One down, two to go.
It was a dramatic weekend of United Rugby Championship action as the race for the play-offs took yet another twist.
Some teams made a charge for the top eight, while others fell away.
There are now eight points separating the eight teams in the battle for the final four play-off spots.
Let’s take a look at the state of play with two rounds of matches remaining.
Here are the results from the weekend’s URC action.
- Zebre 25-25 Edinburgh (Fri)
- Cardiff 26-21 Munster (Fri)
- Glasgow Warriors 19-26 Bulls (Fri)
- Lions 26-7 Connacht (Sat)
- Ospreys 57-24 Dragons (Sat)
- Stormers 56-5 Benetton (Sat)
- Scarlets 35-22 Leinster (Sat)
- Ulster19-22 Sharks (Sat)
How things stand
The 16th gameweek in the URC was full of drama, with the standout result belonging to the Scarlets, who stunned Leinster to jump into the play-off places.
It was a huge result as the Welsh side inflicted only a second defeat of the season on the leaders, who have already booked a home quarter-final in the play-offs.
They weren’t the only Welsh side to pick up a big victory, as Cardiff’s win over Munster puts them fifth and in a strong position to secure a top-eight finish.
Munster, on the other hand, now sit in ninth place.
The Stormers also moved into a good position as they consolidated sixth by putting 50 points on Benetton, who cling on to the final play-off spot despite the defeat.
Ospreys entered the play-off picture with a hefty win over bottom side Dragons, and they sit just three points off the play-offs and will look to end their campaign on a high.
Challenge Cup semi-finalists Edinburgh also remain in the mix despite a dramatic 25-25 draw away to Zebre on Friday.
It was a disappointing weekend for Irish provinces Ulster and Connacht, whose hopes of reaching the top eight suffered blows.
Ulster led 19-0 after 30 minutes against the Sharks, but the South Africans roared back to snatch a 22-19 win in Belfast thanks to Jordan Hendrikse’s penalty.
That leaves Richie Murphy’s side in 12th, three points off the top eight. They will face Munster in a make-or-break derby in their penultimate fixture.
Connacht’s hopes are hanging by a thread after their defeat by the Lions in Johannesburg, and both the Irish province and their South African opponents are six points off knockout rugby.
Surely it’s too big of a gap to bridge at this stage of the season.
While a top-eight finish guarantees knockout rugby in the URC, it does not necessarily secure one of the league’s eight Champions Cup spots for next season.
If a team wins the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup and finishes outside the top eight in the league, they will take one of the URC’s spots.
This currently only applies to Edinburgh, who are outside the top eight but are in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.
Leinster are in the last four of the Champions Cup but have already secured a top-eight finish, so their spot in next season’s tournament is already secured.
Big matches ahead
After their famous win over Leinster, the Scarlets travel to South Africa to finish with away games to the Lions and Sharks, who are strong at home.
Cardiff also travel to the southern hemisphere to take on the Bulls, who have secured a home quarter-final and the Stormers, who host bottom side Dragons in their penultimate fixture.
After breaking into the play-off picture, the Ospreys travel to the Sharks, who are littered with Springboks stars, and finish up in the Lions’ den.
The match to watch in the penultimate round of fixtures could be the Irish derby as Ulster travel to Munster.
Defeat would effectively end Ulster’s hopes, while Munster are also in danger should they fail to pick up a positive result on home turf.
Ulster face Edinburgh in their last match, while Munster travel to Benetton, who host Glasgow in their next outing.
Below Ulster, the Lions will host Scarlets and Ospreys as we’ve mentioned above, while Connacht take on Zebre and Edinburgh.
As previously mentioned, Edinburgh are in a unique position as they have two routes to Champions Cup rugby available for next season.
If they cannot qualify by winning the Challenge Cup, then they can book their place by sneaking into the top eight.
It may come down to the number of match wins, which is the first tie-breaker before points difference. At the moment, Cardiff, Stormers, Scarlets and Benetton have eight wins, while Munster, Ulster, Ospreys and Lions have seven.
