URC Round 16

Friday 10th May 2024

Dragons RFC v DHL Stormers
Rodney Parade, Newport – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Edinburgh Rugby v Zebre Parma
Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv


Saturday 11th May 2024

Vodacom Bulls v Glasgow Warriors
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA & SA
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Hollywoodbets Sharks v Benetton
Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA & SA
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Scarlets v Ulster
Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 15.05 IRE & UK / 16.05 ITA & SA
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Emirates Lions v Cardiff Rugby
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Munster v Connacht
Thomond Park, Limerick – KO 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA & SA
Live on: RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Leinster v Ospreys
RDS Arena, Dublin – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Live on: TG4, S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Can’t watch our Dragons, as I’m hopefully playing the British Army on Kingsholm on Friday. I normally have a good record for Dragons results, when I play in Goucester but don’t think I will now. Good that Stormers have loaded up for the tour. We can tell a lot by the Dragons here and their new signing (Holis, even if he is now being called a wing) early.

Other than in Wales away wins will be hard to come by

Should be a few give me games this weekend. But there are some key games that should make for great watches. Looking forward to:-

Bulls vs Glasgow - I'm guessing Glasgow would love to finish top of the league so can see them putting out a strong team for this.

Lions vs Cardiff - Lions have to win or the top 8 run would be over for them I think.

Munster vs Connacht - Munster will be favorites for this for sure but Connacht really need points so this could be a cracker as well.

Leinster vs Ospreys - Leinster should win but Ospreys need this to stay alive for the top 8. Ospreys probably still have a small chance though if they lose this and win the 2 other games.

I think Sharks Benetton will be a closer than the games in Ireland.

Both Munster and Leinster will be full on and too strong for their respective oppositions.

geoff999rugby wrote:Other than in Wales away wins will be hard to come by

Booooooooo to you

To be fair who do you think has a better chance of an away win than Stormers and Ulster?

The reality is they are two of the three weakest teams in the league.
It would be very different if Cardiff and Ospreys were at home.

Yeah I know, I wasn’t being serious! Just wanted to boooooo you for pointing it out

Dragons playing quite well tonight.....Stormers look a bit off though i have to say...

And then the Human Turnstyle that is Jordan Williams strikes again......too easy for Stormers. Conversion will give them the lead.....

Were still in this though...

Nails the conversion......We need a penatly to get back into this...

If we had a scrum we could cause teams problems - but we dont and who knows if Dai is going to sign the type of guys we actually need.....

If Libbok does leave the Stormers this summer they wont be half the team they are at the minute......He's having a great game for them tonight..

And just like that the game is gone.....Last 20 minutes we just didnt play well enough.....

I have to question our second rows as well - we just are a little light weight at this level....

Same old story for the Dragons then. I bet they will be glad to see the end of this season (as usual).

Scarlets losing to Ulster - Ulster bag a bonus point as well in the process. Few minutes to go but 11 points I cant see them turning this around unless Ulster implode.....

Dramatic win for Benetton at Sharks.

Lions and Ospreys have to win this weekend or they are out of it.

Ulster win....but Benetton have beaten the Sharks away in the last play of the game - unexpected. That round 18, Benetton vs Edinburgh could be a big game.

Fair play to Connacht - they run some very good lines.....

Man in the bin for Connacht after several penalties in the 22. To be honest should have come sooner. Connacht defence is impressive.

Fair play - Connacht really dont lack heart. They dont have the talent of a lot of teams in the league but they play and defend with a lot of heart. Something I would love to see in any of the Welsh regional sides but we lack in large amounts.

I dont actually think Ireland produce more talented rugby players than Wales. But what they all seem to have is massive heart and great determination. Something which we simply dont seem to get into a lot of our welsh players.

Munster 14 up but to be fair Connacht really have made Munster work very hard. They dont seem to lie down at all.

Connacht pull one back. As a neutral you have to admire the fight they have. Seem to play for each other.

Wow munster scramble and punt away on their own line....this is a hell of a game...

barely a min later Munster turnover and go the length.....big score for munster that is - totally against the run of play since half time.....

So Munster 21-7 to the good.....the scoreline really doesnt reflect how close this one has been.

Connacht must be gutted at the moment.

Meanwhile Cardiff have pulled it back a bit - Lions lead 20-13

Munster score again - that must be the game now. With a BP.

Munster are going to be a hard side to beat come playoffs. They are playing very well at the moment at the right end of the season.

Got to feel for Connacht - they deserved more than this scoreline.

Great game though and a good advert for the URC.

Close game for the Ospreys then.

Places 5 to 8 seem to be up for grabs, I think Connacht may be out of it now. Found the info below on the URC website just in case the points all end up the same.

The positions of the Clubs in the League Stage will be entered into the Standard League Table and will be based on the following, in order:

a) the number of League Points awarded to each Club;

b) if unresolved, the number of Matches won by each Club in the League Stage;

c) if unresolved, the difference between the total points scored and the total points conceded on the field of play for each Club in all Matches in the League Stage;

d) if unresolved, the number of tries scored by each Club in all Matches in the League Stage;

e) if unresolved, the number of points scored on the field of play by each Club in all Matches in the League Stage;

f) if unresolved, the difference between the number of tries scored and the number of tries conceded by each Club in all Matches in the League Stage;

g) if unresolved, the number of Players suspended by a Disciplinary Committee or Appeal Committee for incidents taking place in the League Stage (i.e. the Club with fewer will be positioned higher);

h) if unresolved, the number of yellow cards received by Players for each Club in all Matches in the League Stage (i.e. the Club with fewer will be positioned higher); and

i) if unresolved, the toss of a coin or as otherwise determined by Pro Rugby Championship in its absolute discretion.

You’d assume something needs to change at Ospreys, for them to lose like that two weeks in a row. If they have ambition then perhaps bring in an additional coach. They will also need a better back 3 and a centre better than Watkin, otherwise they’ll continue to not score tries against teams like Bulls, Leinster, etc. Their fans go nuts if you tell them Watkin is an average player, but the evidence is irrefutable.