Stormers need help from Edinburgh to end second

By the end of Friday night, second place on the United Rugby Championship (URC) points table should be confirmed with both protagonists Ulster and the Stormers playing their last league matches in front of their home fans.

Ulster have the inside lane with a one-point lead on the log over the Stormers and they can confirm that position with a win over Edinburgh. The Stormers, the only team in the top eight to suffer defeat last weekend, will be hoping to bounce back decisively against Italy’s top team Benetton.

While the Stormers will be chasing a bonus point win, it will do them no favours if Ulster pick up four points against Edinburgh. Sure, the teams will have the same number of log points but the Irish outfit will earn second spot by virtue of winning more league matches. As things stand they have one more win than the Stormers, who have drawn twice this season.

In the unlikely event of Ulster drawing against Edinburgh but scoring four tries in the process and the Stormers winnin without scoring a bonus point, they will also end up on the same log point tally. They will then have the same number of wins, and have to be separated by points difference. Ulster are now 38 points better off than the Stormers, which means the Cape side would have to vanquish Benetton by 39 points to claim second.

Though the Stormers will be hoping for an Edinburgh win in Belfast, historically this is unlikely to happen.

Ulster have won eight of their past 10 clashes against Edinburgh, with the Scots’ last win coming in 2018.

Edinburgh, who were quarterfinalists last season, have underwhelmed this season with just six wins from 17 matches. They snapped a five-match losing streak in all competitions last weekend when they beat the Ospreys. Though their form hasn’t been great, Edinburgh may deliver a more spirited performance in head coach Mike Blair’s last match in charge.

In their only previous meeting Benetton toppled the Stormers in their opening match of last season’s tournament. The Stormers, however, are expected to win this time and do so at a canter, especially with reinforcements such as Evan Roos available to take a place in the starting line-up.

At the other end of the top eight spectrum the Bulls and  Sharks have some unfinished business. The Bulls are safely in the top eight but their final position is yet to be determined.

They host Leinster at Loftus and though they are safely in the quarterfinals they will be desperate to get the win and secure their place in the Champions Cup.

This will be Leinster’s first time at Loftus. They beat the Bulls in Dublin at the start of last year’s campaign but Jake White’s team avenged that defeat by upstaging their much-pedigreed hosts in the semifinals.

Leinster’s under strength team staged a remarkable comeback to down the Lions at Ellis Park last weekend and they are set for another lung-busting afternoon.

The Sharks, who are now eighth, are in the same boat as the Bulls. They face Munster who are still on a high from their win over the Stormers in Cape Town.

Connacht, who are sixth, are safely in the quarterfinals but they too are still vulnerable to being usurped for a Champions Cup place. Should the Bulls and  Sharks win and Connacht (without a bonus point) lose away to Glasgow Warriors, the top-placed Welsh team will get to play in the Champions Cup ahead of them.

The Lions, who play Zebre in the first of the Loftus Versfeld double header matches, now look likely to finish a tantalising ninth.