URC and Top 14 knockout phase
The French national league (Top 14) and the United Rugby Championship clubs moved deeper into the final stages of their competitions with quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively played this weekend.
The URC Grand Final pairing was decided after two tight matches that dealt double blows to Irish hopes and set the stage for a South Africa vs. Scotland final in the high veldt of Pretoria, SA. The first semi-final saw the #2 Vodacom Bulls at home to the Irish international-stacked team from Leinster (#3). While the Bulls had finished the season with a slightly stronger record (both teams were 13w vs. 5l but the Bulls had 1 more bonus point) and therefore had home-field advantage, Leinster with a starting 15 who had all recently appeared for Ireland and a star-studded bench, were given a strong chance butonly had the lead in the first quarter after a James Low try. After that, they trailed throughout apart from a brief period in H2 when they tied the score at 17-17. The hosts scored 3 terrific tries showing how dangerous they can be with ball in hand and Leinster were disappointed to be playing second fiddle to an SA team again as the Bulls won 25-20.
The second semi-final had league #4 Glasgow Warriors visiting #1 (and defending champions) Munster at Thomond Park, Limerick. Despite tremendous support from the home crowd, Munster were unable to make much headway in a tight, tough first half and even though Glasgow had a man in the bin for half of the first half they were up 3-7 at the break. H2 was equally tight with Glasgow scoring again only for Munster to get one back 5 minutes later. With the crowd roaring them on, Munster tried, but were unable to breakdown Glasgow’s defense and a red card in the 73rd minute was the final straw. Glasgow ran out winners by 10-17.
So Glasgow head to Pretoria to face the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday June 22nd at Loftus Versfeld, 4,400 feet above sea level and a test for the fittest of teams. Televised by Flo Rugby and by URC TV.
Meanwhile, in France, the Barrage round took place to select the 2 semi-finalists to face league #1 (Stade Toulousain) and #2 (Stade Francais Paris) on the 21st and 22nd of June. Union Bordeaux-Begles (#3) beat Racing ‘92 (#6) but in a small surprise RC Toulon (#4) lost to Stade Rochelais (#5) setting up their battle against league leaders and Investec Cup Champions, Stade Toulousain. The final will be held on June 28th, all 3 matches streamed on Flo Rugby.
Finally, the summer international series get underway on Saturday June 22 when England play Japan in Tokyo streamed on RugbyPassTV. It will be a busy summer for teams from all over the world - stay tuned.
Finally, the RFU in England announced changes to be introduced in the 2025/26 season including a playoff between the bottom-ranked Premiership club and the Championship winner, plus a "relaxation of minimum operating standards that should open the door to more aspiring Championship clubs.