After another thrilling weekend of United Rugby Championship action, all eyes are looking ahead to what Round 4 has to offer.
Friday night lights returns for Connacht as they play their first home game of the season welcoming Munster while Edinburgh Rugby host Emirates Lions.
Kicking off on Saturday, defending Vodacom URC champions DHL Stormers travel to Zebre Parma. Leinster hosts Cell C Sharks who are looking to make it two wins from two on tour. A Welsh derby lies ahead as Cardiff Rugby make the trip to Scarlets. Glasgow Warriors welcome on form Vodacom Bulls while Ospreys face Ulster in Belfast.
On Sunday, Benetton welcomes Dragons RFC.
07 October 2022
20h35 Connacht v Munster
Connacht is current 16th on the combined URC log while Munster is currently 10th.
Connacht began their 2022/23 United Rugby Championship campaign with three defeats, their worst start in the Championship since 2016. Connacht’s most recent victory over a fellow Irish province was 10-08 at home to Munster, on New Year’s Day 2021
Munster Rugby ended their unwanted four-game losing streak with their 21-05 victory over Zebre in Cork last weekend. Munster have won just once away from home in any competition since January with 24-17 against Ulster in Belfast on 22 April. Their only win over a fellow Irish province in their last four fixtures.
Connacht have won two of their last three fixtures against Munster whilst the Munstermen have won on three of their last four visits to Galway.
20h35 Edinburgh Rugby v Emirates Lions
Edinburgh is currently 9th on the combined URC log just two positions lower than their visitors on 7th.
Edinburgh Rugby have lost their last two United Rugby Championship fixtures on tour in South Africa since beating Dragons RFC at DAM Health Stadium on the opening weekend.
The Scotsmen have lost just once at their new home venue in the Championship, losing 10-16 to Ulster at the end of April. Edinburgh have lost their last four fixtures against South African opponents since beating Cell C Sharks in Durban in March.
Emirates Lions' only defeat in their last five Vodacom United Rugby Championship matches, losing 15-31 at home to the Bulls in Round 1. The Lions have won their last three away games, all on trips to Wales, beating Dragons, Ospreys and Cardiff.
08 October 2022
16h00 Zebre Parma v DHL Stormers
Zebre Parma is currently 14th on the combined URC log, ten positions lower than the DHL Stormers currently placed 4th.
Zebre Parma have lost their last six United Rugby Championship encounters since beating Dragons RFC in Parma on 30 April 2022. Zebre have lost their last five fixtures against South African opponents since beating Cheetahs 41-13 in Parma in January 2020.
Reigning Champions the DHL Stormers have won their last thirteen Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixtures since their 17-19 loss to Connacht in Galway in February. This was their only defeat away from home in the Championship since October 2021.
The Stormers have faced Italian opponents just twice before losing 18-22 to Benetton in Treviso last September and beating Zebre 55-7 in Stellenbosch in March in the only previous fixture between the two sides
18h05 Leinster v Cell C Sharks
Both sides is currently unbeaten with Leinster holding the top spot on the combined URC log while the Cell C Sharks placed 5th. However, the Cell C Sharks have only played two matches to the three played by Leinster.
Leinster have made a perfect start to the 2022/23 United Rugby Championship season winning all three matches so far. Their only home defeat in any competition since last November was by a solitary point against the Vodacom Bulls in last year’s semi-final in June.
However, Leinster have lost their last three fixtures against South African opponents since beating the Emirates Lions 21-13 at the RDS Arena in February.
The Cell C Sharks have won both matches they have played so far in the United Rugby Championship, both away from home, at Zebre and at Dragons RFC.
The Cell C Sharks have faced the Irish provinces on four previous occasions last season, winning their two home games against Leinster and Connacht but losing the two away games at Munster and Ulster.
The two sides have met just once before, in Durban in April, with the home side running out 28-23 victors
18h15 Scarlets v Cardiff Rugby
The Scarlets is currently 15th on the combined URC log while Cardiff Rugby is two positions higher on 13th.
The Scarlets are without a win in their last five United Rugby Championship encounters, although they did draw 23-all at home to Ospreys in Round 1. Their most recent home victory was 35-20 against today’s opponents, Cardiff Rugby, on 2 April 2022
The Scarlets have won just one of their last four fixtures against fellow Welsh regions.against Munster with 20-13 at home on the opening weekend.
Cardiff have won only once away from home in the Championship since May 2021: 19-18 against Dragons in Newport on 13 November.
Scarlets won both matches they played against Cardiff last season whilst Cardiff have won on two of their last three visits to Parc y Scarlets.
20h35 Glasgow Warriors v Vodacom Bulls
Glasgow Warriors is currently 11th on the combined URC log while their visitors are 2nd on the log. The Vodacom Bulls and top-placed Leinster have the same number of log points.
Glasgow Warriors have won only one of their last seven United Rugby Championship matches. They won 52-24 against Cardiff Rugby in their only home game in Round 2 of the current season.
The last eight fixtures the Warriors have played against South African opponents have all been won by the home side on the day.
Vodacom Bulls' only defeat in their last nine Vodacom United Rugby Championship matches was last season’s final, away to DHL Stormers in June.
The Vodacom Bulls have faced Scottish opponents on three previous occasions, winning two and losing one, whilst their only previous visit to Scotland ended with a 10-17 defeat in Edinburgh twelve months ago.
The two sides' only previous meeting was in Pretoria in April with the Vodacom Bulls winning 29-17.
20h35 Ulster v Ospreys
Ulster is currently 3rd on the URC combined log, five positions higher than their visitors on 8th.
Ulster Rugby’s winning start to the new United Rugby Championship campaign ended with their 13-20 loss at home to Leinster on Friday. They have not lost back-to-back matches at Kingspan Stadium in the Championship since December 2010.
Ulster have won their last four fixtures against Welsh regions and have not been defeated in Belfast by a Welsh opponent since Scarlets were the visitors in February 2016.
Ospreys' three-game winless run in the BKT United Rugby Championship ended with their 32-17 home win over Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.
Ospreys have won only once away from home since last October 22-6 against Cardiff Rugby at the Arms Park on 23 April.
Ulster have won six of their last eight fixtures against Ospreys whilst the Welshmen have not tasted success at Kingspan Stadium since February 2013.
09 October 2022
15h45 Benetton vs Dragons
Benetton is currently placed 6th on the combined URC log while the Dragons RFC is placed 12th.
Benetton Rugby have lost only once of their last five United Rugby Championship matches to Leinster by 10-42 at the RDS Arena in Round 2. Benetton have won their last four home games in the Championship since Connacht beat them at Stadio Monigo in April.
The Dragons' most recent away win in the Championship was 38-27 at Scarlets on 16 April.
The Dragons are unbeaten in their last two encounters with Benetton in the URC ending a run of five successive defeats to the Italians between 2018-2020. The Dragons have won only once at Stadio Monigo since 2015.
