With five rounds to go in the BKT United Rugby Championship, everything is still up for grabs for the Irish provinces.
Ulster, Leinster and Munster are all in the top half of the table as things stand, while Connacht are breathing down the neck of those in the play-off spots after a good run of form.
While Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers have started to break away in the top two, there are just seven points separating third-place Ulster from Connacht back in ninth, and with so many of these teams still to play each other over the next five rounds, we can expect plenty of changes to the layout of the table before the quarter-finals get under way in May.
Leinster are the first of the provinces in action this weekend. Leo Cullen's side will be looking to get back on track after two disappointing defeats when they host the Scarlets on Friday night.
Munster complete their tour of South Africa on Saturday away to the Bulls, needing a big response after last week’s 45-0 drubbing to the Sharks. To sum up how evenly balanced this table is, Munster could finish the weekend anywhere from third to ninth in the table.
In-form Connacht go in search of their fifth win in a row when they host the Ospreys on Saturday afternoon, before Ulster will be hoping to consolidate third place in the table on Saturday night, away to Zebre in Parma.
Online
We'll have live scoring, reports and reaction on RTÉ.ie/sport
TV
Bulls v Munster (Saturday, 12pm) and Connacht v Ospreys (Saturday, 2.15pm) are both live on TG4 and Premier Sports.
Leinster v Scarlets (Friday, 7.45pm), Zebre Parma v Ulster (Saturday, 7.45pm) and all other games are live on Premier Sports and URC.tv
WEATHER
Friday's earlier showers are expected clear before Leinster and Scarlets kick off at 7.45pm at Aviva Stadium, although it's going to be a cold night in Dublin with temperatures forecast around 6C, along with a bit of breeze, with winds of 16km/hr.
It should be a dry and cloudy Saturday afternoon in Galway, where Connacht host Ospreys. Temperatures around 10C, but it's expected to be a windy day, with gusts of more that 45km/hr.
The weather could play a real factor in the meeting of Bulls and Munster in Johannesburg, where it's going to be both a hot and rainy afternoon. Temperatures could hit 25C, but it's also forecast to be a day with scattered thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, it'll be perfect rugby weather in Parma on Saturday night for Zebre v Ulster, around 10C, dry and barely a puff of wind.
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For the second time this season, Leinster are hoping to avoid a third consecutive URC defeat, something which hasn't happened to the province since way back in 2008.
Defeats to Cardiff and Glasgow Warriors leave the defending champions fourth in the table heading into the weekend, although Leo Cullen’s side will have their home comforts of Aviva Stadium, a ground they have only lost once at since May 2023.
Leinster have only lost once to the Scarlets in their last seven meetings, which came in Llanelli last April, although they did gain revenge a few weeks later when they saw off Dwayne Peel’s side in the URC quarter-finals at the Aviva.
The Welsh side were comfortable winners against Zebre a week ago, but they had only won one of their previous six URC games before it, which leaves them third from bottom in the table.
The Scarlets have only won one game outside of Wales since May 2024.
Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien; Tommy O'Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, Joshua Kenny; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Brian Deeny; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt)
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Jerry Cahir, Rabah Slimani, Conor O'Tighearnaigh, Alex Soroka, Fintan Gunne, Sam Prendergast, Robbie Henshaw
Scarlets: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Joe Hawkins, Dane Blacker; Kemsley Mathias, Harry Thomas, Archer Hol;, Sam Lousi, Max Douglas; Jarrod Taylor, Dan Davis, Fletcher Anderson (capt)
Replacements: George Roberts, Sam O'Connor, Henry Thomas, Jake Ball, Tristan Davies, Archie Hughes, Ioan Jones, Macs Page
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
Sixth in the table with five games to go, Munster's season could still go either way depending on how they finish the regular season, with a home quarter-final just as likely as a ninth place finish.
Last week’s 45-0 defeat to Sharks was their first time being held scoreless in a competitive game for 16 years, but they welcome back Jack Crowley, Craig Casey and Jeremy Loughman for this crucial trip to the Bulls in Pretoria.
