No Judgement Day as URC 2025/26 fixtures released
The fixtures for next season’s United Rugby Championship (URC) have been released, with Welsh rugby’s annual showpiece – Judgement Day – shelved for a season.
Judgement Day is a Welsh derby annual double-header involving all four professional sides held at the same date at the same venue, normally the Principality Stadium.
The Professional Rugby Board (PRB), which consists of representatives from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and four regions and runs the professional game in Wales, confirmed the event will take a ‘hiatus’ next year.
A PRB statement says the event will be paused in 2026 so it can be “re-imagined” because it still has “huge potential”.
The Judgement Day concept started in 2013 with more than 68,000 turning up at the Principality Stadium in 2016 but the event’s popularity has waned in recent years.
The 10th edition of the event in its current guise was staged at the Principality Stadium this April and attracted a crowd of 28,328.
This was the lowest attendance of the nine Principality Stadium occasions, although the crowd figure was 8,000 fewer when the event was switched to Cardiff City Stadium in 2024.
The annual boxing day derbies of Cardiff vs Dragons at Cardiff Arms Park and Scarlets vs Ospreys at Parc Y Scarlets remain, as do the traditional New Year’s Day fixtures: Dragons vs Scarlets at Rodney Parade, and Ospreys vs Cardiff at St Helens.
Cardiff and Scarlets open their seasons at home against the Lions and Munster respectively, while Dragons travel to Northern Ireland to face Ulster, and Ospreys are in South Africa up against the Bulls.
Read the full fixture list here.
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