The United Rugby Championship continues this weekend with the South African sides starting to hit their straps in the competition’s inaugural season.
All four SA franchises were winners at the start of their home run of fixtures last weekend, with the Bulls kicking off the action on Friday night at home to Llanelli Scarlets before the Scottish derby between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh.
The Lions host Munster and Sharks play Zebre on Saturday, before attention shifts on Sunday to the Cape Town Stadium for the clash between the Stormers and Cardiff Blues.
Bulls vs Llanelli Scarlets
The Bulls are eyeing the top half of the United Rugby Championship table when they tackle Llanelli Scarlets in Pretoria on Friday night.
It’s a testing trip up to altitude on the Highveld for the tourists, a week on from their 37-20 defeat at the hands of the Sharks as the URC returned to South African soil.
They sit five points beneath their hosts in the standings ahead of the Loftus Versfeld clash, albeit having played a game less amid the turmoil caused by Covid-19 in the competition’s inaugural season.
Jake White’s hosts were 29-24 winners over depleted Munster last Saturday on home turf.
Friday 11 March, kick off 19:10 SAST.
Glasgow Warriors vs Edinburgh
It’s a Scottish derby in the United Rugby Championship on Friday night as Glasgow Warriors go up against Edinburgh.
The pair are fresh from a rest weekend, too, albeit missing a host of Scotland internationals on duty in the final round of the Six Nations Rugby Championship.
Contrasting fortunes a fortnight ago left the duo level-pegging at fourth and fifth in the URC table.
Glasgow keenly felt the loss of their internationals in going down to defeat at Llanelli Scarlets, while the capital city side were on fine form to thump Connacht 56-8.
Friday 18 March, kick off 21:35 SAST.
Lions vs Munster
The Lions are out to put together a winning sequence when they welcome touring Munster to Emirates Airline Park in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Victory over Cardiff Blues last weekend was just the third of a disrupted campaign for Ivan van Rooyen’s side, who will look forward again to the advantage of altitude on Johannesburg.
Their visitors have had some time to adjust to the conditions at least, having been edged out 29-24 by the Bulls up the road in Pretoria last weekend in the absence of their Ireland internationals.
Saturday 19 March, kick off 14:00 SAST.
Sharks vs Zebre
The Sharks can solidify their top six status in the United Rugby Championship table on Saturday when they tackle tournament whipping boys Zebre in Durban on Saturday.
A 55-7 defeat away to the Stormers in Stellenbosch was a grim experience for the Italians last time out.
They have lost ten from ten during a miserable campaign so far, while the South African side came through strongly last Friday night to see off Llanelli Scarlets 37-20 at Kings Park.
Saturday 19 March, kick off 18:30 SAST.
Stormers vs Cardiff Blues
The Stormers are on the charge as they polish off the United Rugby Championship programme with a home fixture against Cardiff Blues.
It’s a return to the Cape Town Stadium for the South Africans, too, after their shift to nearby Stellenbosch for a handsome, 55-7 battering of sorry Zebre last time out.
Their Welsh opponents didn’t fare all that much better in Johannesburg, going down 37-20 at the hands of the Lions.
Victory could take John Dobson’s side as high as sixth in the URC standings as the season builds towards the sharp end following the Covid-19 disruption of last year.
Sunday 20 March, kick off 14:00 SAST.
United Rugby Championship: Predictions
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 are taken from statschatnz.
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Bulls | 72 | 12 |
| Scarlets | 24 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Glasgow | 67 | 4 |
| Edinburgh | 28 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Lions | 14 | |
| Munster | 84 | 8 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Sharks | 76 | 28 |
| Zebre | 20 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Points margin | |
| Stormers | 54 | 14 |
| Cardiff | 43 |
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