United Rugby Championship Round 9: All you need to know

European rugby is on the horizon but first there is a crucial round of matches for the Irish provinces in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

There is plenty to play for at both ends of the table as Leinster and Ulster look to pull clear at the summit while Connacht and Munster attempt to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Six days after a morale-boosting win over Connacht, Munster travel to Edinburgh seeking their first away success of the season.

Edinburgh crashed to a surprise loss away to Benetton last weekend, despite having a numerical advantage for over 70 minutes, but they are a much tougher nut to crack on home soil.

Saturday sees Connacht host Benetton in front of the RTÉ camera and nothing less than a victory will do for Andy Friend's men after five losses in eight games.

The big game of the weekend takes place at the RDS as leaders Leinster face second-placed Ulster, who were victorious on their last visit to Dublin in November 2021.

TV Edinburgh v Munster (Friday, 7.35pm) is live on TG4 and Premier Sports 1, with Connacht v Benetton live on RTÉ1 and RTÉ Player from 2.45pm on Saturday.

Leinster v Ulster (Saturday, 7.35pm) is live on TG4 and Premier Sports 1.

RADIO RTÉ Radio 1 will have live commentary of Leinster v Ulster from 7.30pm on Saturday.

ONLINE RTE.ie/sport will have live scoring across the weekend with match reports and reaction from the grounds. All games are live on URC TV.

WEATHER Conditions look ideal for Munster’s trip to Edinburgh, where a dry evening with temperatures of around 8C is forecast. Similar conditions are expected for Saturday in both Galway and Dublin, with sunshine expected for Connacht’s meeting with Benetton.

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