Leinster produced a devastating response to their Champions Cup final defeat as they dismantled the Lions 59–10 at the Aviva Stadium, with James Lowe breaking Shane Horgan’s all-time try-scoring record on the night of his 100th cap.

Key moments

10 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Dan Sheehan finished off a first-phase move, taking Jimmy O’Brien’s pass out wide before cutting inside. Poor Lions defence from the set-piece. Sam Prendergast converts. (Leinster 7–0 Lions)

10 mins: Erich Cronje departed for a head injury assessment, with Rynhardt Jonker replacing him.

13 mins: Leinster were held up over the line when Jimmy O’Brien cut inside instead of passing to an unmarked team-mate.

15 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Rieko Ioane popped to Prendergast, who delayed his pass a millisecond to feed Hugo Keenan, and the full-back coasted over untouched. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 14–0 Lions)

33 mins – YELLOW CARD LEINSTER: Thomas Clarkson shown yellow for a flip tackle on Nico Steyn. Initially given as just a penalty before an upgrade.

36 mins – TRY LIONS: The visitors’ best passage of play as they worked through the phases near the Leinster line. Henco van Wyk drove over from close range, with the Lions playing a penalty advantage. Chris Smith’s conversion struck the left post. (Leinster 14–5 Lions)

39 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Joe McCarthy made a powerful break but was stopped just short. Leinster recycled patiently before the same man fed his partner James Ryan, who flopped over the line on the stroke of half-time. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 21–5 Lions)

Half-time: Leinster 21–5 Lions. A comfortable opening half for Leo Cullen’s side, who should have been further ahead but for poor handling. Leinster had 59% possession and 65% territory. Prendergast was pulling the strings at fly-half while the Lions struggled to hold onto the ball, with van Wyk’s try a rare bright spot for Ivan van Rooyen’s men.

43 mins – TRY LEINSTER: The Lions made a mess of the restart and Leinster capitalised. Caelan Doris broke the line, Rieko Ioane fired a pass wide and Scott Penny finished in the corner. Prendergast misses the conversion. (Leinster 26–5 Lions)

46 mins – TRY LEINSTER: A huge hit from Max Deegan on Chris Smith saw the ball fly up into Prendergast’s grateful hands. The fly-half had half the field to cover and swerved past Quan Horn to score. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 33–5 Lions)

53 mins – YELLOW CARD LIONS: Quan Horn sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-down as Prendergast tried another looped pass wide for Lowe.

54 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Gus McCarthy, just on as a replacement, found his man at the lineout then took the ball at the back of the maul before shearing off to score. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 40–5 Lions)

57 mins – TRY LIONS: A chip through in midfield went through Keenan’s legs, and Henco van Wyk hacked on before collecting well to dot down for his second try. Smith misses the conversion. (Leinster 40–10 Lions)

64 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Leinster went through the phases patiently before Prendergast’s superb pass released Jimmy O’Brien, who scored in the corner. O’Brien put his hand to his face in apology as he realised he could have passed to Lowe for the record-breaking try. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 47–10 Lions)

68 mins – TRY LEINSTER: The moment the crowd had been waiting for. Leinster mauled forward before spinning it wide, with O’Brien providing the final pass to leave James Lowe with work to do out wide. The Ireland wing finished with style for his 70th Leinster try, breaking Shane Horgan’s all-time record on his 100th appearance. He was mobbed by team-mates and saluted the crowd. Prendergast converts. (Leinster 54–10 Lions)

77 mins – DISALLOWED TRY LIONS: Richard Kriel got free and chipped inside for Cronje, who gathered and dived to score. The on-field decision was try but a replay showed a knock-on under pressure from Josh van der Flier.

80+1 mins – TRY LEINSTER: Lowe completed the rout with his second try after quick hands across the line, his 71st for the province. Prendergast misses the conversion. (Leinster 59–10 Lions)

Full-time: Leinster 59–10 Lions

Full match report to follow.

Teams

Leinster Rugby: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 4 Joe McCarthy, 5 James Ryan, 6 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny, 8 Caelan Doris (CAPT).
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

Fidelity SecureDrive Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn; 1 SJ Kotze, 2 PJ Botha, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 6 Siba Mahashe, 7 Batho Hlekani, 8 Francke Horn (CAPT).
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Haashim Pead.

