons in first St Helen's league gameOspreys will play their first home league game at the new redeveloped St Helen's stadium in Swansea against Dragons on Saturday, 24 October.

Ospreys are away in the first three games, with a two-match trip to South Africa against Sharks and Lions and a Welsh derby at Rodney Parade against Dragons. Ospreys are moving to the ground next season after playing at the Brewery Field in Bridgend in the 2024-25 season. Whether the derby against the Dragons is the first game at St Helen's remains to be seen, because the opening round of European matches are scheduled the weekend before with those fixtures yet to be released.

The opening round will see fixtures across Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Wales, while Scottish duo Glasgow and Edinburgh are away at Munster and Ulster respectively. There is also a Welsh derby to kick-off the season between Scarlets and Cardiff in Llanelli on Saturday, 26 September.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.