The Emirates Lions, Vodacom Bulls, Leinster Rugby, Zebre Parma and the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (VURC) have come together in the spirit of united rugby to serve fans and lovers of enthralling sportainment in Gauteng, with a rugby feast to remember. Fresh from their recent VURC Jukskei derby, the two rivals will now unite to host consecutive double-header weekends over Round’s 17 (Saturday 15, April) and 18 (Saturday 22, April) of the 2022/23 Vodacom United Rugby Championship, at Emirates Airline Park and Loftus Versfeld Stadium, respectively.

Lions Rugby CEO, Rudolf Straeuli welcomed this announcement and believes these double-header weekends could be a game-changer for fans and rugby in general.

“We are incredibly excited at the prospect of hosting three quality international club sides all in one day at the iconic Emirates Airline Park. Heading across the Jukskei the following weekend to Loftus Versfeld doesn’t get any better from an overall sportainment experience by the two host franchises.”
“Since its inception, the URC, in partnership with their sponsor and broadcast partners, have been at the forefront of sports innovation and these upcoming double-header weekends are testament to this.”
“Sport in South Africa is constantly in search of creativity especially when it comes to fan engagement, and we believe that through this unique collaboration, rugby in particular can lead the way in bringing stakeholders together and growing the game for the greater good,” Straeuli concluded.

Across the Jukskei, Edgar Rathbone, BBCo. Chief Executive commended the tournament officials for their flexibility in supporting clubs that are seeking to create meaningful experiences for fans around the competition.

“I commend Martin (Anayi) and the entire URC team, our sponsors and the broadcaster(s) for their unwavering support as we are always exploring ways in which we can better our offering to all of our patrons. The spirit of the competition is one that fosters unity amongst the franchises and we are duty bound to collaborate for the growth and betterment of our sport,”

“We are buoyant that this double-header will add value for the money South Africans spend around gamedays and ultimately we are also confident that the quality of rugby on display will rubberstamp the tournament’s legacy in the growth of the sport in our country.”

As a result of these event changes, alterations have also been made to the kick-off times of all four games.

The fixtures have now been confirmed as follows:

Round 17
Saturday, April 15, 2023 (Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg)

12:00 UK / 13:00 SA: Vodacom Bulls v Zebre Parma
15:00 UK / 16:00 SA: Emirates Lions v Leinster

Round 18
Saturday, April 22, 2023 (Loftus Versveld, Pretoria)

12:00 UK / 13:00 SA: Emirates Lions v Zebre Parma
15:00 UK / 16:00 SA: Vodacom Bulls v Leinster

These Double Header events in South Africa are the first to be held in the Vodacom URC outside of Wales where Judgement Day has set the standard since 2013. Now, the Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls are bringing a cross-hemisphere flavour to a concept the league is keen to develop.

All games will be broadcast live on SuperSport in South Africa and across the African continent, plus Viaplay, Premier Sports, TG4, Discovery + & URC.tv in other territories.

Tickets for the fixtures can be purchased here – https://bit.ly/3JuhW2B