2026–27 Cardiff Rugby season
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The 2026–27 season is Cardiff Rugby's sixth season in the United Rugby Championship, and 26th in all formats of the competition. Along with competing in the URC and its Welsh Shield competition, the club will also participate in the 2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup.
| 2026–27 season | |||
| Head coach | Corniel van Zyl[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
The season marks the 150th season of senior club rugby in Cardiff.[2]
Squad and management
Corniel van Zyl begins his first full season in charge at the Arms Park, following his hiring as head coach last season[1]
Transfers
Players in
|
Players out
|
United Rugby Championship
Matches
Cardiff Rugby will begin its sixth URC campaign with a Welsh derby away to Scarlets, ending the regular season domestic campaign nine months later with the reverse fixture.[2]
| 26 September | (1 BP) Scarlets  |
15–21 | Cardiff |
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli | |
| Try: Roberts 6' m Murray 23' c Con: Anscombe (1/2) 24' Pen: Hawkins 52' |
Report Scorecard Highlights |
Try: Thomas 18' c Basham 38' c E Lloyd 65' c Con: Sheedy (2/2) 19', 39' J Evans (1/1) 65' |
Attendance: 7,073 Referee: A Jones |
| 2 October | (1 BP) Cardiff |
40–27 |  Zebre (1 BP) |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| Try: T Williams 9' m Sebastien 18' c Basham 27' c Mann 36' c Bowen (2) 43' c, 54' c Con: Sheedy (4/5) 19', 27', 37', 44' J Evans (1/1) 54' |
Report Scorecard Highlights |
Try: Minervino 21' m Ferrari 59' c Bertaccini 64' m Da Re 69' c Con: Da Re (2/4) 59', 70' Pen: Allan 6' |
Attendance: 7,231 Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) |
| 10 October | (1 BP) Leinster  |
29–5 | Cardiff |
RDS Arena, Dublin | |
| Try: Keenan 9' m J O'Brien (2) 17' m, 37' c Conan 19' m J Osborne 77' c Con: Prendergast (2/5) 39', 78' |
Report Scorecard Highlights |
Try: Grady 24' m Cards: Davies  15' |
Attendance: 20,035 Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland) |
| 23 October 2026 | Cardiff |
v |  Sharks |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 31 October 2026 | Ospreys |
v | Cardiff |
St Helen's, Swansea | |
| 5 December 2026 | Cardiff |
v | Ulster |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 19 December 2026 | Cardiff |
v | Dragons |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 26 December 2026 | Dragons |
v | Cardiff |
Rodney Parade, Newport | |
| 2 January 2027 | Cardiff |
v | Ospreys |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 23 January 2027 | Stormers |
v | Cardiff |
Cape Town Stadium | |
| 30 January 2027 | Lions |
v | Cardiff |
Ellis Park Stadium, Jo'burg | |
| 27 February 2027 | Cardiff |
v |  Glasgow Warriors |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 19 March 2027 | Connacht |
v | Cardiff |
The Sportsground, Galway | |
| 27 March 2027 | Cardiff |
v | Munster |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 16 April 2027 | Edinburgh |
v | Cardiff |
Edinburgh Rugby Stadium | |
| 23 April 2027 | Cardiff |
v | Bulls |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
| 8 May 2027 | Benetton |
v | Cardiff |
Stadio Monigo, Treviso | |
| 15 May 2027 | Cardiff |
v | Scarlets |
Cardiff Arms Park | |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 54 | +26 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 | Qualification for the Champions Cup and knockout stage |
| 2 | Glasgow Warriors |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 72 | +23 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 | |
| 3 | Bulls |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 126 | 54 | +72 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 4 | Stormers |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 54 | +27 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 5 | Sharks |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 83 | +6 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 6 | Cardiff |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 71 | −5 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7 | Lions |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 77 | 102 | −25 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 8 | Dragons |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 88 | 83 | +5 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| 9 | Munster |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 74 | −2 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 9 | Qualification for the Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Leinster |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 75 | 58 | +17 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 11 | Ulster |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 88 | 93 | −5 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| 12 | Scarlets |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 85 | −17 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| 13 | Ospreys |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 107 | −26 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |
| 14 | Connacht |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 84 | −28 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 15 | Benetton |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| 16 | Zebre |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 116 | −64 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Updated to match(es) played on 4 October 2026. 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.[16]
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.[16]
URC Welsh Shield
| |||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Shield | |||||||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | Pos overall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragons |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 64 | +5 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | |||
| 2 | Ospreys |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | |||
| 3 | Cardiff |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Scarlets |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 59 | –18 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | |||
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[17]
| |||||||||||||||||
| 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 Rugby Champions Cup
Having finished sixth in the 2025–26 United Rugby Championship, Cardiff qualified for the 2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup. The pool stage draw will take place on 1 July 2026.[18]