The United Rugby Championship and the Gallagher Premiership come together — 26 clubs, one competition, three tiers built on merit.
Sixteen clubs from across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. Ten clubs from England. Separate competitions, one shared future.
Every club, one table, one season. This is the pool the new tiers are built from.
Seeded from each club's 2025–26 league position — top 5 from each league into Tier 1, mid-table into Tier 2, the rest into Tier 3.
Every club plays every other club in its tier twice — once at home, once away.
Tier 1's 10 clubs face each of their 9 tier rivals twice — 18 fixtures. Tier 2 and Tier 3's 8 clubs each face their 7 tier rivals twice — 14 fixtures apiece.
On top of the tier schedule, every club also plays a set of fixtures against clubs from the other tiers.
Tier 1 clubs play 8 additional fixtures against clubs from Tier 2 or Tier 3 — allowing teams to keep fixtures with local rivals on the calendar.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs each play 10 additional fixtures against clubs from outside their own tier — allowing teams to keep fixtures with local rivals on the calendar.
To reduce the total weeks required to complete the fixtures, European club competition changes shape too.
European club competition reverts to pools of 4, playing each other home and away — 6 pool matches per club. 2 of those 6 matches are shared fixtures, counting towards both the European pool and the combined URC/Premiership league at the same time.
Trimming the European pool stage this way also reduces the French Top 14's match requirements by a week, freeing up a Six Nations weekend to be free of French club rugby.
Is it fair? Does it protect rivalries? Does it fit the calendar?
Is it fair?
Tiers are seeded on merit from each club's actual 2025–26 league position, and every club plays the same balanced schedule as its tier rivals.
Does it keep traditional rivalries?
The cross-tier fixtures exist specifically so clubs can keep local and traditional rivals on the calendar even when they land in different tiers.
Does it fit the domestic club calendar?
26 UP rounds + 1 UP final + 6 EPCR rounds + 3 EPCR knockouts − 2 double-counted = 34 total club fixtures. That's only more than in the Premiership's 12-team years.
See exactly how the season plays out, week by week and club by club.
Every week of the season, month by month — league rounds, European pool and knockout weeks, and international windows.
Each row lists only the cross-tier clubs named in the fixture sheet. Click or hover any club to see who they host at home, who hosts them, and who else shares their tier.
Pools of 4, drawn from the EPCR fixture sheet — the top 6 pools form the Champions Cup, the remaining 5 form the Challenge Cup.
Why?
How do teams change tier?
This maximizes flow between the tiers in early years and increases jeopardy in poor league performance.
For example, only 4 of the 8 teams in Tier 2 remain the following year.
How many fixtures are added?
88 additional fixtures known at the start of the year — 35 Premiership home matches and 53 URC.
Offset by 21 fewer knockout matches: 5 fewer in the new UP league, and 16 fewer EPCR round of 16, Champions and Challenge fixtures.
67 additional rugby matches.
How is league position calculated?
4 points for a win, a try bonus point for 4 tries, and a losing bonus point within 7. Teams equal on match points are decided by the lowest number of bonus points awarded to the opposition. This ensures that letting a team in a different tier score a 4th try, or get close, has a cost.
How are cross-tier match-ups determined?
Teams choose their own home fixtures, constrained by 2 from each other tier, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams getting a third home cross-tier fixture.
Priority is given to in-country match-ups. However, when there's a small number of teams from a country in a tier, this limits the number of fixtures available against fellow countrymen as opponents.
For example, Cardiff have five away fixtures, as they are Tier 2. These can be split 3/2 between Tier 1/Tier 3, or 2/3. As their Welsh rivals are in Tier 3 this season, Cardiff play 3 away to Tier 3 and 2 away to Tier 1.
Tier 2 teams play 5 fixtures in total vs Tier 3, and therefore Cardiff have only got 2 home games against Tier 3 — meaning one of the 3 Welsh clubs in Tier 3 does not get an away game vs Cardiff. Preference is given to the lower tier for home matches.
A similar dynamic impacts the English clubs, with only 2 clubs in Tier 3 limiting the number of available cross-tier fixtures into Tier 3 to 10 fixtures across the 8 English teams outside Tier 3.
Can teams be added or subtracted?
The three-tier structure, combined with cross-tier matches for traditional rivals, also works at 24 teams, 28, or 30.
What are the downsides?
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