Match details

Leinster 59 (Tries: Sheehan, Keenan, Ryan, Penny, Prendergast, G. McCarthy, O’Brien, Lowe 2; Conversions: Prendergast 7/9)
Lions 10 (Tries: van Wyk 2; Conversions: Smith 0/2)
Half-time: 21–5

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Glasgow Warriors have confirmed that Scottish Gas Murrayfield will serve as their home venue for the remainder of the BKT United Rugby Championship playoffs, including next Saturday’s semi-final against the Vodacom Bulls and, should they progress, the Grand Final on 20 June.

The announcement came within minutes of the Warriors’ 33–21 quarter-final victory over Connacht at Scotstoun on Friday evening, with Franco Smith’s side now preparing to host Johan Ackermann’s Bulls at 14:30 BST next Saturday in the first of the two semi-finals.

The move to Edinburgh’s national stadium has been forced by the preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with Scotstoun Stadium now undergoing conversion work ahead of Glasgow’s hosting of the multi-sport event later this summer. No other venues in Scotland that meet the league’s criteria were available over the coming weeks.

Senior Warriors officials explored a range of alternative options before Murrayfield was confirmed, including Hampden Park, Celtic Park and Ibrox, but all were either unavailable or unsuitable. The club even considered moving a potential home final to St James’ Park in Newcastle or the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, with Affidea Stadium in Belfast emerging as another possibility before Scottish Rugby resolved the situation.

The key obstacle had been a Zach Bryan concert at Murrayfield scheduled six days before the potential Grand Final date. However, Scottish Rugby worked with key stakeholders to establish that there would be sufficient time to transform the venue from a music arena back into a sporting one.

A URC statement read: “Since Glasgow’s number one ranking was confirmed, Scottish Rugby has worked with key stakeholders, alongside Glasgow Warriors and the BKT URC, to ensure Scottish Gas Murrayfield is available on June 20, if required.”

Warriors managing director Kenny Brown wrote to supporters to encourage them to make the trip to Edinburgh for next week’s semi-final and beyond.

“I am pleased that we are now able to confirm that following our victory over Connacht, we will now play our remaining playoff fixtures at Scottish Gas Murrayfield,” Brown said. “Our Semi-Final next weekend will take place on Saturday 6 June, with our opponent and kick-off time to be confirmed.

“Our move to Scottish Gas Murrayfield for this fixture is a scenario for which we have been prepared since the announcement that Glasgow would host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The team here at Warriors have been working diligently to plan an incredible matchday event that would undoubtedly be one of the highlights of our season.”

Brown added: “It doesn’t get much more exciting than home play-off rugby, and we need the Warrior Nation now more than ever. Help us make Scottish Gas Murrayfield as much of a fortress next Saturday as you have helped us create at Scotstoun all season.”

Murrayfield previously hosted the league finale a decade ago when it was still the PRO12, with Connacht lifting their first-ever title in professional rugby on that occasion in 2016.

As the top-ranked team after the regular season, Glasgow hold home advantage throughout the playoffs. Should they beat the Bulls, they would host the Grand Final against either Leinster or the Stormers, who meet in the second semi-final at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday at 17:30 BST.

It has been two years since Glasgow last visited Loftus Versfeld for the 2024 URC final, where they won their second title at altitude. The Bulls, meanwhile, have finished as runners-up in the previous two URC seasons and will be hoping to go one better this time around.

The DHL Stormers ended Cardiff Rugby’s historic season with a commanding 44–21 victory at DHL Stadium, their scrum and maul dominance proving decisive as the Welsh side were punished by a crippling penalty count.

Key moments

18 mins – TRY CARDIFF: Against the run of play, Jacob Beetham intercepted a pass by Imad Khan and, with Leolin Zas chasing, found full-back Cam Winnett in support to race away down the right. Ioan Lloyd converts from wide. (Stormers 0–7 Cardiff)

23 mins – TRY STORMERS: The Stormers’ driving maul finally told after relentless set-piece pressure. André-Hugo Venter broke off the back to dot down, though Cardiff had questions about the grounding. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts. (Stormers 7–7 Cardiff)

28 mins – TRY STORMERS: More forward dominance as the Stormers kicked to the corner and played off the top of the lineout, putting loosehead Ntuthuko Mchunu on the rampage. There was no stopping him from close range. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts. (Stormers 14–7 Cardiff)

31 mins – YELLOW CARD CARDIFF: Keiron Assiratti sent to the sin-bin after conceding one scrum penalty too many. The Wales tighthead had been under sustained pressure from the Stormers pack.

