URC Quarter-Final Clashes To Come In Dublin And Belfast

URC Quarter-Final Clashes To Come In Dublin And Belfast

The first ever last-eight line-up in the United Rugby Championship has been set following the thrilling completion of round 18 tonight. The URC quarter-final fixtures will take place on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4, with kick-off times to be confirmed early next week following consultation with host broadcasters. Irish provinces will host two of the quarter-finals and one of them will be an interprovincial derby as third-placed Ulster meet Munster at Kingspan Stadium in two weeks' time. Leinster, who were already assured of finishing top of the table, have pencilled in a home quarter-final against Glasgow Warriors in Dublin, with the carrot of a home semi-final also dangling in front of them. The two other quarter-final fixtures will take place in South Africa, marking the first time in the league's history that play-offs will be hosted in the southern Hemisphere. The DHL Stormers, who scored a late try in Llanelli to finish second overall, won the South African Shield and will have home advantage against Edinburgh, the 1872 Cup and Scottish/Italian Shield winners. There is also a heavyweight South African derby to look forward to with the Vodacom Bulls and the Cell C Sharks going head-to-head in Pretoria. League rankings determined which teams were placed into each quarter-final match, with home advantage in the semi-finals going to the winners of quarter-final 1 and quarter-final 2. Home advantage for the United Rugby Championship final next month goes to the team with the highest ranking.

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS:

Friday, June 3 & Saturday, June 4 - QF1: LEINSTER v Glasgow Warriors QF2: DHL Stormers v Edinburgh QF3: ULSTER v MUNSTER QF4: Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks Semi-Finals: QF1 (home advantage) v QF4, QF2 (home advantage) v QF3

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP RANKINGS FOR LAST-EIGHT:

1. LEINSTER 67 points 2. DHL Stormers 61 points 3. ULSTER 59 points 4. Vodacom Bulls 58 points 5. Cell C Sharks 57 points 6. MUNSTER 56 points 7. Edinburgh 54 points 8. Glasgow Warriors 50 points

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD WINNERS:

Irish Shield: LEINSTER Image removed. South African Shield: DHL Stormers Image removed. Welsh Shield: Ospreys Scottish/Italian Shield: Edinburgh Image removed.