These sides have been incredibly evenly matched in their four previous meetings, with two wins apiece, while the last two meetings have gone the way of the away team; Munster winning at Loftus Versfeld two years ago, and the Bulls triumphing at Thomond Park in 2025. The highest winning margin has been 14 points, with the other three being one-score games.
The Bulls have had a poor season by their usual high standards, but have started to come into some form. Four wins in their last five URC games have brought them into the top half of the table, and they will likely overtake Munster with a win on Saturday.
Munster have won just one of their last six away matches in all competitions: 26-10 over Ospreys in December.
Bulls: Willie le Roux; Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Francois Klopper; Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortje; Marcell Coetzee (capt), Elrigh Louw, Nizaam Carr
Replacements: Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Khuta Mchunu, Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, Zak Burger, Cheswill Jooste, David Kriel
Munster: Ben O'Connor; Calvin Nash, Dan Kelly, Alex Nankivell, Séan O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey (capt); Michael Milne, Diarmuid Barron, Michael Ala’alatoa; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Tom Ahern, Alex Kendellen, Brian Gleeson
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Jeremy Loughman, John Ryan, Edwin Edogbo, Gavin Coombes, Paddy Patterson, JJ Hanrahan, John Hodnett
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Last week's big Interpro win for Connacht was their fourth in a row, and you have to go back as far as 2018 for the last time they won five on the spin in all competitions.
The sides have met already this season, with Ospreys pulling off an incredible comeback to defeat Connacht in Bridgend in the Challenge Cup in December. On that occasion, Connacht raced into a 21-0 lead, only to lose 24-21.
Connacht are ninth in the table, level on points with the Bulls in eighth, while there is a six-point gap to the Ospreys in 10th, who will need a win to maintain any realistic hopes of Champions Cup qualification.
With the Bulls hosting Munster earlier in the afternoon, Connacht know a win would bring them back into the top half of the table.
The province have a great record at home to Welsh sides, with the Dragons the last of the regions to win in Galway n October 2021, while the Ospreys have only won once at the Dexcom since 2016.
Connacht: Sean Naughton; Shane Jennings, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Finn Treacy; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Niall Murray, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle (capt)
Replacements: Matthew Victory, Billy Bohan, Sam Illo, David O'Connor, Sean O’Brien, Matthew Devine, Jack Carty, Oisin McCormack
Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Luke Morgan; Dan Edwards, Luke Davies; Steffan Thomas, Lewis Lloyd, Rhys Henry; Rhys Davies, Huw Sutton; James Ratti, Jac Morgan (capt), Morgan Morse
Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Ryan Smith, James Fender, Morgan Morris, Harri Williams, Max Nagy
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
Last week's defeat to Connacht was Ulster’s second in three games, but Richie Murphy’s side stayed third in the table over the weekend after defeats for Leinster, Cardiff and Munster.
Ulster will have revenge on their mind this weekend in Parma after losing to Zebre in Belfast last season, which was the Italian side’s first away win in the URC for four years.
Ulster actually lost to both Italian sides in the Championship last season for the first time but have already been victorious over Benetton this season in Round 6.
Zebre started the season impressively with back-to-back wins, but their form has collapsed since then, losing 11 in a row.
Zebre Parma: Lorenzo Pani; Mirko Belloni, Giulio Bertaccini, Marco Zanon, Simone Gesi; Giacomo Da Re, Alessandro Fusco; Muhamed Hasa, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Enrique Pieretto; Matteo Canali, Leonard Krumov (capt); Alessandro Ortombina, Bautista Stavile, David Odiase
Replacements: Giovanni Quattrini, Juan Pitinari, Ion Neculai, Giacomo Ferrari, Giovanni Licata, Thomas Dominguez, Martin Roger Farias, Luca Morisi
Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward; James Humphreys, Conor McKee; Eric O'Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom McAllister; Iain Henderson (capt), Joe Hopes; David McCann, Nick Timoney, Bryn Ward
Replacements: James McCormick, Angus Bell, Scott Wilson, Matthew Dalton, Juarno Augustus, Nathan Doak, Ben Carson Ben Moxham
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
FULL LIST OF FIXTURES, RESULTS AND STANDINGS
