The BKT United Rugby Championship Play-Off race is going down to the final weekend of the regular season with five teams fighting it out for four spots.
Leinster Rugby and the Vodacom Bulls have now joined Glasgow Warriors and the DHL Stormers in booking their places in the knock-out stage.
That leaves the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, Munster Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Ulster Rugby and Connacht Rugby competing for the four remaining spots with just four points separating the five of them.
Meanwhile, Glasgow are back on top of the table, having jumped above the Stormers by claiming a 40-17 bonus point victory over Cardiff at Scotstoun on Friday night.
It was a real return to form for them after an unhappy tour of South Africa where they failed to pick up a point in two heavy defeats.
Reflecting on the six-try win over Cardiff, skipper Kyle Steyn said: “We absolutely needed it.
“We have got a tight circle and we know what matters to us. We just kind of stuck with that. We knew whose opinions we needed to count on and trust and it was good to bounce back in front of our fans.
“We needed to rediscover or recommit to what our DNA was and we will just keep doing that.”
The Player of the Match award went to scrum-half George Horne who said: “We pride ourselves on the way we play and sticking to our DNA.
“You’ve maybe not seen the best of us in the last couple of weeks and that’s what we were desperate to do in front of our own fans.
“It’s hard work and determination and then a little bit of class as well. It was great to be back at home at Scotstoun and it was a special night.”
Giving the view from the Cardiff camp, head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “We wanted to have a go at them, but, unfortunately, we turned the ball over too many times in contact and they just kept coming.”
The Stormers have dropped down to second after their dramatic 38-38 draw with Ulster in Belfast where they earned a share of the spoils through a last minute penalty try. Along with Glasgow, they are now guaranteed a home quarter-final in the play-offs.
Leinster are up to third after triumphing 31-7 in their top four showdown with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium where they pulled away in the final ten minutes in front of a 16,259 crowd.
The Bulls were the big movers of the weekend, leaping from eighth to fourth thanks to their eight-try 54-19 victory over Zebre Parma at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.
Then come the five teams battling it out for the last four play-off spots. It was Connacht’s 26-7 bonus point win over Munster in Galway which ensured the Race to the Eight would go down to the wire in the final round.
As for the teams that were already out of the running, the Hollywoodbets Sharks thumped Benetton Rugby 46-7 in Durban, while the Ospreys beat the Scarlets 27-20 to clinch the Welsh Shield and Edinburgh Rugby defeated Dragons RFC 24-15 at Rodney Parade. .
Connacht keep their hopes alive
Connacht boss Stuart Lancaster says Part One is done, but they still have to complete Part Two if they are to make the URC play-offs.
Lancaster’s charges kept their hopes very much alive by claiming a 26-7 bonus point victory over Munster at a sold out Dexcom Stadium in Galway.
They remain in ninth place, but they are just a point off eighth with a trip to Edinburgh to come next Friday on the final weekend of the regular season.
A win in the Scottish capital could see them through to the play-off quarter-finals depending on results elsewhere.
Commenting on the win against Munster, head coach Lancaster said: “I was delighted with that performance, the first half in particular, when I thought we were excellent.
“To get the bonus point in the end was a big relief. It’s Part One done, we’ve still got to go and do it next week. Edinburgh are on a bit of a roll. They are playing really well at the moment, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.
“We’ve got to get ourselves ready and hopefully give ourselves a chance to get in the play-offs.”
The Player of the Match award was received by Connacht No 8 Sean Jansen, who scored his tenth league try of the season.
He said: “There was massive pressure, but that’s why you play rugby.
“We talked about it all week how we needed five points out of this game. The boys wanted it so badly. It’s so good.
“The boys are just so tight. They are in every Monday, they want to get better every day. It’s just such a class place to be in. I am loving it.”
Morgan the magnificent signs off in style
Jac Morgan has been labelled a sporting rarity after marking his final home appearance for the Ospreys with a late match-winning try against the Scarlets.
The Gloucester-bound flanker forced his way over just five minutes from time to secure a 27-20 victory at Bridgend’s Brewery Field following a second half revival from the visitors.
That meant he was then able to lift the URC Welsh Shield, with the win taking the Ospreys above Cardiff in the table which is based on results in derby matches over the season.
The Wales and Lions back row star also picked up the Player of the Match award after leading from the front as skipper.
