1
URC quarter-finals: 2 Irish, 3 South African, 2 Scottish, 1 Welsh make cut
By Ian Cameron
The BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final fixtures have been confirmed following the conclusion of the regular season this weekend.
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South African sides secured two of the four coveted home ties, with three SA sides in total set to feature in the KO stages. Two Irish and Scottish sides and a lone Welsh URC outfit make up the eight.
Leinster, Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Glasgow Warriors will each host a quarter-final over the weekend of May 30–31.
Munster, Edinburgh and the Scarlets left it late but secured their quarter-final spots at the final time of asking, edging out rivals in a dramatic conclusion to the Race to the Eight.
Indeed, the final round of the pool stages proved decisive, locking in the top eight and ensuring that Durban and Pretoria will be key battlegrounds in the title race.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Leinster
18
16
2
0
76
2
Bulls
18
14
4
0
68
3
Sharks
18
13
5
0
62
4
Glasgow
18
11
7
0
59
5
Stormers
18
10
8
0
55
6
Munster
18
9
9
0
51
7
Edinburgh
18
8
9
1
49
8
Scarlets
18
9
8
1
48
9
Cardiff Rugby
18
8
9
1
47
10
Benetton
18
9
8
1
46
11
Lions
18
8
10
0
40
12
Ospreys
18
7
10
1
40
13
Connacht
18
6
12
0
39
14
Ulster
18
7
11
0
38
15
Zebre
18
5
12
1
29
16
Dragons RFC
18
1
17
0
9
The Bulls, second on the final standings, swept aside the Dragons 55–15 and will now welcome Edinburgh to Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Sharks, who edged the Scarlets 12–3 in a tight affair, finished third and will host Munster at Kings Park later that evening.
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Glasgow, who slipped to fourth after a final-round loss to Leinster, face the DHL Stormers at Scotstoun. The Cape Town side secured their place in the knockouts with a lively 34–24 win over Cardiff.
The other tie sees table-toppers Leinster take on the Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon. While Leinster finished with a strong home record, no side has ever won the competition from the No.1 seed.
URC Play-Off Format
Quarter-Finals
Friday, May 30
QF4: (4) Glasgow Warriors v (5) DHL Stormers
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
KO: 19:35 UK / 20:35 SA
Live on Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby
Saturday, May 31
QF2: (2) Vodacom Bulls v (7) Edinburgh
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
KO: 12:30 UK / 13:30 SA
Live on SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
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QF1: (1) Leinster v (8) Scarlets
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
KO: 15:00 UK / 16:00 SA
Live on RTE, SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
QF3: (3) Hollywoodbets Sharks v (6) Munster
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
KO: 17:30 UK / 18:30 SA
Live on TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
Semi-Finals – Saturday, June 7
SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3
BKT URC Grand Final – Saturday, June 14
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
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Four good matches there. Its been a very entertaining URC and hopefully this will continue. If matches go to plan it will be a Leinster v Glasgow; Bulls v Sharks semi final pairing I believe. Leinster will be wary of Scarlets but should prevail. Stormers will have a lot to say in Glasgow. I think both Glasgow and Leinster are getting sick of each other, looking like the 3rd match in two months if QFs go with seeding.
I’d be wary if I was the Sharks. Munster will want this as a Samson V Goliath situation. They are comfortable winning macthes like that where pressure comes on the favoured team (see V LaRochelle this year). Sharks will need to up it from previous matches but I think they probably will. I think Edinburgh will turn up against Bulls but Bulls are resurgent and will start their march to the final.
On form I think Leinster and Bulls look a cut above and that is the likely final IMO.
So basically home teams all the way to the final. I joke but It'd be hard to pick any against that other than maybe the Bulls Sharks semi. 2 weeks off leading into them hopefully will have everybody up and firing to make them at least close games.