Scarlets will head to Dublin to take on top seeds Leinster in the quarter-finals of the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday, May 31 (3pm ko).
Scarlets’ gutsy 12-3 defeat to the HollywoodbetsSharks in Durban confirmed Dwayne Peel’s side as eighth place finishers after the 18-round regular season, setting up a mouthwatering play-off tie against the tournament favourites at the Aviva Stadium.
In the other matches, fourth seeds Glasgow Warriors will host the DHL Stormers at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday, May 31.
The second quarter-final sees the second seeded Vodacom Bulls welcome Edinburgh to Loftus Versfeld. Leinster-Scarlets is the third game of the weekend before the last eight ties are completed in Durban with Hollywoodbets Sharks taking on Munster.
On Saturday evening, the Scarlets went toe to toe with a Sharks side stacked with Springboks before being edged out 12-3.
Reflecting on the game, Peel said: “I’m proud of the boys, they played their hearts out.
“It was a difficult game and playing on wet ground it was pretty scrappy out there. We were in the fight throughout the game even with a few decisions going against us. I’m proud of the effort, I feel it’s been a successful trip and we can now look forward to a fortnight’s time to go to the quarters, which is a great thing for the club and for the supporters.”
BKT URC Quarter-Finals
Friday, May 30
QF4: (4) Glasgow Warriors v (5) DHL Stormers
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
KO: 19:35 UK / 20:35 SA
Live on Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby
Saturday, May 31
QF2: (2) Vodacom Bulls v (7) Edinburgh
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
KO: 12:30 UK / 13:30 SA
Live on SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
QF1: (1) Leinster v (8) Scarlets
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
KO: 15:00 UK / 16:00 SA
Live on RTE, SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
QF3: (3) Hollywoodbets Sharks v (6) Munster
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
KO: 17:30 UK / 18:30 SA
Live on TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby
Semi-Finals – Saturday, June 7
- SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
- SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3
BKT URC Grand Final – Saturday, June 14
- Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
While the four home Quarter-Finalists are best placed to reach the decider, history may yet deliver a twist — no team ranked No 1 has ever lifted the BKT URC trophy. In past seasons, it was fourth-placed Glasgow (2024), fifth-placed Munster (2023), and second-placed DHL Stormers (2022) who emerged as champions.