Summing up Morgan, Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: “He’s just a great human being, first and foremost. He’s so humble, but then he’s a world class player.
“That’s quite a rarity in modern day sport, to get somebody as humble as that, but be as high profile as he is. He is one of the best in the business.
“He has a massive impact on the group, both off the field and on it. He scored the winning try, coming up from underneath that pile-up. His performance was exceptional, both leading the team and individually. We are so pleased that it has finished off well for him.”
As well as being Morgan’s last home game for the Ospreys, it was also their final match at the Brewery Field ahead of next season’s move to Swansea’s St Helen’s.
Over the course of the last two years, they have recorded victories against the Stormers, Ulster, the Sharks, Cardiff (twice), Sale, Edinburgh, Dragons, Zebre and now the Scarlets at the Bridgend venue. It has been some happy hunting ground.
Reflecting on the emotions after claiming the latest scalp – which saw two-try Wales fly-half Dan Edwards rack up 22 points – Jones said: “It was relief in the end.
“We made hard work of it with our accuracy. We have played much better in other games and lost, but on this occasion we got the job done.”
After trailing 17-5 at half time, the Scarlets fought back to lead going into the closing stages, only to be denied by Morgan’s decisive late score.
Their interim director of rugby Nigel Davies said: “I am hugely frustrated, but I’m not frustrated with my players. I can’t ask any more of them. They played really well. They went at it and gave everything they have got. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the just rewards.”
Tough finish for Ulster
Ulster coach Richie Murphy hailed his team’s 38-38 draw with the Stormers as “pretty special” for the URC, but admitted it was tough to take.
Murphy’s men overcame a 20 minute red card for skipper Iain Henderson and a 17-7 deficit to lead 38-31 with just 45 seconds left on the clock at Belfast’s Affidea Stadium.
But, in a dramatic finale, the Stormers were awarded a penalty try for Nathan Doak making shoulder to head contact with Leolin Zas as he prevented the winger from getting the ball down.
That meant both sides ended up taking three points from the rollercoaster contest.
Giving his verdict on a game which featured a hat-trick of tries for his South African winger Werner Kok, Murphy said: “I thought there was massive character from the lads.
“The commitment they have shown to each other over the last number of weeks has been really good.
“We were really happy with how we attacked the game. We put some really good things together in attack and scored some really nice tries. It was a tough way to finish the game. But, when we do look at that last bank of defence, we will see things in there that we can do better and ultimately that’s what probably cost us in the end.
“For two teams like that to come out with a 38-38 draw is a pretty special day for the league, but we really needed the five points and, just at the back end of the game, it just went away from us.”
For the Stormers, there was a 21-point haul from two-try fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu who is now level with the Lions’ Chris Smith as the league’s leading points scorer this season with 147.
Giving the perspective from their camp, winger Wandisile Simelane said: “It was a very tough game. Coming out here and getting a draw, I am not going to say we are happy about it, but it’s better than a loss.”
Reflecting on missed opportunities, he said: “We left out something like three pick up and gos right on their try line and two phases later we are defending down on our own 22. So it’s very disappointing. It’s a work-on for us as we look to finish up the tournament strong.”
Having already booked a home quarter-final, the Stormers will now head for Wales to take on play-off chasing Cardiff at the Arms Park next Friday night, looking for the win which could see them regain first place from Glasgow.
“One of our goals is to finish top, 100 per cent,” said Simelane.
“It makes a massive difference at play-off time, in terms of travelling up to Europe or playing back at home in Cape Town.
“We definitely want to play all our play-off games in Cape Town. I guess one thing we can handle is winning next week and see how the table ends up.”
What’s coming next?
A white knuckle ride, that’s what is coming next!
The make-up of the play-offs could be decided on Friday night, with three of the five contenders in action then, as Cardiff welcome the Stormers to the Arms Park, Ulster host Glasgow and Connacht travel to Edinburgh.
Then, on Saturday, the other two hopefuls – Munster and the Lions – lock horns at Limerick’s Thomond Park.
Elsewhere, Leinster and the Bulls will be aiming to book home quarter-finals as they entertain the Ospreys and Benetton respectively.
Round 18 also features the final Welsh derby of the season as the Scarlets and the Dragons meet in Llanelli, while the Sharks take on Zebre in Durban.
