Leinster To Host Scarlets, Munster Set For Durban Trip

As the ‘Race to the Eight’ finished in dramatic fashion this weekend, Munster joined table toppers Leinster as the Irish representatives in the upcoming URC play-offs, and next season’s Investec Champions Cup.

Thanks to a strong second half performance, Munster ended the regular season with a 30-21 bonus point win over Benetton in Cork to seal their place in the top eight.

Ian Costello’s Munster side finished sixth in the final table, setting up a trip to Durban on Saturday, May 31 to face Hollywoodbets Sharks in one of three cross-hemisphere battles in the play-offs.

John Plumtree’s charges jumped above Glasgow Warriors into third place following a 12-3 victory at home to the Scarlets. Full-back Aphelele Fassi played a crucial role with three second-half penalties.

Munster travelled to the Sharks back in late October, picking up a try-scoring bonus point in a 41-24 defeat. Tom Ahern, Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, and captain Tadhg Beirne all touched down as the visitors rallied from being 17-0 down.

The Munstermen hosted the Durban outfit twelve months prior to that, winning 34-21 at Thomond Park. For this latest meeting, they will hoping to show the form on the road that catapulted them to a thrilling URC title win in 2023.

Meanwhile, top seeds Leinster will have home advantage against the eighth-placed Scarlets in two weeks’ time. Their May 31 clash at the Aviva Stadium is a repeat of their recent round 16 encounter which the Welsh side won 35-22 in Llanelli.

Leo Cullen’s men fielded a much-changed selection that evening, and will be determined to reverse the result when they bid to reach their fourth URC semi-final in as many seasons.

Already assured of finishing at the summit, Leinster made it 16 wins in 18 regular season matches with a hard-fought 13-5 defeat of defending champions Glasgow. Tommy O’Brien delivered a player-of-the-match performance from the right wing.

The winners of the Leinster-Scarlets quarter-final will play either Glasgow or the DHL Stormers at the semi-final stage. If Munster progress, their semi-final opponents would be either the Vodacom Bulls, last year’s beaten finalists, or Edinburgh.

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFFS:

QUARTER-FINALS:

Friday, May 30 –

QF4: Glasgow Warriors (4) v DHL Stormers (5), Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm (live Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby)

Saturday, May 31 –

QF2: Vodacom Bulls (2) v Edinburgh (7), Loftus Versfeld, 1.30pm local time (live SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby)

QF1: LEINSTER (1) v Scarlets (8), Aviva Stadium, 3pm (live RTÉ, SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby)

QF3: Hollywoodbets Sharks (3) v MUNSTER (6), Hollywoodbets Kings Park, 6.30pm local time/5.30pm Irish time (live TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby)

Semi-Finals – Saturday, June 7

SF1: Winners QF1 v Winners QF4
SF2: Winners QF2 v Winners QF3

Final – Saturday, June 14

Winners SF1 v Winners SF2

While the four home quarter-finalists are best placed to reach the URC final, history may yet deliver a twist. No team ranked number 1 has ever lifted the URC trophy.

In past seasons, it was the second-placed Stormers (2022), fifth-placed Munster (2023), and fourth-placed Glasgow (2024) who emerged as the title winners.