The DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks will all have the same objective when they take the field in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals on Saturday – to deliver their best possible performances to secure semi-final spots next week in the north-south extravaganza.
Ulster will host Munster in the only match on Friday, starting at 20h35 in Belfast, while a thrilling schedule awaits on Saturday with three back-to-back clashes playing out.
The Vodacom Bulls will host the Cell C Sharks in the opening game of the day in Pretoria at 13h45, with log-leaders Leinster taking on the Glasgow Warriors in Dublin at 16h15, and the DHL Stormers will wrap up the quarter-finals against Edinburgh in Cape Town at 19h00.
The all-South African clash between the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks is also expected to be a humdinger given how closely matched the teams have been in several areas of their game this season.
Both teams will enter the match with 11 wins from their 18 clashes this season, while the Pretoria outfit has scored only eight points more than the KwaZulu-Natalians, although they have conceded 23 more points.
The Cell C Sharks will enter the game on a five-match winning run and with the peace of mind knowing that they have lost only one match this season against a South African side (the DHL Stormers), while the Vodacom Bulls come off three consecutive wins.
The sides have met twice before in the Vodacom URC this season, with the Cell C Sharks taking the spoils in both outings, which should spice up the match.
A victory for the DHL Stormers will guarantee them a home semi-final after finishing the league stages of the competition in second place on the log, but they will have their work cut out against the Scottish outfit who have only suffered two defeats fewer than them, while the hosts scored only 43 more points in their 18 matches so far in the competition.
The Capetonians have also only been marginally better on defence conceding only seven points fewer, meaning it could be a hard grind.
That said, the DHL Stormers will rely heavily on their home ground advantage and their eight-match winning streak to give them an edge, as well as their favourable home track record which shows only one defeat in the Mother City.
Edinburgh, meanwhile, have won only two of their last four encounters, while they have not registered back-to-back victories since January, which will fuel their motivation going into the clash.
The sides have met just once before in round three of the competition and the result was a 20-all draw.
