Ulster's Ethan McIlroy in action against Munster during the sides' United Rugby Championship meeting at Kingspan Stadium last month ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
The first ever last-eight line-up in the United Rugby Championship has been set following the thrilling completion of round 18 tonight.
The URC quarter-final fixtures will take place on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4, with kick-off times to be confirmed early next week following consultation with host broadcasters.
Irish provinces will host two of the quarter-finals and one of them will be an interprovincial derby as third-placed Ulster meet Munster at Kingspan Stadium in two weeks’ time.
Leinster, who were already assured of finishing top of the table, have pencilled in a home quarter-final against Glasgow Warriors in Dublin, with the carrot of a home semi-final also dangling in front of them.
The two other quarter-final fixtures will take place in South Africa, marking the first time in the league’s history that play-offs will be hosted in the southern Hemisphere.
The DHL Stormers, who scored a late try in Llanelli to finish second overall, won the South African Shield and will have home advantage against Edinburgh, the 1872 Cup and Scottish/Italian Shield winners.
There is also a heavyweight South African derby to look forward to with the Vodacom Bulls and the Cell C Sharks going head-to-head in Pretoria.
League rankings determined which teams were placed into each quarter-final match, with home advantage in the semi-finals going to the winners of quarter-final 1 and quarter-final 2.
Home advantage for the United Rugby Championship final next month goes to the team with the highest ranking.
Friday, June 3 & Saturday, June 4 –
QF1: LEINSTER v Glasgow Warriors
QF2: DHL Stormers v Edinburgh
QF3: ULSTER v MUNSTER
QF4: Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks
Semi-Finals: QF1 (home advantage) v QF4, QF2 (home advantage) v QF3
1. LEINSTER 67 points
2. DHL Stormers 61 points
3. ULSTER 59 points
4. Vodacom Bulls 58 points
5. Cell C Sharks 57 points
6. MUNSTER 56 points
7. Edinburgh 54 points
8. Glasgow Warriors 50 points
Irish Shield: LEINSTER
South African Shield: DHL Stormers
Welsh Shield: Ospreys
Scottish/Italian Shield: Edinburgh
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