The United Rugby Championship continues to take shape this weekend with all 16 teams in action in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Fortress South Africa sees the Stormers, Bulls and Lions all at home on Saturday, after the Sharks kick off the URC weekend on Friday night in Durban.
Munster do battle with Leinster in an Irish derby, while Llanelli Scarlets and Cardiff meet for their rival clash in Wales, with Glasgow Warriors and Benetton both on home turf on Saturday.
Sharks vs Dragons
South Africa’s Sharks are hunting a return to winning ways when they play the Dragons under the Friday night lights at Kings Park in the United Rugby Championship.
The hosts were comfortably seen off by Edinburgh in the pouring rain last weekend, ending a run that had seen them rise to the top of the SA pile in the URC table.
And they will fancy their chances against their Welsh visitors, who were clobbered 55-20 by the Bulls last weekend.
Friday 1 April, kick off 19:30 SAST.
Glasgow Warriors vs Zebre
Glasgow Warriors have the perfect opportunity to reignite their tilt at the sharp end of the United Rugby Championship table when they host sorry Zebre on Friday night.
The Scottish side were turned over 32-28 in Cardiff last weekend in a fifth loss of the campaign.
Even a close contest like that is a distant dream for the Italians, who haven’t a single victory to shoe for their 12 matches this season so far.
Friday 1 April, kick off 20:35 SAST.
Benetton vs Connacht
A bottom half battle in the United Rugby Championship pits Benetton against Connacht on Saturday lunchtime.
The pair meet with the home side seeking to join their Irish counterparts in the sunny uplands of midtable.
And there’s no better time to turn things around for the men from Galway, who were thumped on home turf by rivals Leinster last time out.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 13:00 SAST.
Bulls vs Ulster
The Bulls are battling to become South Africa’s top-ranked side in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, with second-placed Ulster the visitors to Loftus Versfeld.
It’s an imposing ask at altitude for the Irish side, who were on the wrong end of a nerve-shredding contest in Cape Town against the Stormers last weekend.
The men from the Cape are the ones to catch for the Pretoria franchise, who walloped the Dragons 55-20 a week ago.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 14:00 SAST.
Lions vs Edinburgh
Edinburgh are out to repeat the feat this Saturday when they go up against the Lions at Emirates Airline Park in the United Rugby Championship.
The Scottish side have jetted up to Gauteng off the back of a handsome win in Durban against the Sharks last weekend, breaking the Northern Hemisphere duck in South Africa.
Their hosts had their feet up last weekend and have previous on home turf, having edged out Munster 23-21 two weeks ago.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 16:05 SAST.
Stormers vs Ospreys
The Stormers can consolidate their top six credentials in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday when they host the Ospreys at the Cape Town Stadium.
A ding-dong battle with Ulster last weekend saw the South African side somehow come away with a 23-20 success, edging them ahead of domestic rivals the Bulls and Sharks.
The tourists come into this one off the back of a 45-15 loss at the hands of the Lions.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 18:15 SAST.
Munster vs Leinster
It’s derby day in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, as Munster and Leinster face off under the lights at Thomond Park.
In a contest between third and first, the men from the south would go within striking distance of the Dubliners if they can pull off a win.
Their visitors’ last foray away from the capital a week ago, away at Connacht, paid off in the form of a 45-8 victory.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 20:00 SAST.
Llanelli Scarlets vs Cardiff
A Welsh derby polishes off the United Rugby Championship weekend on Saturday night, as Llanelli Scarlets host Cardiff.
The local rivals meet with both having won last time out.
Scarlets were 41-24 winners at Zebre last Saturday, while the capital city side pulled off a shock home win over Glasgow Warriors.
Saturday 2 April, kick off 20:35 SAST.
UCR chance of winning and points predictions for this week
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing. Score margins use the methodology developed by Rugby Vision.
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Sharks | 93,1 | 17 |
| Dragons | 6,4 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Glasgow | 98.00 | 22 |
| Zebre | 1,4 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Benetton | 57,8 | 2 |
| Connacht | 36,5 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Bulls | 89,6 | 3 |
| Ulster | 8,9 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Lions | 60,4 | 2 |
| Edinburgh | 33,6 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Stormers | 90,8 | 18 |
| Ospreys | 8,2 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Munster | 16,7 | |
| Leinster | 80,4 | 4 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Scarlets | 78,9 | 6 |
| Cardiff | 15,1 |