United Rugby Championship semi-finals: All you need to know

Back in October you could have got long odds on Munster and Connacht both being in the BKT United Rugby Championship semi-finals.

When the sides met in Round 4, it was billed as "must win" for both; Connacht had lost three out of three to start the season, while Munster had picked up just one victory, and looked to be struggling to get to grips with their new coaching ticket.

Connacht won that night, and have been on a real roll since Christmas to not only reach the playoffs of the URC, but also guarantee themselves Heineken Champions Cup qualification.

Last week's dramatic win against Ulster gives Andy Friend at least one more game in charge of the province, with the Australian looking to cap off his final year in Galway with a fairytale ending. They'll need to produce something special to get past the Stormers in Cape Town.

As Connacht look to see their boss off in style, Munster are just starting to get going under their new coaching ticket.

After winning just two of their first seven games, and staring into an unprecedented injury crisis, there were genuine fears they could miss out on both the playoffs and Champions Cup.

Their win against a South African selection at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in November kick-started their season, and bit by bit they've grown.

Their heavy defeat to Glasgow in March, and the Champions Cup hammering at the hands of the Sharks a week later, would suggest they're not yet the finished product, but the way they bounced back in recent weeks, going unbeaten in their South African tour before dogging out a 14-5 win away to Glasgow in the quarters, would suggest they still have that classic Munster fight.

Graham Rowntree's side face another huge away task, taking on their old rivals Leinster at the Aviva