The eight teams who will compete in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Play-Offs have confirmed their places in the Quarter-Finals as the race to become the 2022/23 champions kick into gear.
As the top-four ranked sides Leinster (1), Ulster (2), DHL Stormers (3) and Glasgow Warriors (4) have all earned the right to host home Quarter-Finals on the weekend of May 5 and 6.
Their opponents are the teams ranked from fifth position to eighth - Munster, Vodacom Bulls, Connacht and Cell C Sharks.
Quarter-Final Match-Ups
QF1: Leinster (1) v Cell C Sharks (8)
QF2: Ulster (2) v Connacht (7)
QF3: DHL Stormers (3) v Vodacom Bulls (6)
QF4: Glasgow Warriors (4) v Munster (5)
Kick-off times for the Quarter-Finals will be confirmed on Monday, April 24 after consultation with host broadcasters.
Semi-Final Path
In the Semi-Finals, to be played the weekend of May 12, the winner of QF1 will play the winner of QF4 and the winner of QF2 will play the winner of QF3.
In a change to last season’s rules, the teams with the highest seeding in each Semi-Final will have home venue rights. Previously, the winners of QF1 and QF2 were guaranteed home draws no matter their ranking.
SF1: Leinster (1) / Cell C Sharks (8) v Glasgow Warriors (4) / Munster (5)
SF2: Ulster (2) / Connacht (7) v DHL Stormers (3) v Vodacom Bulls (6)
The Semi-Final winners will meet on Saturday, May 27 at the venue of the highest-ranked team to have qualified for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final.
EPCR Qualification
A total of eight teams from the Vodacom URC will qualify for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup. The four Shield winners will qualify automatically.
• Irish Shield: Leinster (1)
• SA Shield: DHL Stormers (3)
• Scottish/Italian: Glasgow Warriors (4)
• Welsh Shield: Cardiff (10)
The next four Heineken Champions Cup places from the Vodacom URC will be filled by the highest-ranked teams who did not win their Shields:
• Ulster (2)
• Munster (5)
• Vodacom Bulls (6)
• Connacht (7)
However, should a team (Benetton or Scarlets) from the Vodacom URC that has not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup win the EPCR Challenge Cup, they will take the place of the lowest-ranked non-Shield winner (Connacht) in next season’s Champions Cup.
Should the Cell C Sharks (8) win the Vodacom URC then they will be awarded a Champions Cup place ahead of the lowest-ranked non-Shield winner (Connacht).
In the event that the EPCR Challenge Cup winner is a Vodacom URC team (Benetton or Scarlets) and the Cell C Sharks win the Vodacom URC, then only Ulster and Munster will join the Shield winners in next season’s Champions Cup.