United Rugby Championship – Round 18 Review

Now it’s on to the Play-Offs.

The Race to the Eight went right down to the wire with five teams in the hunt for the last three spots going into the final round of matches.

In the end, it was Munster Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby and the Scarlets who booked their passage to the knockout stages.

With the top eight locked in and finishing positions decided, we now know the quarter-final line-up.

It looks like this:

The weekend’s action began on Friday night with Cardiff Rugby knowing a victory over the Stormers in Cape Town would guarantee them a place in the Play-Offs.

Despite having prop Danny Southworth red carded after 30 minutes, they refused to lie down and stayed in the contest by scoring four tries, with the numbers being evened up around the hour mark when Damian Willemse was sent off.

Going into the last few minutes, the Welsh visitors were a converted try away from a draw which would have earned them three points and, the way things turned out, a top eight finish.

But, in the end, they were left with just the one as Sacha Feinburg-Mngomezulu landed a penalty with the last kick of the game to make it 34-24 to the fifth-finishing Stormers.

That point took Cardiff into the top eight for the time being, but left them extremely vulnerable to results elsewhere on the night.

To make the play-offs, they now needed Edinburgh to lose at home to Ulster and the Scots were not about to fluff their lines as they secured a 47-17 bonus point victory.

That meant Cardiff were out of the equation and all eyes now turned to the winner-takes-all clash between Munster and Benetton Rugby in Cork.

It proved to be a titanic tussle with Munster finally sealing the deal in the closing stages to win 30-21.

That, in turn, saw the Scarlets qualify for the play-offs with a game to spare.

So, by the end of play on Friday, we knew the top eight.

But what still needed to be sorted out was the finishing positions which would, in turn, decide the play-off line-up.

First up on Saturday were the Bulls who ran in nine tries as they thumped Dragons RFC 55-15 in Pretoria to seal second place and home advantage through to the semi-finals.

Then came the clash between the Sharks and the Scarlets in Durban. It proved to be a hard-fought, tryless affair.

Going into the dying minutes, the Welsh visitors were in possession of a losing bonus point which would have taken them up to seventh and seen them travel to the Bulls in the quarter-finals.

But, in the last play of the game, they conceded a penalty and Aphelele Fassi slotted his third successful kick to make the final score 12-3.

That saw the Scarlets drop down to eighth which means they will travel to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to face table-topping Leinster in the play-offs at the end of this month.

There was just one more game to come and one more positional issue to be resolved.

That saw Leinster record their 16th win from 18 regular season matches as they beat Glasgow 13-5.

So, having spent much of the campaign in second spot, champions Glasgow have ended up in fourth, with the Sharks jumping above them into third on the final weekend.

It all means the Scotstoun side will host the Stormers in the last eight, with the Sharks entertaining Munster, while Edinburgh will travel to Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld to take on the Bulls.

As for the two games that didn’t have a bearing on the play-offs, the Emirates Lions scored a last minute try to beat the Ospreys 29-28 in Johannesburg, while Connacht Rugby defeated Zebre Parma 22-12 out in Italy.

Magician Graham performs hat trick

Darcy Graham has been hailed “a magician” after delivering the perfect response to being left out of the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.

The Scotland winger scored a scintillating hat-trick of tries to help Edinburgh claim the 47-17 bonus point victory over Ulster which booked them a spot in the play-offs.

Commenting on Graham’s “disappointing” omission from the trip Down Under, his coach Sean Everett said: “Selections are tough, especially the Lions tour when it only comes around once every four years.

“Darcy has been in good form for Edinburgh and he was in good form for Scotland as well.

“I know he didn’t play all the Six Nations games, but every time he puts on a rugby jersey he tends to turn something out of nothing.

“He’s a real magician out there with his footwork and the work rate that he does. So it is disappointing for him, but he is still young enough to make the next one.

“You’ve just got to keep on fighting because the nature of the sport is there could be injuries and he’s the next one in.”

Reflecting on Edinburgh’s successful push for the Play-Offs, Everett said: “It’s been nine weeks of pressure, to be quite honest.

“It’s been so tough for a long period of time, with the European games as well.

“I am just proud that the boys pulled it through with the performance they put in, especially in the second half. That’s how we want to play the game. There were some brilliant tries scored, so I’m happy for the boys.

“Sometimes in rugby, it can be a domino effect. You just need a couple of wins and you turn the corner. You get momentum when you are playing well and that’s definitely what’s happened with us.”

