The unbeaten and Springbok-infused Stormers and Bulls embark on their overseas tours while the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Lions will be looking for their first wins in Europe in round three of the URC this weekend.
Friday 10 October
Munster | Draw | Edinburgh
Munster battled past Cardiff in a thriller at Thomond Park last week, edging it 23-20 and will look to build on their two from two record when Edinburgh arrive in Limerick. Clayton McMillan has clearly hit the ground running in his new role and the team’s momentum should enable them to capitalise on an Edinburgh side without any themselves yet this season following an opening defeat at Zebre and round two match postponement due to the effects of Storm Amy.
Verdict: Munster on the minus
Scarlets | Draw | Stormers
The Stormers are sitting pretty with nine-points following their opening wins over Leinster and Ospreys in Cape Town and will be eager to start their tour brightly against a Scarlets team that fell at home to Munster in round one and whose game at Connacht last week was put on hold.
Given the manner in which the Capetonians have performed to date, and accounting for the arrival of Rugby Championship-winners Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach who, even if they don’t play, will have a major positive impact on the side, victory in Llanelli is well within reach. Keep an eye out for Evan Roos, with the former URC Player of the Season starting the new campaign like a house on fire.
Verdict: Stormers on the board
Saturday 11 October
Ospreys | Draw | Zebre
Despite ultimately falling to two defeats on their South Africa tour and earning just a single log-point for their efforts, Ospreys showed plenty of promise and should be confident ahead of their first home game of the season. The performance of scrumhalf Kieran Hardy against the Stormers last week was particularly eye-catching and the 29-year-old will have an important role to play in tandem with flyhalf Daniel Edwards in the campaign ahead.
Zebre meanwhile are two from two and currently occupy fourth after superb opening home victories against Edinburgh and the Lions. Massimo Brunello’s men, who played some of the most attractive attacking footy of any side last season, are improving year on year and are out to better their club record 15th-place finish in 2024/25. This trip to Swansea may be a tough ask though considering what we saw from Ospreys last week.
Verdict: Ospreys on the board
Benetton | Draw | Lions
Like fellow Italian side Zebre, Benetton have certainly looked well up for it this season with an opening defeat at Connacht followed by a fantastic 16-14 win over Glasgow Warriors at the Stadio Comunale. They won’t be taking anything for granted after having missed out on a quarterfinal appearance by just two-points last term, and will be eager to keep the winning momentum going against the side they saw off 42-31 in Johannesburg in April.
Things haven’t looked as rosy for the Lions, who failed to capitalise on some dominant moments at Zebre last week and succumbed to a 22-20 defeat in the end. There are plenty of question marks hanging over Cash van Rooyen and his Pride at present, especially following another Currie Cup final loss, and in spite of the attacking brilliance of Henco van Wyk and Quan Horn, victory this weekend seems unlikely.
Verdict: Benetton on the minus
Glasgow Warriors | Draw | Dragons
Warriors require a massive turnaround following their shock loss at Benetton, with nothing less than five-log points set to do the trick coming up against Dragons. Even the returns of Sione Tuipoulotu and Kyle Steyn weren’t enough for the Scottish club in Treviso, but one gets the sense that Franco Smith’s charges will bounce back with interest at the Scotstoun.
Verdict: Glasgow on the minus
Leinster | Draw | Hollywoodbets Sharks
Leinster are in completely unknown territory with no wins and just a single log point after the opening fortnight of the competition. Their 35-0 smashing at the hands of the Stormers in Cape Town was followed by a much-improved display at Loftus Versfeld last week, ending in a 31-39 loss after running the Bulls extremely close. Back in Dublin this week though, Leo Cullen’s defending champions should resume their usual business.
The Sharks have had some great moments over the course of the first two rounds but still show signs of missing so many key players. They will continue to get better as the season progresses, but their depleted squad could struggle this weekend.
Verdict: Leinster on the minus
Cardiff | Draw | Connacht
Boosted by Tom Bowen’s hattrick, Cardiff were narrowly beaten at Thomond Park a week ago after seeing off the Lions 33-20 in their tournament opener. They’re in for another stern challenge this weekend in the form of Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht, who sat out last week but looked a proper threat in their first round beating of Benetton. This should be a tight contest, but the fact that the Irish club have one less hit-out under the belt may work against them.
Verdict: Cardiff on the board
Ulster | Draw | Bulls
Ulster will need to put the disappointment of their round two postponement behind them quickly in the face of the challenge of a Springbok-loaded Bulls team. The Belfastians beat Dragons comfortably on the opening weekend but Richie Murphy and his players will receive their first real test of the season on Saturday as they continue to aim at exorcising the demons of 2024/25.
Johan Ackermann has welcomed back Handre Pollard, Wilco Louw and Canan Moodie into the fold ahead of their tour which will offset the injury to Marcell Coetzee as the Pretoria side look to add to their two from two record so far. Given the early-season form they’ve shown, as well as the arrival of so many Boks, they will be hard to stop, even in Northern Ireland.
Verdict: Bulls on the board