Edinburgh remain on six while Connacht are on five.
With only two weeks of the regular season left, there is still so much to play for and plenty of drama to come.
Image source, Inpho-
20 April 2025
One down, two to go.
It was a dramatic weekend of United Rugby Championship action as the race for the play-offs took yet another twist.
Some teams made a charge for the top eight, while others fell away.
There are now eight points separating the eight teams in the battle for the final four play-off spots.
Let’s take a look at the state of play with two rounds of matches remaining.
Here are the results from the weekend’s URC action.
How things stand
The 16th gameweek in the URC was full of drama, with the standout result belonging to the Scarlets, who stunned Leinster to jump into the play-off places.
It was a huge result as the Welsh side inflicted only a second defeat of the season on the leaders, who have already booked a home quarter-final in the play-offs.
They weren’t the only Welsh side to pick up a big victory, as Cardiff’s win over Munster puts them fifth and in a strong position to secure a top-eight finish.
Munster, on the other hand, now sit in ninth place.
The Stormers also moved into a good position as they consolidated sixth by putting 50 points on Benetton, who cling on to the final play-off spot despite the defeat.
Ospreys entered the play-off picture with a hefty win over bottom side Dragons, and they sit just three points off the play-offs and will look to end their campaign on a high.
Challenge Cup semi-finalists Edinburgh also remain in the mix despite a dramatic 25-25 draw away to Zebre on Friday.
Image source, InphoIt was a disappointing weekend for Irish provinces Ulster and Connacht, whose hopes of reaching the top eight suffered blows.
Ulster led 19-0 after 30 minutes against the Sharks, but the South Africans roared back to snatch a 22-19 win in Belfast thanks to Jordan Hendrikse’s penalty.
That leaves Richie Murphy’s side in 12th, three points off the top eight. They will face Munster in a make-or-break derby in their penultimate fixture.
Connacht’s hopes are hanging by a thread after their defeat by the Lions in Johannesburg, and both the Irish province and their South African opponents are six points off knockout rugby.
Surely it’s too big of a gap to bridge at this stage of the season.
While a top-eight finish guarantees knockout rugby in the URC, it does not necessarily secure one of the league’s eight Champions Cup spots for next season.
If a team wins the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup and finishes outside the top eight in the league, they will take one of the URC’s spots.
This currently only applies to Edinburgh, who are outside the top eight but are in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.
Leinster are in the last four of the Champions Cup but have already secured a top-eight finish, so their spot in next season’s tournament is already secured.
Big matches ahead
Image source, InphoAfter their famous win over Leinster, the Scarlets travel to South Africa to finish with away games to the Lions and Sharks, who are strong at home.
Cardiff also travel to the southern hemisphere to take on the Bulls, who have secured a home quarter-final and the Stormers, who host bottom side Dragons in their penultimate fixture.
After breaking into the play-off picture, the Ospreys travel to the Sharks, who are littered with Springboks stars, and finish up in the Lions’ den.
The match to watch in the penultimate round of fixtures could be the Irish derby as Ulster travel to Munster.
Defeat would effectively end Ulster’s hopes, while Munster are also in danger should they fail to pick up a positive result on home turf.
Ulster face Edinburgh in their last match, while Munster travel to Benetton, who host Glasgow in their next outing.
Below Ulster, the Lions will host Scarlets and Ospreys as we’ve mentioned above, while Connacht take on Zebre and Edinburgh.
As previously mentioned, Edinburgh are in a unique position as they have two routes to Champions Cup rugby available for next season.
If they cannot qualify by winning the Challenge Cup, then they can book their place by sneaking into the top eight.
It may come down to the number of match wins, which is the first tie-breaker before points difference. At the moment, Cardiff, Stormers, Scarlets and Benetton have eight wins, while Munster, Ulster, Ospreys and Lions have seven.
Edinburgh remain on six while Connacht are on five.
With only two weeks of the regular season left, there is still so much to play for and plenty of drama to come.
