It's all on the line in historic finish to the Race to the Eight
- URC Media
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Round 18 brings a final-day shoot-out across the United Rugby Championship, with first-placed Glasgow Warriors and second-placed DHL Stormers still separated by just a single point at the top of the table.
Glasgow travel to Ulster Rugby on 60 points, while the Stormers head to Cardiff Rugby on 59, with both sides still chasing the No 1 seed ahead of the quarter-finals. Leinster Rugby are also still in the mix on 58 points as they host Ospreys in Dublin.
The play-off race is just as tight around the cut line. Cardiff Rugby and Ulster Rugby begin the round on 50 points, with Connacht Rugby just one point behind in ninth and needing a result away to Edinburgh Rugby. Munster Rugby, on 51 points, host fifth-placed Fidelity SecureDrive Lions in another fixture with major quarter-final implications, while Vodacom Bulls, fourth on 54, will look to lock down their place when they face Benetton Rugby at Loftus Versfeld.
Elsewhere, Hollywoodbets Sharks host Zebre Parma looking to finish strongly after their Round 17 win over Benetton Rugby, while Scarlets and Dragons RFC meet in a Welsh derby in Llanelli. Across the round, there is pressure at both ends of the top eight race, with several teams still playing for seeding, qualification or survival.
Click Below For Full United Rugby Championship Match Previews
Round 18 at a glance
Glasgow Warriors and DHL Stormers are separated by one point at the top
Leinster Rugby are still in contention for a top-two finish
Cardiff Rugby, Ulster Rugby and Connacht Rugby are split by one point i
Munster Rugby v Fidelity SecureDrive Lions is a major play-off and seeding clash
Scarlets v Dragons RFC is the round’s Welsh derby
Just TWO points separate the top three teams (last year it was 13 points).
Only a Bonus Point win (5 pts) separates 4th place from 9th (last year it was 12 points)
Five teams vying for four Play-Off places: Lions, Munster, Cardiff, Ulster, Connacht
FIVE teams challenging for two remaining home Quarter-Finals (Glasgow & Stormers secure)
Milestone watch
Keelan Giles, Kieran Hardy, Matt Fagerson, Mike Haley and Scott Penny are all one appearance short of 100 in the URC
Josh van der Flier and Liam Belcher are both two appearances short of 100
Ed Byrne and Joe Davies are both three appearances short of 100
Table
Glasgow Warriors - 60 pts
DHL Stormers - 59 pts
Leinster Rugby - 58 pts
Vodacom Bulls - 54 pts
Fidelity SecureDrive Lions - 53 pts
Munster Rugby - 51 pts
Cardiff Rugby - 50 pts
Ulster Rugby - 50 pts
Connacht Rugby - 49 pts
Hollywoodbets Sharks - 41 pts
Ospreys - 39 pts
Edinburgh Rugby - 38 pts
Benetton Rugby - 33 pts
Scarlets - 25 pts
Dragons RFC - 25 pts
Zebre Parma - 15 pts
Fixtures
FRIDAY
Cardiff Rugby v DHL Stormers
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 7.45pm IRE & UK/8.45 ITA & SA
Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU) 116th game
AR1: Ben Connor (WRU), AR2: Lucas Yendle (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Ulster Rugby v Glasgow Warriors
Affidea Stadium, Belfast – KO 7.45pm IRE & UK/8.45 ITA & SA
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR) 50th game
AR1: Max Weston (IRFU), AR2: Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
Edinburgh Rugby v Connacht
Hive Stadium, Edinburgh - KO 7.45pm IRE & UK/8.45 ITA & SA
Live on: Premier Sports, TG4, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU) 15th game
AR1: Ian Kenny (SRU), AR2: Rob McDowell (SRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
SATURDAY
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Zebre Parma
Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – KO 12.45pm IRE & UK/1.45pm ITA & SA
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU) 50th game
AR1: Griffin Colby (SARU), AR2: Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Paul Larter (SRU)
Vodacom Bulls v Benetton
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 3pm IRE & UK/4pm ITA & SA
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sporst, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU) 74th game
AR1: Christopher Allison (SARU), AR2: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Leinster Rugby v Ospreys
Aviva Stadium, Dublin – KO 5.15pm IRE & UK/6.15pm ITA & SA
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU) 4th game
AR1: Peter Martin (IRFU), AR2: Dan Carson (IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)
Scarlets v Dragons RFC
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 5.15pm IRE & UK/6.15pm ITA & SA
Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) 116th game
AR1: Ben Connor (WRU), AR2: Carwyn Sion (WRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Munster Rugby v Fidelity SecureDrive Lions
Thomond Park, Limerick – KO 7.45pm IRE & UK/8.45 ITA & SA
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR) 60th game
AR1: Keane Davison (IRFU), AR2: Jonathan Erskine (IRFU)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
With just one round remaining in an incredibly tight Play-Off race in the United Rugby Championship, the StatMaster has identified the top players along with the overall top team and player performances from the league so far.
Click Below To View URC Player Stats
Click Below To View URC Team Stats
Top Players From R17
Carries: 24 Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby)
Defenders Beaten: 11 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
Line-outs Won: 14 Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby)
Metres: 106 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)
Passes: 95 Ben Murphy (Connacht Rugby)
Tackles: 26 Eoin de Buitlear (Connacht Rugby), James Botham (Cardiff Rugby)
Overall Top Players After R17
Carries: 217 Alun Lawrence (Cardiff Rugby)
Defenders Beaten: 55 Zac Ward (Ulster Rugby)
Kicks in Play: 138 Nathan Doak (Ulster Rugby)
Line-out Steals: 13 Emile van Heerden (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Line-outs Won: 144 Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers)
Metres: 960 Zac Ward (Ulster Rugby)
Passes: 766 George Horne (Glasgow Warriors)
Tackles: 258 Dan Thomas (Cardiff Rugby)
Tries: 12 Evan Roos (DHL Stormers)
Turnover Won: 17 Jeandre Rudolph (Vodacom Bulls)
Overall Top Team Season Totals
Carries: 2 618 Glasgow Warriors (154 per game)
Defenders Beaten: 484 Glasgow Warriors (28.5 per game)
Kicks in Play: 523 Cardiff Rugby (30.8 per game)
Metres: 7 872 Glasgow Warriors (463.1 per game)
Points: 521 Vodacom Bulls (30.6 per game)
Tackles: 2 684 Connacht Rugby (157.9 per game)
Tries: 75 Vodacom Bulls (4.4 per game)
Turnover Won: 121 Munster Rugby, Scarlets (7.1 per game)
Visits To 22: 211 Glasgow Warriors (12.4 per game)
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