Round 18 brings a final-day shootout across the BKT 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 DHL 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.
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 1 appearance short of 100 in the URC
- Josh van der Flier and Liam Belcher are both 2 appearances short of 100
- Ed Byrne and Joe Davies are both 3 appearances short of 100
BKT URC Fixtures
Friday, May 15:
Cardiff Rugby v DHL Stormers, 19:45 (20:45 ITA/SA)
Edinburgh Rugby v Connacht Rugby, 19:45 (20:45 ITA/SA)
Ulster Rugby v Glasgow Warriors, 19:45 (20:45 ITA/SA)
Saturday, May 16:
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Zebre Parma, 12:45 (13:45 ITA/SA)
Vodacom Bulls v Benetton Rugby, 15:00 (16:00 ITA/SA)
Leinster Rugby v Ospreys, 17:15 (18:15 ITA/SA)
Scarlets v Dragons RFC, 17:15 (18:15 ITA/SA)
Munster Rugby v Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, 19:45 (20:45 ITA/SA)
Table snapshot
- 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
