Pro14 Rebrands As United Rugby Championship
The Guinness PRO14 has announced a rebrand and a restructure, incorporating the top clubs from South Africa and renaming itself as the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The new competition will kick off in September 2021 and see the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls combine with the Guinness PRO14 to create a 16-team league and paving the way for South Africa Rugby to become a full shareholder in the league alongside the Celtic and Italian unions.
All teams in the URC – including the South African teams – are set to be eligible to qualify for EPCR competitions in time for the 2022/23 season, while the structure will see the United Rugby Championship return to a single-standing table that will prevent clashes with international weekends, while an expanded knock-out series will see a full schedule of quarter-finals and semi-finals capped off by a Grand Final played in a ‘destination venue’.
The new league will also allow South Africa’s former Super Rugby sides to operate in a common time zone which organisers say will help open up greater audiences across the league and increase commercial appeal.
“Fans have always asked more of our league and now we are taking it to new heights,” said Martin Anayi, CEO, United Rugby Championship.
“The United Rugby Championship will see World Cup winners, icons of the Guinness Six Nations, the Rugby Championship and stars of the British & Irish Lions tour turning up the intensity in an exciting new league format.
“Since the origins of the Celtic League in 2001, the vision has been to innovate and evolve in order to create a compelling competition which would challenge our players and teams to be at their very best every single week. Their potential has never been in doubt and now we can provide them with the arena to be the very best.
“Forming the United Rugby Championship will begin to reshape the world of club rugby. We are creating a league that embraces and celebrates difference and where the only way to succeed will be to match the skill and intensity of the international game.
“The arrival of South Africa’s elite teams and the removal of fixtures from international match weekends will make our league stronger across the board. We will see heroes taking on heroes every week in iconic locations to create an appeal that will be unmatched in in the world of club rugby.
“We now have a clear purpose and identity that everyone associated with our league can stand behind. We have listened and we have answered the challenge set by our clubs to take this competition to the next level both on and off the field. North and south will now collide on a regular basis and we cannot wait to see who will rise up as the first champions of the United Rugby Championship.”
Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, added: “South African rugby has for many years imagined a future aligned with northern-hemisphere rugby and this announcement marks the arrival of that vision.
“Our teams will be pitting themselves against the leading clubs from four nations, steeped in rugby tradition and folklore. They’ll do it without having to cross time zones or acclimatise while 100% of matches will kick off in South African prime time.
“This is a watershed moment in South African rugby history, opening new doors and heralding a new and exciting era for our sport.”
