2025–26 Bulls (rugby union) season

Bulls
2025–26 season
Head coachJohan Ackermann
Highest home attendance14,122 (Rd 6 v Lions)
Lowest home attendance2,992 (Rd 1 v Ospreys)
Average home attendance8017
← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 season will be the Bulls' fifth season in the United Rugby Championship, their 31st season of professional rugby. Along with competing in the URC itself and its South African Shield competition, the club will also participate in the 2025-26 European Rugby Champions Cup.

Squad and personnel

Transfers

Main article: Bulls (rugby union)

United Rugby Championship

Matches

The full list of fixtures for the 2025–26 season were released by the league on 21 March 2025.[10][11][12]

27 September 2025 (1 BP) Bulls 53 – 40 Ospreys (1 BP) Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
13:00 Try: Coetzee (8', 21')
Grobbelaar (39', 45', 58')
Jooste (51', 72')
Serfontein (61')
Else (68')
Con: Johannes (9', 40', 59', 69')
 Report Try: Giles (2', 80')
Keiran Williams (6', 35')
Walsh (30')
Morse (66')
Con: Edwards (6', 31', 36', 66', 81')
 Attendance: 2 992
Referee: Peter Martin
4 October 2025 (1 BP) Bulls 39 – 31 Leinster (1 BP) Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
17:30 Try: de Klerk (4')
Kriel (16', 78')
Gumede (41')
le Roux (58')
Jacobs (68')
Con: Johannes (5', 42')
Kriel (79')
Pen: Johannes (35')
 Report Try: Clarkson (30')
Cooney (44')
T. O'Brien (46')
Penny (66')
Con: Prendergast (31', 45', 47', 66')
Pen: Prendergast (20')
Cards: Connors 21' to 31' 		Attendance: 6 937
Referee: Adam Jones
11 October 2025 (1 BP) Ulster 28 – 7 Bulls Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast  
19:45 Try: McCloskey (22')
Augustus (49')
Herring (54')
Izuchukwu(57')
Con: Doak (22', 50', 55', 58')
Cards: Herring  27' 		Report Try: Louw (27')
Con: Pollard (28')
Cards: Rudolph  47' 		Attendance: 10,629
Referee: Mike Adamson
17 October 2025 (1 BP) Connacht 27 – 28 Bulls The Sportsground, Galway  
19:45 Try: Ioane(10')
Blade(45')
Naughton (68')
Hansen (79')
Con: Ioane (11', 46')
Pen: Naughton (74')
Cards: Murphy  19' 		report Try: de Wet (13', 54')
le Roux (20')
Con: Johannes (21', 55')
Pen: Johannes (63', 72')
Drop: Johannes (43')
 Attendance: 4,000[13]
Referee: Mike Adamson
24 October 2025 Glasgow Warriors 21 – 12 Bulls Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow  
19:45 Try: Tuipulotu (5'c)
penalty try (65')
McBeth (70'c)
Con: Hastings (6', 71')
Cards: McBeth,  53' 		Report
Scoreboard 		Try: Jacobs (11'm)
le Roux (49'c)
Con: Johannes (49')
Cards: Klopper  65' 		Attendance: 6,848[14]
Referee: Craig Evans
29 November 2025 (1 BP) Bulls 33 – 43 Lions (1 BP) Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
12:00 Try: Papier (30' c, 33' c)
A. van der Merwe (40' m)
Johannes (76' c)
de Klerk(77' c)
Con: Johannes (4/5) (31', 34', 76', 78')
 Report Try: Mpeku (19'c) Steyn (23' c, 74' c)
Cairns (36' m)
E. Oosthuizen (52' c)
Keyter (72' c)
Con: CW Smith (5/6) (19', 24', 53', 73', 74')
Pen: CW Smith (11')
 Attendance: 14,122
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
20 December 2025 Sharks v Bulls Kings Park Stadium, Durban  
16:00
TBC Bulls v Stormers Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
TBC
3 January 2026 Stormers v Bulls Cape Town Stadium  
16:00
23 January 2026 Edinburgh v Bulls Edinburgh Rugby Stadium  
19:45
31 January 2026 Lions v Bulls Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg  
12:30
28 February 2026 Bulls v Sharks Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
15:00
20 March 2026 Bulls v Cardiff Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
17:00
28 March 2026 Bulls v Munster Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
12:00
17 April 2026 Dragons v Bulls Rodney Parade, Newport  
19:45
25 April 2026 Scarlets v Bulls Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli  
19:45
9 May 2026 Bulls v Zebre Parma Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
12:45
16 May 2026 Bulls v Benetton Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria  
15:00

