The race is on for the final three playoff positions in the United Rugby Championship. Fifth placed Munster is the lowest placed team that is certain of a top eight finish as they can’t be caught by the team in ninth place. They however still have much to play for as they look to secure a place in the top four which will mean they get a home quarter final. In order for this situation to unfold, they will need fourth placed Glasgow Warriors to lose their final two matches while they win both their matches which seems an unlikely scenario. The battle for positions six to eight is where the really dogfight takes place. Eighth placed Sharks are on 41 points, just a single point above ninth placed Benetton whom they meet in the upcoming round of matches. The loser of this match will all but be eliminated from the playoff race as they will require a host of other results to go their way to qualify.
Connacht and the Bulls currently occupy sixth and seventh spots and will be favourites to qualify as they have home matches against Cardiff and Zebre respectively. Irish side Connacht have made their home ground in Galway an absolute fortress and will be looking to put away a Cardiff side that struggles on the road despite having a host of Welsh internationals in the team. The Bulls in particular will want nothing less than a bonus point victory over the winless Italians as they seek to secure their playoff position.. To further complicate matters the team finishing eighth may not qualify as the competition ruling says at least one team from each participating country must have representation in the playoffs. This means that if a Welsh team does not make the top eight on merit, the highest finishing team from Wales will claim the eighth spot thus pushing the original eighth place team out of the playoffs. We are in for a dramatic last two rounds of action in the URC.
