Absorbing final round sets up Stormers/Bulls URC quarterfinal

The upshot of an absorbing and exciting for some and frustrating for others final round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship is that last year’s finalists, the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls are set to clash in the quarterfinal round two weeks from now.

And the big news of the day is that the Cell C Sharks, after doing all the hard work in the first half, have failed to qualify for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup, as they allowed Munster to storm back and force a 22-22 draw at HollywoodBets Kings Park. The Sharks, by finishing eighth, have been condemned to travel to Dublin to face Leinster in their quarterfinal.

The Sharks would have edged through into a position where they could possibly qualify for the Champions Cup had they held on to win as Connacht, who finish just ahead of them on the log, were narrowly beaten in a tight final game of the league phase by Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun Stadium. Connacht were within two points of a win and in the Glasgow half at the final whistle.

Had Connacht won, the Stormers and Bulls would have avoided each other, but now the sides are set to clash at the same venue where they met in last year’s final, which the Stormers won. It isn’t an ideal situation for South African rugby as it limits the number of potential local semifinalists but at least it ensures that there will be one South African team in the last four.

With the lineup for the quarterfinals in terms of who plays who once again only being confirmed in the last game, it was an exciting finish to the regular season to match the inaugural season, where there was also a lot on the line going into the final weekend.

The Sharks have a tough task going to Leinster but the log winners play a tough Champions Cup semifinal against Leicester Tigers next week while the Sharks will have a chance to refresh and re-energise. They showed in their recent trip to Toulouse for the Champions Cup quarterfinal that they can be competitive against the best teams, but they might have to travel without Siya Kolisi and Curwin Bosch, both of whom left the field injured against Munster.

The Bulls, who have struggled for most of the season and been inconsistent, arguably finished the league phase as the South African team with momentum after scoring a massive 62-7 win over Leinster, the biggest-ever defeat suffered by the proud Irish province.

They face a Stormers team a fortnight from now that picked up a few injuries against Benetton in Stellenbosch in their final game on Friday night. It needs to be noted that Leinster were severely under-strength but the Bulls were impressive and will have boosted their confidence in a game where they never put a foot wrong.

The final round also saw the Shield winner confirmed, with the Stormers lifting the South African trophy in Stellenbosch on Friday after wrapping up that race several weeks ago, Leinster doing the same, and Glasgow confirming their dominance of the Scottish/Italian field with their comfortable overall fourth-placed finish. The Shield that still had to be decided was the Welsh one and Cardiff, who were leading going into the final game, clinched it with a big first half that set up the win over the one team that could challenge them, Ospreys.

LINEUP FOR VODACOM URC QUARTERFINALS - home teams first (weekend 5/6 May)

Leinster v Cell C Sharks

Ulster v Connacht

DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls

Glasgow Warriors v Munster

RESULTS OF FINAL ROUND MATCHES

DHL Stormers 38 Benetton 22

Ulster 28 Edinburgh 14

Emirates Lions 50 Zebre 35

Vodacom Bulls 62 Leinster 7

Cell C Sharks 22 Munster 22

Dragons 31 Scarlets 14