Ulster And Connacht Set For Friday Night Showdown
Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey comes up against his Ireland colleague Bundee Aki during their December clash with Connacht in Galway ©INPHO/James Crombie
The kick-off times, dates and broadcast details for the BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-finals have been confirmed, with the games taking place on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6.
The BKT URC play-offs will kick off in Belfast where Ulster (2) will host an interprovincial derby against Connacht (7) at Kingspan Stadium on Friday, May 5 (kick-off 7.35pm).
The Saturday slate will begin in Cape Town where the defending champions, the DHL Stormers (3), take on their South African rivals, the Vodacom Bulls (6), in a repeat of last season’s final.
The much-anticipated rematch at DHL Stadium is scheduled to get underway at 3.30pm local time/2.30pm Irish time
Top seeds Leinster will host the Cell C Sharks (8) in Dublin at 5pm, with the game taking place at the Aviva Stadium. It will be the Sharks’ second trip to the Irish capital this season having taken part in a thrilling 88-point encounter back in October.
The quarter-finals close out in Scotland where Glasgow Warriors (4) make their return to the play-offs for the first time since 2019. Their opponents at Scotstoun Stadium will be Munster (5) who are searching for their first league title since 2011.
The quarter-final fixtures will be broadcast live in home markets on SuperSport (South Africa), ViaPlay (UK), Premier Sports and URC.tv (both Republic of Ireland), while RTÉ and TG4 will split coverage in the Republic of Ireland.
BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS:
Friday, May 5 –
Quarter-Final 2: ULSTER (2) v CONNACHT (7), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live on TG4, SuperSport, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, URC.tv and FloRugby)
Saturday, May 6 –
Quarter-Final 3: DHL Stormers (3) v Vodacom Bulls (6), DHL Stadium, 3.30pm local time (live on SuperSport, TG4, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, URC.tv and FloRugby)
Quarter-Final 1: LEINSTER (1) v Cell C Sharks (8), Aviva Stadium, 5pm (live on RTÉ, SuperSport, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, URC.tv and FloRugby)
Quarter-Final 4: Glasgow Warriors (4) v MUNSTER (5), Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm (live on RTÉ, SuperSport, ViaPlay, Premier Sports, URC.tv and FloRugby)
Semi-Final Path
In the semi-finals, to be played the weekend of May 12/13, the winners of QF1 will play the winners of QF4 and the winners of QF2 will play the winners of QF3.
In a change to last season’s rules, the teams with the highest seeding in each semi-final will have home venue rights. Previously, the winners of QF1 and QF2 were guaranteed home draws no matter their ranking.
SF1 – LEINSTER (1)/Cell C Sharks (8) v Glasgow Warriors (4)/MUNSTER (5)
SF2 – ULSTER (2)/CONNACHT (7) v DHL Stormers (3)/Vodacom Bulls (6)
The semi-final winners will meet on Saturday, May 27 at the venue of the highest-ranked team to have qualified for the BKT United Rugby Championship final.