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Stormers 7 7 0 0 218 87 +131 27 10 4 0 32 Qualifies for home URC quarter-final;
Qualification for the 2026–27 Champions Cup
2 Munster 7 6 0 1 172 126 +46 25 19 4 1 29
3 Cardiff 7 5 0 2 157 122 +35 24 16 4 2 26
4 Glasgow Warriors 7 5 0 2 185 99 +86 26 12 4 1 25
5 Ulster 6 4 0 2 202 140 +62 29 20 5 1 22 Qualifies for URC quarter-final;
Qualification for the 2026–27 Champions Cup
6 Leinster 7 4 0 3 174 166 +8 27 23 4 1 21
7 Lions 7 3 0 4 203 212 −9 27 30 3 2 17
8 Connacht 6 2 0 4 148 139 +9 21 19 4 3 15
9 Bulls 7 3 0 4 184 211 −27 26 30 3 0 15 Qualification for the 2026–27 Challenge Cup
10 Benetton 7 3 0 4 122 191 −69 13 28 1 0 13
11 Edinburgh 6 2 0 4 140 112 +28 22 18 2 3 13
12 Sharks 7 2 1 4 134 192 −58 20 24 2 0 12
13 Zebre Parma 7 2 0 5 121 203 −82 16 29 2 1 11
14 Dragons 7 1 2 4 132 203 −71 17 30 1 1 10
15 Scarlets 6 2 0 4 102 143 −41 12 19 0 0 8
16 Ospreys 7 1 1 5 137 185 −48 20 28 1 1 8
Updated to match(es) played on 20 December 2025. Source: UnitedRugby.com
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won 2) The difference between points for and points against 3) The number of tries scored 4) The most points scored 5) The difference between tries for and tries against 6) The fewest red cards received 7) The fewest yellow cards received.[15]


2025–26 United Rugby Championship Regional Shield tables
South African Shield
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts Pos overall
1 Lions 2 1 0 1 70 67 +3 9 9 1 1 6 —
2 Stormers 1 1 0 0 34 27 +7 4 3 1 0 5
3 Sharks 1 1 0 0 21 12 +9 3 0 0 0 4 —
4 Bulls 2 0 0 2 45 64 -19 5 9 1 0 1 ——
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[16]
  1. number of matches won
  2. the difference between points for and points against
  3. the number of tries scored
  4. the most points scored
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against
  6. the fewest red cards received
  7. the fewest yellow cards received
Green background indicates teams currently leading the regional shield. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, these teams win their respective regional shields.

(S) : URC Shield champion

European competition

Bulls were drawn in Pool 4 of the 2025-26 European Rugby Champions Cup alongside URC rivals Scarlets (who they will not meet in the pool stage as per the rules of the competition) along with reigning European champions Union Bordeaux Bègles and Pau from France, and Bristol Bears and last year's Champions Cup runners up Northampton Saints from the English Premiership.

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 4
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Northampton Saints 2 2 0 0 85 32 +53 13 4 2 0 10 Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2 Bordeaux Bègles 2 2 0 0 96 54 +42 15 8 2 0 10
3 Bristol Bears 2 2 0 0 78 28 +50 12 3 1 0 9 Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4 Scarlets 2 0 0 2 37 67 −30 4 11 0 1 1
5 Bulls 2 0 0 2 38 96 −58 6 15 1 0 1 Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6 Pau 2 0 0 2 39 96 −57 5 14 0 0 0
Source: EPCR[17]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.
European Rugby Champions Cup : Pool matches
6 December 2025
16:15
Bulls v Bordeaux Bègles
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
14 December 2025
15:15
Northampton Saints v Bulls
cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
10 January 2026
14:00
Bulls v Bristol Bears
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
16 January 2026
20:00
Pau v Bulls
Stade du Hameau, Pau

Home attendance

Following Round 5 of URC:

Domestic League European Rugby Champions Cup Total
League Fixtures Total attendance Average attendance Highest Lowest League Fixtures Total attendance Average attendance Highest Lowest Total attendance Average attendance
2025–26 United Rugby Championship 2 9,927 4,964 6,937 2,992 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup - - - - - 9,927 4,964


References

  1. ^ "Jake brings Bok lock back to Bulls". SA Rugby Mag. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Springboks star Handre Pollard's shock United Rugby Championship move confirmed". Planet Rugby. 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Cheetahs bid several players farewell". SA Rugby Mag. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  4. ^ "Jake White confirms Jan Serfontein's Bulls return as Handré Pollard and Co to mount fresh URC title bid". The Mercury. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Jake White officially confirms two more Springboks signings as Bulls look to close the Leinster gap". Planet Rugby. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Bernard van der Linde: Bulls scrum-half to join Bath next season". BBC Sport. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Cheetahs snap up Bulls prop". Rugby 365. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  8. ^ Tunney, Jack (20 August 2025). "Former Springbok age grade flyhalf to join Newcastle Red Bulls". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Cardiff sign versatile back Cornel Smit from URC rivals Bulls". BBC Sport. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  10. ^ "URC 2025/26 Fixtures". United Rugby Championship. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  11. ^ Wright, Jared (21 May 2025). "Full 2025/26 United Rugby Championship fixture list confirmed as Stormers v Leinster kick-off the new season". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Leinster to face Stormers, Bulls in early season action | SuperSport".
  13. ^ Fallon, John (23 September 2025). "Connacht will have fewer than 4,000 fans for home games for half the season". The 42. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  14. ^ Palmer, Mark (24 October 2025). "Glasgow Warriors show fight to edge Bulls in heavyweight battle". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Competition rules – United Rugby Championship". United Rugby Championship. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  16. ^ League Format (3) "Competition Rules". United Rugby Championship. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Pool Tables | Investec Champions Cup". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
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