WITH ONE ROUND of regular season games remaining, the fixture details for next month’s Guinness Pro14 quarter-finals have been confirmed this afternoon.
The two ties will be played back-to-back on Saturday 4 May, with Ulster’s inter-pro showdown against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium scheduled for a 5.35pm kick-off [eir Sport/Premier Sports].
Dan McFarland’s side secured second place in Conference B and home advantage in the play-offs with a bonus-point victory over Edinburgh last weekend, while Connacht’s defeat of Cardiff Blues guaranteed them third place in Conference A.
The provinces will go head-to-head in Belfast for a place in the semi-finals, where the winner will face Glasgow Warriors or Munster, who are battling for top spot in Conference A.
Glasgow currently hold a three-point advantage over Johann van Graan’s side and victory over Edinburgh in a fortnight would assure the Scots of a passage through to the semi-finals, although Munster will be waiting to seize on any slip-up on the final weekend when they host Connacht at Thomond Park.
Although quarter-final two is already confirmed, it’s still all to play for in the race for third place in Conference B, with Benetton, Edinburgh and Scarlets all still battling it out for that final quarter-final place.
Should Munster finish second in their conference, the southern province will host quarter-final one at Thomond Park on Saturday 4 May, while Scotstoun will be the venue if Glasgow fail to finish the job against Edinburgh.
The winner of that quarter-final will face defending champions Leinster at the RDS in the semi-final, with Leo Cullen’s side confirmed winners of Conference B.
The semi-final ties are scheduled for 17/18 May, while the 2019 Pro14 final will take place at Celtic Park on Saturday 25 May at 6.30pm.
Pro14 quarter-final fixture details:
Quarter-final 1 (winners will play Leinster in semi-final)
- Munster Rugby v Benetton Rugby/Edinburgh Rugby/Scarlets [Thomond Park, 3pm]
OR
- Glasgow Warriors v Benetton Rugby/Edinburgh Rugby/Scarlets [Scotstoun, 3pm]
Quarter-final 2 (Winners play Glasgow Warriors or Munster in semi-final)
- Ulster Rugby v Connacht Rugby [Kingspan Stadium, 5.35pm]
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella are joined by Andy Dunne to preview the Champions Cup semi-finals and all the week’s news on the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
