The United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-finals are now set, with three South African teams making it to the playoffs, which will take place on 29 and 30 May.
The playoff race was intense, going down to the wire in Round 18, where the result between Munster and the Lions sealed the deals for the quarter-final match-ups.
After Round 18, the four home teams were ranked as follows: Glasgow Warriors (1), Leinster (2), Stormers (3), and Bulls (4), while the away teams will be Munster (5), Cardiff (6), Lions (7), and Connacht (8).
URC Quarter-Finals Lineup and Kickoff Times
The 2024 champions, Glasgow Warriors, will kick off the playoffs on Friday, 29 May, when they take on Connacht at Scotstoun at 20:45 SA time. You can find more information here.
Saturday will see three games, with the Bulls facing off against 2023 champions Munster at 13:00 (SA time), the Stormers hosting Cardiff in Cape Town at 15:30 (SA time), and defending champions Leinster taking on the Lions at 21:00 (SA time).
The fact that Cardiff and the Lions qualified means that 14 out of the 16 teams in the league have reached the playoffs in the past five seasons.
Playoff Details
The quarter-finals will feature the following matches:
On Friday, 29 May, Glasgow Warriors will face Connacht at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, kicking off at 20:45.
Saturday, 30 May, will see the following matches: Vodacom Bulls versus Munster at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria at 13:00, Stormers versus Cardiff at DHL Stadium in Cape Town at 15:30, and Leinster versus Lions at Aviva Stadium in Dublin at 21:00.
The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, 6 June, with the winners of QF1 and QF4 facing off, and the winners of QF2 and QF3 facing off.
The URC Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday, 20 June.
Although the four home quarter-finalists are in a good position to reach the final, history shows that anything can happen – only one team ranked No 1 has ever won the URC trophy. In previous seasons, fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors (2024), fifth-placed Munster (2023), and second-placed Stormers (2022) all emerged as champions before first-placed Leinster finally claimed the crown last year, Leinster finally claimed the crown last year.
