At the time of publication, fixtures were going ahead as schedule.
The focus is back on the debut United Rugby Championship season, as South Africa’s top four sides welcome their European counterparts to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.
A four-match European tour threw the South African teams into the deep end before the break for international action.
But they’re a different prospect in their own back yard, buoyed yet further by the performance of the Springboks up north.
The Stormers are the first to test the mettle of Italian side Zebre when they meet in the shadow of the iconic Table Mountain at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a home team boosted by the return of several Springbok tourists as they hunt a second win of the URC campaign.
Attention then turns to Durban where the Sharks go up against the Scarlets at Kings Park.
It’s relentless stuff in Mzansi, with a Saturday night blockbuster between the Bulls and Munster in Pretoria.
The heavyweight pair will collide at Loftus Versfeld Stadium for a true examination of Irish grit, against the best South African side of recent times.
Don’t forget Dublin while you’re taking in the URC’s return either.
Saturday’s feast comes to a climax with the Irish derby between tournament favourites Leinster, boasting the only remaining perfect record with five wins from five, tackling rivals Ulster at the RDS Arena.
South Africa’s fourth franchise, the Lions, complete the set on Sunday with a fixture against Cardiff at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
There are another pair of Saturday matches threatening to slip under the radar, too, as Glasgow Warriors travel to Italy to go up against Benetton.
Their Scottish counterparts Edinburgh are also on the road, as they face the Dragons at Rodney Parade in Newport.
And there’s even a match under the Friday night lights to whet your weekend rugby appetite, with Connacht welcoming Ospreys to The Sportsground.
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 use the methodology developed by Rugby Vision.
