The regular season of the United Rugby Championship is now complete and we are down to the final eight teams. This blog covers the quarter-finals from a betting angle.
Quarter-Finals Handicap Projections
Posted 17 May 18h40
Below my handicap projections for the quarter-finals
Glasgow Warriors -14.5 vs Connacht
Vodacom Bulls -9.5 vs Munster
DHL Stormers -10.5 vs Cardiff Rugby
Leinster -14.5 vs Fidelity ADT Lions
There was plenty of action in Round 18 with playoff places, seeding and home-ground advantage all still on the line heading into the final weekend.
Round 18 Results
Cardiff Rugby 22-16 DHL Stormers – The Stormers were -7.5 but were beaten by a hungry home side. I was on over 48.5 so a poor start
Ulster 22-26 Glasgow Warriors – Glasgow started -9.5 and after leading by double digits they won the game to top the table and that in turn sent Ulster out the tournament.
Edinburgh 5-26 Connacht Rugby – Connacht started -4.5 and had everything to play for and won well. I had a small double on the -4.5 and overs in Ulster which unfortunately missed.
Hollywoodbets Sharks 54-19 Zebre Parma – in my newsletter acca which hit at 6.4/1 I had Sharks over 45.5 points but on the back of an incorrect forecast I took Zebre under 18.5 which lost. The Sharks were 29 point favourites.
Vodacom Bulls 45-19 Benetton Treviso – this was big disappointment of the week. The Bulls were -31.5 and I took Bulls over 8.5 tries. They scored 2 in the 1st 10 minutes but were poor after that with loads of mistakes
Leinster 68-14 Ospreys – Leinster were -23.5 and delivered my half time -10.5 handicap with ease
Scarlets 35-35 Dragons RFC – Scarlets were -6.5 and while this must have been a thriller I never got involved
Munster 24-17 Fidelity ADT Lions – Munster were -6.5 and came from behind to win. I was on under 47.5 and thankfully there were only 10 points in the 2nd half.
Final Table Update
Glasgow Warriors finished top of the table on 65 points and secured home advantage throughout the playoffs after a hard-fought win away to Ulster.
Leinster ended second on 63 points and once again look ominous heading into the knockout stages after hammering the Ospreys by 54 points. They play in the Champions Cup final the week before the quarter-finals.
The DHL Stormers slipped to third following their defeat in Cardiff, while the Vodacom Bulls finished fourth after comfortably seeing off Benetton at Loftus.
Munster claimed fifth spot and will now head back to Pretoria for a quarter-final against the Bulls, while Cardiff Rugby finished sixth after their impressive victory over the Stormers.
The Lions pushed hard this season but ultimately finished seventh after losing away to Munster, while Connacht snuck into the playoffs in eighth after a superb away win over Edinburgh.
Quarter-Final Fixtures
Friday 29 May 2026
Glasgow Warriors vs Connacht Rugby – 20:45 – Scotstoun Stadium
Saturday 30 May 2026
Vodacom Bulls vs Munster – 13:00 – Loftus Versfeld
DHL Stormers vs Cardiff Rugby – 15:30 – DHL Stadium
Leinster vs Fidelity ADT Lions – 21:00 – Aviva Stadium
I will be back with my projected Quarter-Final handicaps later tonight