JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 25: Colm Reilly of Connacht Rugby and Richard Kriel of the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions during the United Rugby Championship match between Fidelity SecureDrive Lions and Connacht at Ellis Park on April 26, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
If things go well, there’s a decent chance three South African United Rugby Championship (URC) sides will dominate the top four places on the log come the end of the competition’s pool stage in two weeks’ time.
Currently, the Stormers sit top of the URC pile with 56 points, the Lions are flying high in third on 53 and the Bulls are just bubbling under in seventh, on 49.
For the Lions to finish in the top four they will have to upset the defending champions, Leinster, in Dublin on Saturday, as the Irish side sit fourth on 53 points, so a loss for them would give the Bulls a bigger chance of closing the gap on the top four, while at the same time pushing the Lions further ahead.
If the Lions can’t pull it off it is highly unlikely South Africa will boast three teams in the top four by the end of the pool stage.
The Lions are on a six-game winning run so will be full of confidence, while Leinster fell to a shock defeat against Benetton in their last URC outing.
But they bounced back from that by beating Toulon in their Champions Cup semifinal this past Saturday and may look to rest some players with a huge EPCR final and the URC playoffs to come.
So, it should be a massive encounter with the Lions looking to break new ground by beating Leinster in Ireland for the first time, which they will also be aiming to do against Munster in Limerick in their last pool match a week later.
Top spot
For the Stormers to seal top spot on the URC log they will likely need to win their last two matches, away against Ulster and Cardiff, as second place Glasgow Warriors, who trail them by a point, are hot on their heels.
The Ulster game will be massive, as the Irish side sit eighth on the log and know a loss could see them slip out of the playoff places.
The Bulls have the easiest finish to their pool campaign of the South African teams, and they will thus have high hopes of climbing their way up into the URC top four.
They host bottom of the table Zebre this Saturday, and finish off against 13th placed Benetton at Loftus next weekend, and they will be confident of walking away with a full house of 10 points from those games.
They will still need teams above them to slip up, like the aforementioned Leinster, as well as Cardiff and Munster, but with all of them facing tricky finishes to their pool campaigns, it is a distinct possibility that the Bulls secure themselves a home quarterfinal.
The Sharks (10th) are out of the URC top eight running and finish their campaign with home clashes against Benetton and Zebre.
This weekend’s URC fixtures:
Friday
Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff at the Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off 8:45pm
Ulster v Stormers at the Affidea Stadium – Kick-off 8:45pm
Saturday
Bulls v Zebre at Loftus Versfeld – Kick-off 1:45pm
Sharks v Benetton at Kings Park – Kick-off 4pm
Ospreys v Scarlets at the Electric Brewery Field – Kick-off 6:30pm
Leinster v Lions at the Aviva Stadium – Kick-off 6:30pm
Dragons v Edinburgh at Rodney Parade – Kick-off 8:45pm
Connacht v Munster at the Sportsground – Kick-off 8:45pm
