Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh return from their summer break this weekend with pre-season fixtures against Newcastle Red Bulls and Ulster respectively.
As we enter September, we are now just a few weeks out from the 2026/27 United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign kicking off. With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at what all 16 clubs have been up to over the past few months in terms of notable arrivals and departures in their playing squads and any other big changes.
Here is what every URC club has been up to over the summer break - including Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh:
13. Sharks
Ten first team players departed the Sharks this summer, headed up by legendary flanker Siya Kolisi who has retunred to Stormers. They've also lost other Springbok stars in Aphelele Fassi and Grant Williams but have also added some more South African internationals to their ranks in prop Thomas du Toit from Bath, lock Stephan Lewies from Harlequins and scrum-half Ivan van Zyl from Saracens. A tenth place finish last season was hugely disappointing for a team absolutely stacked with world class players so they'll be hoping for a much better showing under new head coach JP Pietersen. They had easily the worst result of the four South African clubs to face the All Blacks this summer as they lost 54-0. | Getty Images
14. Stormers
Stormers have only brought in three new players this summer - but they've certainly opted for quality over quantity. Springboks stars Siya Kolisi and Wilco Louw arrive from the Sharks and Stormers respectively and URC fans will get the chance to see winger Cheslin Kolbe in action for the first time as he returns to Cape Town after almost ten years away in France and Japan. Much like the Sharks, their squad is packed with South African internationals and they'll be hoping to improve on their third place finish from last season where they then lost to Leinster in Dublin in the semi-finals. Still the only South African club to win the competition since joining, the 2022 champions might very well fancy adding a second title to their trophy cabinet this time around. | AFP via Getty Images
15. Ulster
Although they reached the EPCR Challenge Cup final, losing to Montpellier in the final, it was a disappointing URC campaign for the Northern Irish province who lost out on their play-off spot to Connacht in the final round. Glasgow's 26-22 win in Belfast not only ensured Franco Smith's side finished the regular season in first place but also meant their hosts dropped to ninth. They've cleared the decks with 12 first team players departing including their top try scorer Werner Kok who was named in the Elite XV. Arriving at the Affidea Stadium are the likes of Argentina prop Eduardo Bello, former England under-20s fly half Jamie Benson and Irish scrum-half Matthew Devine from Connacht to name a few. | Getty Images
16. Zebre
What to make of the team who finished bottom four out of the last five URC campaigns and second bottom in the other one. Tommy Allan's arrival from Perpignan is certainly a good signing, bringing 91 international caps of experience to the ten jersey. However, they've lost Argentina internationals Enrique Pieretto and Gonzalo García as well as Italy cap Malik Faissal. It looks likely they will once again be battling to avoid bottom spot once again this season. | SNS Group