THE United Rugby Championship will be back to full throttle this weekend as the competition reaches Round 13 and the race for playoff spots sears to new heights, with 15 of the 16 teams still in the race to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The eighth-placed Lions will launch the action for the domestic teams tomorrow when they meet the sixth-placed Cardiff in Wales, while SA’s die-hard fans will have loads of action to look forward to on Saturday.
Three matches will play out on Saturday with SA Shield winners, the Sharks (who are currently in fourth place on the standings), hosting the 15th placed Zebre Parma in Durban; the Bulls (third) welcoming log-leaders Leinster to Pretoria, and the 10th-placed Scarlets taking on the 12th-placed Stormers in Llanelli.
Both coach John Dobson’s Stormers and Scarlets will be desperate to change their fortunes in the competition when they meet in Llanelli with three and two successive defeats respectively to their names going into the match and both teams both locked on 28 log points.
A victory for either team could see them possibly leap into the top half of the standings depending on other results, which will fuel their motivation going into the match.
Interestingly the teams have been well balanced in terms of attacking statistics, with the Scarlets scoring only one point more than the Capetonians, but the visitors have leaked 38 points more than the Welshman, meaning they will have to tighten up their defence to come away with a win.
While both teams have won five of their 12 matches to date, the Stormers have had disappointing results on the road, losing three of their four matches – a record they will want to rectify this weekend.
SA URC WEEKEND FIXTURES:
Friday: Cardiff v Lions (9.35pm)
Saturday: Sharks v Zebre Parma (2.45pm), Bulls v Leinster, Scarlets v Stormers (both 5pm)