South Africa’s URC Teams End Regular Season with Mixed Results
The final round of pool matches in the United Rugby Championship (URC) saw South Africa’s four teams experience a mix of fortunes. However, it is the Bulls and Stormers who will enjoy home ground advantage in the quarter-finals next weekend.
The Bulls and Sharks ended the round-robin stages on a high note with impressive wins. The Bulls secured a bonus-point 45-19 victory against Benetton at home, earning them a rewarding fourth-place finish. This sets up a quarter-final clash against Munster at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, with kick-off at 13:00 next weekend.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann expressed his delight at playing at home. “It’s always nice to play at home and hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” he said. “Munster are a quality side with a lot of good internationals. We know we’ll have to lift our standards.”
The URC quarter-finals will take place next weekend, with the EPCR finals happening this weekend. Several players are set to attend the Springbok alignment camp this week.
Quarter-Final Fixtures
The quarter-final fixtures are as follows:
Friday, 29 May
QF1: Glasgow Warriors v Connacht, Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, 20:45
Saturday, 30 May
QF4: Bulls v Munster, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 13:00
QF3: Stormers v Cardiff, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, 15:30
QF2: Leinster v Lions, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 21:00
While the four home quarter-finalists are well-placed to reach the decider, history suggests that upsets are possible. Only one team ranked number one has ever lifted the URC trophy. Previous seasons have seen fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors (2024), fifth-placed Munster (2023), and second-placed Stormers (2022) emerge as champions.