The Player of the Match award went to skipper Magnus Bradbury who crossed twice from No 8 in what Everett described as an “outstanding” performance.

Giving his own thoughts on the win, Bradbury commented: “It’s a fantastic feeling. We had a job to do and everyone delivered on their jobs.

“As a collective, it was brilliant. The team is just growing from strength to strength. We are demanding more of each other, we are demanding higher standards.”

It was an emotional night for Bradbury’s back row colleague Jamie Ritchie as he bid farewell to the Hive Stadium.

The Scotland flanker is moving on at the end of the season to join Perpignan after more than a decade with Edinburgh.

He received a big ovation from a packed crowd when he came off the bench early in the second half and played his part as his seven-try team pulled away.

Reflecting on his final home appearance, the 28-year-old Ritchie said: “It’s hard to put into words.

“I have been here since I finished school, since I was 17 years old.

“Through my whole adult life, this place has been my family, my mates, so it’s pretty emotional.

“I’m glad we got the win and I can enjoy it with all my best mates. We knew we needed to get five points, so job done.”

Match of the Weekend

Munster Rugby 30, Benetton Rugby 21

This winner-takes-all clash had all the makings of being a Cork classic and so it proved.

With a place in the play-offs on the line, both teams gave it everything and the outcome was in the balance going into the final ten minutes with Munster holding a narrow four point lead.

But a bonus point try from their replacement prop Josh Wycherley sealed the victory and a place in the top eight to the delight of the home fans.

The Player of the Match award went to scrum-half Craig Casey who marked his 100th appearance for Munster in style.

Giving his assessment of the contest, he said: “Benetton had it all to play for like ourselves, so we knew it was going to be like a Test match.

“With the amount of Italian internationals they had, we knew it was going to be a tough one and so it was.

“The first half was a bit helter skelter. They put their game on us and we didn’t really play to our potential, but we came out in the second half and rectified a few things. It was a lovely night.”

On reaching his century, Casey added: “It’s the club I grew up absolutely loving and it means an awful lot to myself, my family and my friends.”

Munster skipper Tadhg Beirne revealed that flanker Peter O’Mahony – who was making his final home appearance for the province before retiring – had some key words to say at the break with his team trailing 14-10.

“Pete spoke at half-time along with the coaching staff,” said second row Beirne.

“Bringing up our physicality was the first thing. I think Benetton had shocked us a little bit.

“We just didn’t do ourselves justice in the first half and we knew we had to up it massively. They were fighting for a play-off spot too. So we had to work harder than them, keep grinding them down, hoping our fitness would come into it and we came out and did that.

“Credit to the boys, we stood up when we needed to and we got the job done.”

Player of the weekend

Suleiman Hartzenberg (DHL Stormers)

The versatile Hartzenberg made his 50th appearance for the Stormers on the weekend, which is pretty remarkable given he is still only 21.

He marked his half century in eye-catching fashion with a two-try Player of the Match display in the 34-24 victory over Cardiff.

Lining up on the right wing, he showed his finishing prowess for his first score as he spotted a gap and scorched through it before stepping inside the last man, while he completed his double by pocketing a cross kick from Manie Libbok.

He was also the game’s top carrier with 16, demonstrating his work-rate and his willingness to go looking for the ball.

Commenting on his progress, the young man from Cape Town said: “In my first year, it was more about finding my feet, getting used to the system and understanding what they wanted from me.

“As the years have gone on, I think I have found myself a bit more and understood what’s expected from me by the coaches and the team.

“It’s just about performing at my best wherever I play. The players around me make my job easier. We are all on the same page.”

Quote of the weekend

Cardiff captain Josh McNally after his team lost 34-24 to the Stormers in Cape Town to finish just one place and one point outside the play-offs.

“We fought really hard. I couldn’t have asked any more of the boys. We didn’t leave anything out there,” said the second row.

“I’m just extremely proud of the group. No-one would have put us in this position, fighting to get into the play-offs in the last game of the season. We’ve been underdogs all year. No-one has given us a chance.

“But all year we have fought for everything, fought for every match, fought for every win. This group is going somewhere special and I can’t wait for next season. I’m really excited to see what comes in the next few years.”

What’s coming next?

Everyone can take a breath next weekend with attention turning to the finals of the Investec Champions Cups and Challenge Cup in Cardiff, with no BKT URC teams involved in those showpiece games.

Then, a week later, we are into the real business end of the league season as the Play-Offs get underway with four mouth-watering Quarter-Final clashes in Glasgow, Pretoria, Dublin and Durban.