Looking to get up to speed on what's ahead within the club rugby world? Here's a quick rundown of what to expect this year for the United Rugby Championship.

What Is The United Rugby Championship?

The United Rugby Championship is a rugby competition that features 16 clubs from four European countries (Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy) and South Africa, duking it out over an 18-round regular season, prior to an eight-team playoffs, where a champion is eventually crowned. 

Ireland, Wales and South Africa have four clubs each in the competition, while Scotland and Italy each have two. 

The league has gone through multiple iterations since its predecessor, the Welsh-Scottish League (featuring clubs from the two namesake nations), was founded in 1999, as Irish clubs joined the party in 2001, before Italian sides hopped on in 2010. 

South African teams started playing in the URC in 2017, and besides the COVID-19-affected 2020-2021 season in which no team from the country played, they've been in the competition ever since. 

We live for moments like these ❤️

Who is your #URC hero? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SCqIOZaJgW

— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) August 21, 2022

Eight teams qualify yearly for the Heineken Champions Cup - matching the numbers sent by England's Premiership and France's Top 14 - with at least one club from each of the "regional shield pools" moving on to the tournament. 

American football fans may find the URC's setup familiar. 

Every team in the competition plays each other at least once, but those within the same regional shield pool will battle both home and away, similar to the NFL's divisional format. 

Those pools consist of the four Irish teams, the four South African teams, the four Welsh teams and the combined four teams of Scotland and Italy, with the winner of each pool being guaranteed a spot in the next year's Champions Cup, regardless of where it sits on the overall league table (the remaining best records, regardless of pool, make up the other four spots). 

The Stormers won South Africa's first URC title by outlasting another club from the country, the Bulls, in last season's final, but Irish side Leinster is the league's most successful club, with eight titles, including four straight between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.

Where And When Can I Watch It?

The 2022-2023 URC season begins with Round 1's kickoff Sept. 16, and the regular season will last until April, followed by the playoffs. 

The season will be streamed in its entirety on FloRugby for U.S.-based subscribers. A full schedule for all 18 matchweeks can be found here and here.

What Teams Should I Look Out For?

Here's a brief outlook of each team playing in the 2022-23 URC season:

Irish Shield

Leinster (Dublin, Ireland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: 2001-2002, 2007-2008, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021

Ulster (Belfast, Northern Ireland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: 2005-2006

Munster (Limerick/Cork, Ireland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: 2002-2003, 2008-2009, 2010-2011

Connacht (Galway, Ireland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: 2015-2016

Scottish/Italian Shield

Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: None

Glasgow Warriors (Glasgow, Scotland): Joined: 2001 - Championships: 2014-2015

Benetton (Treviso, Italy): Joined: 2010 - Championships: None

Zebre Parma (Parma, Italy): Joined: 2012 - Championships: None

South African Shield

Stormers (Cape Town, South Africa): Joined: 2021 - Championships: 2021-2022

Bulls (Pretoria, South Africa): Joined: 2021 - Championships: None

Sharks (Durban, South Africa): Joined: 2021 - Championships: None 

Lions (Johannesburg, South Africa): Joined: 2021 - Championships: None

Welsh Shield

Ospreys (Swansea, Wales): Joined: 2003 - Championships: 2004-2005, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2011-2012.

Dragons (Newport, Wales): Joined: 2003 - Championships: None

Scarlets (Llanelli, Wales): Joined: 2003 - Championships: 2003-2004, 2016-2017

Cardiff (Cardiff, Wales): Joined: 2003 - Championships: None