Cardiff Rugby will kick off the new 2023-24 BKT United Rugby Championship season against Benetton Rugby.
The Blue and Blacks host the Italian outfit at the Arms Park on Saturday, October 21 (17:15) before facing two Welsh derbies on the road against the Dragons in Round 2 and Scarlets in Round 3.
Cardiff host their first home Welsh derby of the season against the Scarlets on Saturday, December 2, and the traditional Boxing Day derby against the Dragons.
As ever, all regular season URC matches at the the Arms Park are included in Season Membership packages, which are available to purchase now.
The fixtures have been announced with 102 days until the new BKT United Rugby Championship kick off.This represents the earliest release of the league’s fixtures (with kick-off times) in the history of the competition which will provide teams and fans with greater time to plan for the season ahead.
Just like last season fans can download fixtures directly into their devices by using this link Ecal URC Fixtures 2023/24. https://ql.e-c.al/URCFixtures
After a two-year window of home or away fixtures against non-Shield opponents, the sequencing has been refreshed. The home and away sequence from this season will be reversed for the 2024/25 campaign to ensure a fair balance of home and away games against the same opponents over a two-year cycle.
In a new approach aimed at reducing long-haul travel across the league, the South African teams will tour twice rather than three times. This means a four-match tour to Europe in the early part of the season followed by a two-game tour after the Six Nations (a balance of two three-game tours will be implemented if future calendars allow for it).
Additionally, the earlier generation of fixtures will assist all teams in their cross-hemisphere travel with improved access to different seat classes and cost efficiencies related to bookings made further in advance.
The opening weekends of the BKT URC will see games played across Saturday and Sunday afternoons to avoid clashes with Rugby World Cup fixtures on Friday and Saturday nights.
With no November Test series break, BKT URC teams will take on a schedule of 11 consecutive weekends of rugby (including EPCR) so January will also provide two relief weekends for teams to take a break in play and to accommodate traditional festive fixturing on December 26 (Tuesday) in Wales and Ireland.
Further efficiencies in fixture generation and grading have also been made possible due to the BKT URC’s supplier arrangement with Ligalytics, a German sports scheduling firm who work with many sports including rugby, football, cricket, basketball and hockey.
Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “The fixture list is the central pillar to the operation of our league and teams and providing certainty to fans, clubs and broadcasters earlier than ever will have a positive impact. Providing a set of fixtures that aims to balance kick-off times which encourage attendance and deliver big broadcast while factoring in the travel necessary to compete in the BKT URC is a monumental task that cannot be underestimated.
“Each year we feel we are learning more and more about how to refine and improve our process and the final fixture list itself and I must express great gratitude to our broadcast partners who have supported so many requests from the league and our clubs. To deliver this fixture list 102 days ahead of kick-off is unprecedented for our league and gives us another target to beat again next year.”
R1 - Saturday, Oct 21
Cardiff Rugby v Benetton | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA | S4C, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R2 – Saturday, October 28
Dragons RFC v Cardiff Rugby | 14.30 IRE & UK / 15.30 ITA & SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R3 - Saturday, November 4
Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R4 – Friday, November 10
Cardiff Rugby v Vodacom Bulls | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R5 – Friday, November 17
Zebre Parma v Cardiff Rugby | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | ITA, BBC Wales, Viaplay Xtra, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R6 – Friday, November 24
Cardiff Rugby v DHL Stormers | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R7 – Saturday, December 2
Cardiff Rugby v Scarlets | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R8 – Tuesday, December 26
Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R9 –Monday, January 1
Ospreys v Cardiff Rugby | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R10 – Saturday, February 17
Cardiff Rugby v Connacht | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | S4C, RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R11 – Saturday, March 2
Cardiff Rugby v Leinster | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | S4C, RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R12 – Friday, March 22
Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Rugby | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R13 – Saturday, March 30
Munster v Cardiff Rugby | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | RTÉ, S4C, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R14 – Friday, April 19
Ulster v Cardiff Rugby | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA | BBC NI, BBC Wales, TG4, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R15 – Saturday, April 27
Cardiff Rugby v Edinburgh | 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA & SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R16 – Saturday, May 11
Emirates Lions v Cardiff Rugby | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA | SuperSport, S4C, Viaplay, Premier Sports
R17 – Saturday, May 18
Cell C Sharks v Cardiff Rugby | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA | SuperSport, S4C, Viaplay, Premier Sports
R18 - Saturday, June 1
Cardiff Rugby v Ospreys | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA | S4C, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Quarter Final – Friday, June 7
TBC
Saturday, June 8
TBC
Semi Final – Saturday, June 15
TBC
Grand Final – Saturday, June 22
TBC