The pick of the fifth round of the URC sees the Bulls tackle Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun while high-flying Ulster travel to Johannesburg to face the Lions in the final weekend before the competition enters its annual November break.
Friday 24 October
Glasgow Warriors | Draw | Bulls
Glasgow will look to take advantage of the Bulls’ leaky defence when the two heavyweights clash on Friday. Franco Smith’s boys put their disappointing round two defeat at Benetton well and truly behind them by emphatically dispatching of Dragons and Ospreys in the ideal build up to a match of this magnitude. For Johan Ackermann’s team, they’ll take heart from their solid one-point win over Connacht last week but may be susceptible to Warriors’ attacking threats when they’re on the other side of offence.
Verdict: Glasgow on the minus
Saturday 25 October
Lions | Draw | Ulster
The Lions ended their losing start to the campaign by downing Scarlets at Emirates Airline Park last time out, and Ivan van Rooyen’s men will require every ounce of that momentum to hault this well-oiled Ulster side. Richie Murphy’s boys were sublime in downing a Bok-laden Sharks team in Durban last week, but while they will take heart from their undefeated start to the season, this test at altitude could prove a stretch too far. With one home win now under the belt, get on the hosts to double up here.
Verdict: Lions on the board
Hollywoodbets Sharks | Draw | Scarlets
Three defeats from three for bottom-placed Scarlets, who head to Durban off the back of a 29-18 loss to the Lions in Johannesburg. If Dwayne Peel’s side don’t arrest their shoddy form soon, they will be in danger of some record lows by their club’s standards. As poor as John Plumtree’s Sharks have been so far this term, with just three log points to show for their efforts thus far, one would think their Bok-laden side will hit back hard this weekend to make up for their dismal display against Ulster in the previous round.
Verdict: Sharks on the minus
Dragons | Draw | Ospreys
Just two-points separates 15th-placed Dragons (three-log points) from 13th-placed Ospreys ahead of this encounter at Rodney Parade, with Filo Tiatia’s boys having the worst points difference (-77) of any team so far. While they showed good fight in their draw against the Sharks, and though Ospreys are certainly not high on confidence themselves, the Welsh club should be good enough to claim a result in Newport.
Verdict: Ospreys on the board
Benetton | Draw | Stormers
In their four matches so far, the Italians have won both of their home games and lost away twice. They’ll be hoping that trend continues at least another week as they prepare for the arrival of the competition’s best team so far, the Stormers. Powered by massive performances from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Evan Roos, the Capetonians downed Zebre in Parma last week to maintain their ascendency at the top of the log. After such a disappointing 2024/25 campaign, they look like they mean real business and should maintain that winning feeling in Treviso – though it should be a lot closer than it was last week.
Verdict: Stormers on the board
Leinster | Draw | Zebre
Zebre did well to win their opening two fixtures to see themselves head into this weekend inside the playoff spots, but big losses to Ospreys and the Stormers over the last fortnight has seen them drop off. Heading to Dublin to take on what will be a hurting Leinster outfit following their loss at the hands of bitter rivals Munster won’t do them any favours unfortunately.
Verdict: Leinster on the minus
Cardiff | Draw | Edinburgh
Ninth-placed Edinburgh have picked up just one win from their three matches to date, though it did come in the form of a huge 43-0 pumping of Benetton in the Scottish capital a week ago. They’ll have their heads held high as they arrive in Cardiff to face the blue and blacks, who currently occupy fourth spot following their most recent win at Dragons. This should be a tightly-fought affair, but Edinburgh should have the greater continuity that could be crucial against a Cardiff team still without a head coach.
Verdict: Edinburgh on the board
Munster | Draw | Connacht
Munster now have proper momentum following their defeat of Leinster in the Irish capital with their status as title-contenders now well and truly set. Beating Connacht at Thomond Park will mean they head into the November break with five wins from five and well on their way to replicating their achievement of a couple seasons back by challenging for No 1 spot overall. After a big opening victory, the Westerners tripped up away at Cardiff (14-8) and at home against the Bulls (27-28) and will need a massive shift to overturn the Red Army here.
Verdict: Munster on the board
