All to play for in final round of the URC (permutations)

The final round of the United Rugby Championship regular season is here, and there are a variety of stakes on offer for the Irish provinces. Munster welcome Benetton to Virgin Media Park in Cork knowing a win will be needed for them to make the play-offs, and secure Champions Cup rugby for next season. Ulster and Connacht are both officially out of contention for the play-offs. We take a look at some of the permutations.

Edinburgh v Ulster - 16 May 2025

Ulster are out of contention for a place in the play-offs, but they can still have a big say on the rest of the season by denying Edinburgh a place in the top half. Edinburgh into the game in tenth and as the lowest ranked side. However they can still mathematically qualify for the next round.

Team Lineups

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Harry Paterson; Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae; Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner; Ben Muncaster, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (capt).

Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Glen Young, Jamie Ritchie, Charlie Shiel, Ben Healy, Mark Bennett.

Ulster: Michael Lowry; Werner Kok, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole; Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson (capt); Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney, David McCann.

Replacements: Tom Stewart, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Harry Sheridan, James McNabney, David Shanahan, Aidan Morgan, Stewart Moore.

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)

Munster v Benetton - 16 May 2025

The margin for error is tiny for both teams, and it's unlikely both teams will qualify for the play-offs. For Munster, a win of any kind will be enough to prolong their season and secure Champions Cup rugby, but anything less than that would leave them relying on the Stormers and Ulster to do them a favour against Cardiff and Edinburgh, respectively. 

On the other hand Benetton go into the game in great form (four wins from their last five games) with an impressive 33-7 win against Glasgow last week to keeping their play-off push on track.

Team Lineups

Munster: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern, Conor Murray, Seán O'Brien, Alex Kendellen.

Benetton: Rhyno Smith; Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Ignacio Brex, Paolo Odogwu; Jacob Umaga, Alessandro Garbisi; Thomas Gallo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari; Scott Scrafton, Federico Ruzza (capt); Riccardo Favretto, Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.

Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Mirco Spagnolo, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolo Cannone, Sebastian Negri, Nicolo Casilio, Tomas Albornoz, Malakai Fekitoa.

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).

Zebre Parma v Connacht - 17 May

Connacht can't finish any lower than 14th in the table, but a defeat away to a plucky Zebre side this weekend would mark their worst form in this competition for 15 years.

Zebre were hammered 76-5 by Leinster away last week, but the Italians have beaten both Ulster and Munster this season and will fancy their chances against the their next Irish test.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).

Leinster v Glasgow Warriors - 17 May

Leinster have already qualified for the play-offs as top seed, and will be merely looking to keep the momentum going. On the other hand, defending champions Glasgow travel to Dublin looking to keep their season alive. Back to back defeats against Bulls and Benetton leave Glasgow in third coming into the weekend, and if they drop to fourth, they will likely host the Stormers in the next round.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU).