URC State Of Play | Lots At Stake In Final Round

There is just one round of URC action remaining in the regular season with Munster among a number of clubs battling for Champions Cup qualification.

Munster are guaranteed a top eight finish and have qualified for the URC quarter-finals that take place on the weekend of May 5/6/7.

The province are fifth in the table after winning eight of our last 10 URC games, picking up 39 points of a possible 50.

Seven of those eight victories were secured with a try bonus-point.

Graham Rowntree’s side face Sharks in Durban for the final game of the regular season this Saturday, April 22 (5.15pm Irish time/6.15pm local).

Eight clubs from the URC will qualify for next season’s Champions Cup. See the full qualification criteria on the URC website here. Scroll to the bottom of that page for Champions Cup qualification details.

To have any chance of qualifying for next year’s Champions Cup via the league standings, teams must finish in the top 7 of the URC.

If Benetton or Scarlets win the Challenge Cup and if the winners of the URC have not already secured a Champions Cup place through the league standings, only the top five qualify for the Champions Cup.

A win or two losing bonus-points will secure fifth place in the table and guarantee a place in next season’s Champions Cup.

If teams are level on points, the first tie-breaker is number of wins. If teams have the same number of wins, it will come down to points difference.

See the table as it stands ahead of the final round below and scroll down to see the round 18 fixtures.

URC Round 18

Friday, April 21

Stormers v Benetton, Danie Craven Stadium, 5.30pm (6.30pm local);

Ulster v Edinburgh Rugby, Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm;

Saturday, April 22

Lions v Zebre Parma, Loftus Versfeld, 12pm (1pm local);

Bulls v Leinster, Loftus Versfeld, 3pm (4pm local);

Dragons RFC v Scarlets, Principality Stadium, 3pm;

Sharks v Munster, King’s Park, 5.15pm (6.15pm local);

Ospreys v Cardiff Rugby, Principality Stadium, 5.15pm;

Glasgow Warriors v Connacht, Scotstoun, 7.35pm;