Who, what, where and when?
The start of the URC playoffs. On Friday at 7.35pm, Munster welcome the Ospreys to Thomond Park. The next day, at 5pm, Leinster take on Ulster at the Aviva Stadium.
TV details
TG4 are on broadcast duty for both matches. Their coverage of Munster vs Ospreys starts at 7.25pm, Leinster vs Ulster the next day gets under way at 4.30pm.
Are there tickets?
It looks like plenty of tickets are still going. On Ticketmaster, you can nab some for Thomond Park for €20 at the cheapest rate, the equivalent for the Aviva are €25.
Path to the knock-outs
Munster have finished the URC regular season like a train, winning nine league games in a row, including an impressive mini-tour of South Africa and an interpro victory last weekend over Ulster. Such a run sees them finishing top of the standings heading into the quarter-finals.
This ensures that they have home advantage for as long as they stay in the competition, a huge advantage that means they won’t have any arduous journeys to South Africa which, as we have seen both in the URC and Champions Cup, can essentially kill off much of a team’s chances.
Leinster focused on Europe for the last month or so, opting to rotate a number of their first choice XV in the build-up to the unsuccessful Champions Cup final while also easing back a handful of players into fitness. The strategy has backfired somewhat, a pair of defeats in South Africa and to Ulster the week before their Toulouse outing seeing them finish in third.
It’s not disastrous, they still have a home tie against Ulster but, in all likelihood, they will have to travel down to Pretoria at a week’s notice to face the Bulls should they see off their northern rivals this weekend.
As for Ulster themselves, a difficult run under previous head coach Dan McFarland meant they had a battle on their hands to make the top eight. However, under new boss Richie Murphy, they beat Cardiff, Benetton and Leinster at home to end up finishing in sixth. Their reward is a tricky tie in Dublin but, in reality, considering where Ulster were at one point this season, making the knock-outs can be seen as recovery enough for this season.
Teams
Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (capt); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Sam Prendergast, Ciarán Frawley.
Ulster: Stewart Moore; Mike Lowry, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (capt), Tom O’Toole; Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Matty Rea, David McCann, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Andy Warwick, Scott Wilson, Greg Jones, Dave Ewers, Nathan Doak, Ethan McIlroy, Jude Postlethwaite.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).
Munster team v Ospreys: Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Seán O’Brien, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; RG Snyman, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan, Oli Jager, Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Mike Haley.
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