South African Clubs Dominate The Race To Qualify For URC Play-offs

 

All four South African clubs are still in the race to qualify for the playoffs in the United Rugby Championship which would guarantee them a place in the 2023/2024 Heineken Cup Championship. Currently, all four SA Clubs qualify for the playoffs while two Irish clubs and only one Welsh and Scottish club qualify.

Apart from the Cell C Sharks who have played 8 matches, all the other clubs that compete in the United rugby Championship have played nine or ten matches, passing the halfway mark.

According to the qualification criteria for the playoffs, the four winners of the Shields automatically qualify who are currently:
Irish Shield - Leinster (10 matches)
Welsh Shield - Cardiff Rugby (10 matches)
Scottish/Italian Shield - Glasgow Warriors (9 matches)
South African Shield - DHL Stormers (9 matches)

The last four teams qualifying will be the clubs with the most log points excluding the four Shield winners.

Currently, they are:

Ulster - 34 points (9 matches)
Vodacom Bulls - 34 points (10 matches)
Cell C Sharks - 24 points (8 matches)
Emirates Lions - 24 points (9matches)

However, Benetton, Edinburgh is level on 24 points, while Munster has 23 log points, with all three clubs already having played 10 matches which does give the Cell C Sharks and Emirates Lions a slight edge in the race for playoff qualification.

Currently, the quarter-final playoffs will look as follow:

QF 1 - Leinster vs Emirates Lions
QF 2 - DHL Stormers vs Cell C Sharks
QF 3 - Ulster vs Glasgow Warriors
QF 4 - Vodacom Bulls vs Cardiff