URC Play Offs: Quarter-Finals preview as knock-out rugby returns tonight

The three former champions of the URC era have all made the play-offs, with Glasgow (2024), Munster (2023) and the Stormers (2022) eyeing up their second crack at the title since the South African sides joined the fray. Joining them are the eight-time league winners Leinster, who are baying for blood after their Champions Cup run was curtailed by Northampton Saints a matter of weeks ago.

The Scarlets represent the sole Welsh region in the quarter-finals, and as two-time champions from the Celtic League and Pro12 eras, the Llanelli side are the last side with league title honours in the mix. Edinburgh, the Bulls and the Sharks have never experienced the feeling of being kings of the URC, with the trio of uncrowned clubs pushing on to make history across the Scottish capital, Pretoria and Durban.

The defending United Rugby Championship title holders, Glasgow Warriors head into this quarter-final following a rough patch of recent form. Despite three consecutive losses to the Bulls, Benetton, and Leinster, Glasgow still finished 4th in the 2023/24 URC standings. This ranking marked one rung higher up than upon last season's table, as the Warriors won the 2023/24 title following a fifth placed finish.

Glasgow will have their sights set on silverware, after a tough day out to Leinster ended their Champions Cup run in brutal fashion. A humbling 52-0 defeat to the Dubliners dumped Glasgow out at the quarter-final, in what was their latest taste of knock-out rugby. However, Franco Smith's side will take confidence from last season's URC quarter-final, in which they achieved a 27-10 victory over none less than their opponents for tonight, the Stormers.

It's an interesting position for the Cape Town side, as the fifth placed table finish is the Stormers' worst ranking ,from their three seasons in the URC (2nd in 2023, 3rd in 2024). However, the South African side is enjoying a hot run of form, as four wins on the bounce saw them win the 'Race to the Eight' over Connacht, Benetton, the Dragons and Cardiff. Both sides bring star-studded squads to Scotstoun Stadium, with Glasgow contributing Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings and Zander Fagerson to the British & Irish Lions, whilst the Stormers boast a plethora of internationally capped Springboks.

VODACOM BULLS (2ND) vs EDINBURGH RUGBY (7TH)

Saturday 31st May, 12:30 KO, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

The first action on Saturday sees the second placed Vodacom Bulls welcome Edinburgh down to Pretoria. It's one of the furthest away days in professional rugby, as the Scottish side gets set for the 13,450 km trip down to the Southern Hemisphere. The Bulls have enjoyed a solid run of form in their league campaign, with six consecutive URC victories dating back to their triumphant battle with Leinster, which ended the Dubliners unbeaten run in the 13th round of the season.

Jake White's side last tasted defeat in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals, against none other than Edinburgh Rugby, whom they play on Saturday. The hard-fought contest ended 34-28 in the Scottish capital, with the result from mid-April set to weigh heavily on the mind of the Pretoria side this week. Edinburgh's mix bag of league form seeds them in seventh, as Sean Everitt side's just made the grade for this season's play off places.

Edinburgh would have taken a great lift earlier this month, as prop Pierre Schoeman and wing Duhan van der Merwe were called up for Lions duties this Summer. However, van der Merwe has not played since the end of March, with ankle ligament damage keeping the Scottish powerhouse out of this weekend's clash. Rassie Erasmus and his Springboks selectors could well be in attendance this Saturday, as South Africa get set to host Italy for a Summer series, and the Bulls boast an array of Springbok talents, such as their hot-stepping wings Canan Moodie and Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Oh to be a fly on the wall at the Leinster training ground this week. After being billed as heavy favourites for their Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints, the URC title has become a must-win piece of silverware for the Irish province. Leinster are understandably the favourites for Saturday's match against Scarlets, yet any complacency from the Dubliners could see them unstuck for another unexpected upset at the Aviva Stadium. Leinster fans will be more than aware of the table toppers curse, as no side from the URC's three-year history has won the title after finishing at the top of the tree come Round 18.

Leinster enjoyed a stunning run of form to start off their season, as they racked up a streak of 16 wins in all competitions across the URC and Champions Cup. This was of course ended by the aforementioned efforts of the Bulls, as Leo Cullen's side have been steadily returning back to their unstoppable best. With 12 players called up for the British & Irish Lions, along with Springbok titan RG Snyman and All Blacks maestro Jordie Barrett in their squad, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone across the Emerald Isle willing to bet against Leinster this weekend.

The Scarlets can take some mental confidence from their recent victory over Leinster, yet there's no denying the asterisk of their 35-22 win from April. The Llanelli side took on a heavily rotated Leinster outfit, with just one of the 12 selected Lions in hooker Ronan Kelleher, lining up for the Dublin side. The Scarlets join the play-offs in eighth place, with their latest run of form seeing the Welsh club achieve three high-scoring wins in a row over the Dragons, Leinster and the Emirates Lions, before a defeat last time out to the Hollywoodbets Sharks.

The closing match of the weekend could well be the one that steals the show, as the Sharks host Munster for a sun-drenched backdrop in South Africa. Munster can cast their minds back to 2023 for inspiration, as the Irish side went down to Cape Town to win the URC title after finishing the regular season in fifth place. Munster know they that can get the job done in the land of the Springboks, with the added emotional drive of Peter O'Mahony and Stephen Archer's retirements and the departure of Conor Murray only spurring on the province for success.

Defeat in Durban would bring about the end of the road for O'Mahony and Archer, with the Sharks out to curtail the retirement tour of the two Munster legends. Munster come into this win off back-to-back wins over Ulster and Benetton, whilst the Sharks have won their four latest matches and are the on-form favourites for the clash upon South African soil.

The Durban side lifted their first ever trophy last season, with Eben Etzebeth and Bongi Mbonambi pivotal leaders to their EPCR Challenge Cup success. However, the Sharks have never won a league title, whether it be in Super Rugby or the URC. Despite this, John Plumtree's side have secured minor silverware this season, in the form of the South African Shield. The Sharks got the better of their countries' counterparts this season, with four mins from six matches against the Bulls, Lions and Stormers.