URC play-offs: Why Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors have it tough, potential opponents, dates and format

Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors both lost at the weekend but still managed to book their places in the United Rugby Championship play-offs. But this is where it is likely to get very tough indeed for the two Scottish pro sides.

One-legged quarter-finals and semis will be used to determine the inaugural URC finalists.

There is one round of regular league fixtures remaining but results cannot alter who finishes in the top eight. There could be movement within the top eight, however. Glasgow are currently seventh and Edinburgh eighth but the two sides play each other at Murrayfield on May 21 (whoever loses will play Leinster in the quarters). Both teams are on 50 points, with Glasgow currently above Edinburgh because they have won more games (10) than their rivals (nine).

The play-off quarter-finals are scheduled for June 3-4-5 and home advantage will go to the top four. The format is that first will play eighth (QF1), second will play seventh (QF2), third will play sixth (QF3) and fourth will play fifth (QF4).

The semi-finals on June 10-11-12 will see the winners of QF1 host the winners of QF4, and the winners of QF2 host the winners of QF3.

The final will take place on June 18 at the home of the highest-ranked team.

Leinster cannot be caught at the top of the table so will have home advantage all the way through to the final if they progress that far, and few would bet against it. The Dublin side won the Pro14 four seasons in a row from 2017-18 to 2020-21.

The big difference this year is the addition of the South Africans and three of their four teams have made the play-offs. Sharks and Stormers are currently third and fourth, respectively, while Bulls are sixth. The Lions are the only South African team to miss out.

Irela