Who, what where and when?
Both URC semi-finals feature Irish representation with Munster and Leinster on opposite sides of the draw this weekend. On Saturday, Leinster are down in Pretoria to take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, kick-off is at 3pm Irish time.
At 6pm that day, Munster welcome Glasgow Warriors to Thomond Park. The winners of the two games will square off in the final with the game taking place at the home venue of the higher ranked seed.
Can I watch?
Leinster’s match will be shown on RTÉ, with TG4 doing the honours for the later Munster kick-off.
Are there tickets?
If you can get yourself to Pretoria, there are plenty of tickets remaining on the Bulls’ website. Closer to home, Ticketmaster has a number of seats remaining for Munster at Thomond Park, with prices starting at €25.
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Connacht arrive to Aviva with strong team and high hopes
Fantastic Farrell hat-trick snatches win for Munster over 14-man Ulster
Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards: ‘The greatest collection of women in Irish sport in one place ever assembled’
Team news
All four teams involved will name their squads on Friday. Leinster have Garry Ringrose and Jack Conan available after they returned to training. Conan was withdrawn from the victory over Connacht at half-time nearly two weeks ago now and missed the Ulster quarter-final, while Ringrose hasn’t featured since the last weekend of the Six Nations.
Munster are waiting to see how centre Alex Nankivell holds up as he returns to training following an ankle injury before making a decision on his availability. Joey Carbery has had surgery on a thumb issue, while Tom Ahern looks like he will also go under the knife for an ankle issue. Those latter two look to have featured for the last time this season.
Path to the semis
Munster finished top of the URC table, giving them home advantage for as long as they stay in the knockouts. They beat Ospreys last weekend in the quarter-finals.
Leinster, who ended the regular season in third, did enough for a home quarter-final against Ulster at the Aviva Stadium. However, with the Bulls, who finished second, also qualifying, the South African side earned the rights to host this fixture, ensuring Leinster had to make the journey to the southern hemisphere.
Should Munster win on the weekend, the final will be in Thomond Park, regardless of what happens in Pretoria. If Munster lose, then the last game of the year will be held in the home venue of whoever wins between the Bulls and Leinster, given both are seeded higher than Glasgow.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
