Quarter-final line-up set after dramatic final round of the URC

The United Rugby Championship quarter-finals are now confirmed with eight teams from across Ireland, South Africa, Scotland and Wales reaching the play-offs which take place on May 29 and 30.

The most intense play-off race in the history of the URC went all the way to final whistle of Round 18 where the result between Munster and the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions put the rubber stamp on a fascinating slate of quarter-final match-ups.

The results from Round 18 ensured that the four home teams were ranked; Glasgow Warriors (1), Leinster (2), DHL Stormers (3) and Vodacom Bulls (4). The away teams will be Munster (5), Cardiff (6), Lions (7) and Connacht (8).

The 2024 champions, Glasgow Warriors, will get the play-offs underway on Friday, May 29 when they take on Connacht at Scotstoun. This will be followed by three games on the Saturday with the Bulls taking on 2023 champions, Munster, the Stormers welcome Cardiff to Cape Town with defending champions Leinster hosting the Lions.

All games will be broadcast live on Premier Sports (UK) and SuperSport (South Africa) with TG4 (Glasgow Warriors v Connacht and Leinster v Lions) and S4C (Stormers v Cardiff) screening selected games Free-to-Air in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The qualification of both Cardiff and theLions means that 14 of the 16 teams in the league have reached the play-offs in the past five seasons, another sign of the competitive and unpredictable nature of the URC.

While the four home quarter-finalists are best placed to reach the decider, history may yet deliver a twist — only one team ranked No 1 has ever lifted the URC trophy. In past seasons, it was fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors (2024), fifth-placed Munster (2023), and second-placed DHL Stormers (2022) who emerged as champions before first-placed Leinster finally claimed the crown last year.

Fixtures

Quarter-finals

Friday, May 29

QF1: (1) Glasgow Warriors v (8) Connacht @ Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow (7.45pm UK/8.45pm SA)

Live on Premier Sports, SuperSport, TG4, URC.tv, FloRugby

Saturday, May 30

QF4: (4) Vodacom Bulls v (5) Munster @ Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (12pm UK/1pm SA)

Live on SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby

QF3: (3) DHL Stormers v (6) Cardiff @ DHL Stadium, Cape Town (2.30pm UK/3.30pm SA)

Live on SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby

QF2: (2) Leinster v (7) Fidelity SecureDrive Lions @ Aviva Stadium, Dublin (8pm UK/9pm SA)

Live on TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby

Semi-Finals – Saturday, June 6

SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4

SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3

URC Grand Final – Saturday, June 20

Winner SF1 v Winner SF2