With just three more rounds of regular pool action in the URC, the Stormers, Lions and Bulls will be determined to maintain their charge towards the playoffs, while the Sharks have to achieve a perfect set of results to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
The Sharks, who must win all their remaining matches with bonus points and hope that several other teams stumble for them to qualify for the quarter-finals, will set the weekend’s action in motion for the SA teams when they line up against Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday night.
Three matches, meanwhile, will play out on Saturday: the Stormers host the Glasgow Warriors in a table-topping clash in Cape Town, followed by an exciting battle between the Lions and Connacht in Johannesburg, and the Bulls take on the Scarlets in Wales.
A bonus-point victory for the second-placed Stormers against the log-leading Warriors could see them leap back up to the top spot on the standings.
Meanwhile, the fourth-placed Lions will go in search of their sixth win in a row against the ninth-placed Connacht, who trail them by only four log points, in the Johannesburg-based team’s last home game in the league stages, which makes a victory vital for their playoff hopes.
The eighth-placed Bulls will go up against the 14th-placed Scarlets, with a victory set to see them remain in the top half of the table, while the 11th-placed Sharks will have their work cut out against the 12th-placed Edinburgh, as a defeat could deal the killer blow to their playoff hopes.
URC MATCH INFORMATION FOR THE SA TEAMS
Edinburgh v Sharks
Date: Friday, 24 April
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
SA Time: 20:45
Referee: Ben Breakspear
TV: SuperSport
Stormers v Glasgow Warriors
Date: Saturday, 25 April
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
SA Time: 13:45
Referee: Eoghan Cross
TV: SuperSport
Lions v Connacht
Date: Saturday, 25 April
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
SA Time: 16:00
Referee: Filippo Russo
TV: SuperSport
Scarlets v Bulls
Date: Saturday, 25 April
Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
SA Time: 20:45
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi
TV: SuperSport
HOW THE LATEST LOG LOOKS
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