Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Munster play Benetton on Friday.Laszlo Geczo/INPHO final round URC permutations: Munster in middle of tight playoff battle There’s only one round of regular season games left before the competition heads into the playoffs. 4.59pm, 12 May 2025 Share options THE URC RUMBLES into the final weekend of regular-season action with the playoff battle still very much alive. The top four sides are locked in for home quarter-finals, but there is plenty of scope for movement in the race to make the top eight. Leinster are home and hosed and know they have a home quarter-final to look forward to regardless of what happens against Glasgow at the weekend. Saturday’s demolition of Zebre saw the province guarantee first place in the table, with a home quarter-final against the team that finishes eighth chalked in for 3pm on Saturday, 31 May. Munster are the the only Irish side who can join Leinster in the knockouts, their 38-20 defeat of Ulster ensuring they’ll be the team to watch this weekend from an Irish point of view. However, their progress is by no means confirmed. The province sit eighth and are right in the thick of the playoff squeeze. Munster are one of three teams on 46 points, alongside Benetton (seventh) and Cardiff (ninth), with Edinburgh (10th) only a further two points back. The Scarlets (sixth) are two points clear of Munster and will hope to strengthen their own position when they travel to a Sharks side already guaranteed a home quarter-final. The good news is that Munster’s fate is their own hands, with Benetton coming to Cork on Friday in a game that sees eighth host seventh – the visitors just ahead thanks to a better winning record (nine wins v eight). Advertisement Victory will keep Munster’s season alive but anything else would leave them dependent on results elsewhere. With Cardiff kicking-off away to the Stormers – who are safely into the playoffs but can still drop down the seedings – two hours before Munster’s game, the province will have a better idea of how the picture stands before they take on the Italians. In fact, Ian Costello’s men could lose to Benetton and still squeeze through if results elsewhere fall kindly – namely, if Cardiff lose at the Stormers and Edinburgh do the same at home to Ulster. Connacht’s season has been on the slide for some time now, with Saturday’s loss to Edinburgh their fifth straight defeat in the URC. Results elsewhere meant the province knew before the game they were mathematically out of contention. Back in 14th position, they can still climb the table as they head to play a Zebre side one place and six points behind them in the standings. Ulster needed a big result away to Munster to keep themselves in the playoff conversation but an 18-point loss means Richie Murphy’s side can’t make the top eight, and will be playing Challenge Cup rugby next season. They’ll still hope to finish a disappointing season on a positive note away to Edinburgh, where they can perhaps do Munster a favour, but like Connacht, they’ll only have pride to play for knowing their season is over. URC fixtures: Stormers v Cardiff DHL Stadium, Cape Town, 6pm, Premier Sports/URC TV Edinburgh v Ulster Hive Stadium, Edinburgh, 7.35pm, Premier Sports/URC TV Munster v Benetton Virgin Media Park, Cork, 8pm, TG4/Premier Sports/URC TV Bulls v Dragons Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 2pm, Premier Sports/URC TV Lions v Ospreys Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg, 4.15pm, Premier Sports/URC TV Zebre Parma v Connacht Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma, 5pm, TG4/Premier Sports/URC TV Sharks v Scarlets Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, 6.30pm, Premier Sports/URC TV Leinster v Glasgow Warriors Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 7.35pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports/URC TV Ciarán Kennedy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “URC permutations: Munster in middle of tight playoff battle ”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “URC permutations: Munster in middle of tight playoff battle ”. 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