35 mins – TRY STORMERS: Cardiff had just escaped from a Ruhan Nel carry that Dan Thomas heroically held up over the line, but from the next phase Damian Willemse offloaded out the back for Leolin Zas, who powered through Cam Winnett to score in the corner. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts superbly from the touchline. (Stormers 21–7 Cardiff)

Half-time: Stormers 21–7 Cardiff. The Stormers’ scrum and maul dominance laid the platform for three unanswered tries after Cardiff’s stunning counter-attacking opener from Winnett. The penalty count was damning — 10 against Cardiff to just three against the hosts — and Assiratti’s yellow card compounded the visitors’ difficulties. Cardiff will need something special after the break.

44 mins – TRY CARDIFF: Cardiff came out with intent. Taine Basham carried hard from the base of a five-metre scrum and powered over for his second try for the club. Lloyd converts and suddenly it was a seven-point game. (Stormers 21–14 Cardiff)

51 mins – TRY STORMERS: A disastrous error from Cardiff. Ioan Lloyd attempted a cross-kick but it went straight to Seabelo Senatla, who outjumped Josh Adams and passed inside to Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, whose pace was too much for Dan Thomas. Khan misses the conversion. (Stormers 26–14 Cardiff)

56 mins: Replacement Jurie Matthee attempted a long-range drop goal but struck the left upright.

57 mins – DISALLOWED TRY STORMERS: Senatla finished brilliantly but Dan du Plessis had knocked on contesting a kick in the build-up.

59 mins – TRY CARDIFF: Cardiff kicked a penalty to the corner and rumbled towards the line. After Daf Hughes and Dan Thomas were held short, James Botham got the ball down. TMO checked for obstruction but was satisfied. Lloyd converts. (Stormers 26–21 Cardiff)

63 mins – YELLOW CARD CARDIFF: Javan Sebastian became the second Cardiff prop to be sin-binned, leaving the visitors with 14 men. With Assiratti having gone off injured, Cardiff had to go to uncontested scrums and dropped to 13 men, removing Jacob Beetham and Taine Basham to accommodate front-row cover.

63 mins – TRY STORMERS: From the resulting lineout, Paul de Villiers surged over from the powerful driving maul. Matthee misses the conversion. (Stormers 31–21 Cardiff)

68 mins – PENALTY STORMERS: Matthee slotted from a central position after Josh McNally was trapped on the wrong side of a ruck. (Stormers 34–21 Cardiff)

72 mins – DISALLOWED TRY STORMERS: Stefan Ungerer was held up initially, then drove over, but the try was chalked off for obstruction by Ruhan Nel at a ruck.

77 mins – TRY STORMERS: With Cardiff out on their feet, Ruhan Nel intercepted and the Stormers went wide for replacement hooker JJ Kotzé to crash through a gap. Matthee converts. (Stormers 41–21 Cardiff)

80 mins – PENALTY STORMERS: Matthee knocked over a final penalty with the clock in the red. (Stormers 44–21 Cardiff)

Full-time: Stormers 44–21 Cardiff

Teams

DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (CAPT), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Imad Khan; 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 3 Neethling Fouché, 4 Adré Smith, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 6 Paul de Villiers, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 8 Evan Roos.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Jurie Matthee.

Cardiff Rugby: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Ben Thomas, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Johan Mulder; 1 Rhys Barratt, 2 Liam Belcher (CAPT), 3 Keiron Assiratti, 4 Josh McNally, 5 Rory Thornton, 6 James Botham, 7 Dan Thomas, 8 Taine Basham.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 George Nott, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Evan Lloyd, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Tom Bowen.

Match details

Stormers 44 (Tries: Venter, Mchunu, Zas, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, de Villiers, Kotzé; Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3/3, Khan 0/1, Matthee 1/2; Penalties: Matthee 2/2)
Cardiff 21 (Tries: Winnett, Basham, Botham; Conversions: Lloyd 3/3)
Half-time: 21–7

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Andrew Cole (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)