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URC semi-finals confirmed with South African side set for the final
By Josh Raisey
Four United Rugby Championship quarter-finals are complete, and it was four wins for the home sides, meaning the quartet that finished the regular season at the top of the ladder will battle it out in the semi-finals next weekend.
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League leaders Leinster will get proceedings underway on Saturday, June 7, when they host reigning champions Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium at 14:45 local time.
Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber’s side defeated eighth-place Scarlets 33-21 on Saturday in a performance that was not the province at their coruscant best at times, but they had enough firepower on their bench – boasting RG Snyman and Dan Sheehan – to get the job done.
They will host fourth-place Glasgow Warriors who saw off fifth-place Stormers 36-18 in impressive fashion at Scotstoun even with a handful of their Scotland internationals injured.
Leinster and Glasgow have already met in a play-off match at the Aviva Stadium this season, where Franco Smith’s side were unceremoniously spat out of the Investec Champions Cup at the quarter-final stage in a resounding 52-0 loss. The pair have met since, in the final round of the URC regular season, where Leinster triumphed again 13-5.
Second-place Bulls will host their South African rivals the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld in the second semi-final later on Saturday at 18:15 local time (17:15 BST).
After a nervy start at home, where Edinburgh raced to a 3-14 lead, Jake White’s side were able to pull away in the second-half of their quarter-final to seal a 42-33 win and book a semi-final at their veritable fortress Loftus.
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Their opponents were confirmed in the final match of the weekend in Durban as the third-place Sharks and sixth-place Munster went to a penalty shootout following a 24-24 draw. Eben Etzebeth’s side prevailed, securing an all-South African semi-final.
The second semi-final means a South African side is guaranteed to feature in the final again – for the fourth time in the first four seasons of the URC.
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Leinster, the plucky underdogs, need to get going and save rugby!
Smash up the cartels and end this Glasgow and SA dominance!
😂😂😂😂😂
Is there an ancient commandment in the book of Kells, that stipulates Leinster must have a home semi in perpetuity, or the world will end?.
😂
It’s all well and good the South African teams getting to the final, but they actually need to win one. What’s harder to understand is how they are losing the finals when playing at home. Given the champions receive the highest seeding in the Champions Cup the following season, it is now more important than ever.
Atleast they getting to finals. Where’s the mighty 4 in a row Leinster(Ireland)
It is rather troubling, but maybe it's a learning process for the coaches rather than the players? I think Jake seems to have got the message to a certain extent but only time will tell. The knockout rounds should be treated like international tests perhaps, with the emphasis on defence to start with rather than getting too carried away with the fancy stuff (Dobbo I'm talking to you of course) and obviously also spending a bit more time examining the opponents’ way of playing and preparing for it? Too often I hear people saying ‘we'll concentrate on our own game’ when a bit of attention on the other guys might help. I think…
Four finals out of four is pretty good going.
They did win one, and as there are 4 SA teams out of 16, you could argue that winning one 1 of 4 would be par. If they win this year then that would be a 2 of 4, which would be more than pretty good.
Not sure what is up with Leinster’s form, but on yesterdays showing they currently look beatable. To beat Glasgow you need to 1/ not play them in Glasgow, and 2/ not forget to tackle.