URC top spot on the line: Bulls’ potential make-or-break date with Sharks in Durban

Will the Sharks, upbeat and full of confidence after their Challenge Cup win at the weekend, spoil the Bulls’ chances of finishing top of the United Rugby Championship log?

With one round of matches to go in the competition before the top eight and quarter-finalists are confirmed, the Bulls are in second place with 61 points, two off the leaders Munster, who have 63 and host Ulster, who’re in sixth, in their last game.

So, if the Bulls win in Durban on Saturday (4.10pm) and Ulster shock Munster (6.15pm) Jake White’s team will top the log after the regular season and give themselves home advantage in all the knockout games, including the final if they progress that far. It would be a massive boost for their chances of winning the competition.

Sharks in Durban

But White’s men will first have to beat the Sharks, who’ve had a miserable URC campaign, winning just four times in 17 outings to be 13th on the log, but they’ll go into Saturday’s game on the back of winning the Challenge Cup, having beaten Gloucester in a pulsating final 36-22 on Friday night.

It was arguably the Sharks’ best game of the season, with their forwards dominating up front and their scrum particularly impressive, but they also stood up in defence and their exciting backs showed what they can do when they’re on the front foot. And let’s not forget about how well flyhalf Siya Masuku has performed since taking over the No 10 jersey, playing a big role in transforming the team in recent weeks.

However, with nothing to play for this weekend and many of their big-name players who were in action in London on Friday perhaps needing a rest, Sharks boss John Plumtree may opt to change his team completely for the match, giving the Bulls a better opportunity of picking up the five points they need to have a chance of topping the log.

Then it will all come down to what happens in the match between Munster and Ulster at Thomond Park in Cork later on Saturday.

Chasing pack

The Bulls though dare not lose in Durban, as the two teams directly behind them on the log – Leinster and Glasgow Warriors – have 60 points each (one less than the Bulls) and will also be looking to move into the top two places on the final weekend of action. They take on Connacht and Zebre respectively, at home on Friday.

In the other game involving the South African teams, the Stormers host the Lions in Cape Town, with John Dobson’s team in fifth, and they can finish no higher than that, while the Lions, in ninth, need a win, and a few other results to go their way to make it into the top eight and the quarter-finals.

Expect some fireworks on the final weekend of the URC’s regular season this coming Friday and Saturday.