QUARTER-FINAL

The teams for this weekend's Quarter-Final of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship have been named with all details of match officials and broadcast information below.

TEAM NEWS HEADLINES

#ULSvCON

• Jacob Stockdale makes his 100th Ulster appearance while Rob Herring equals the all-time appearance record on 229 caps
• Dave Heffernan named in Connacht starting XV as he returns from injury with Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen also named as they return from illness

#STOvBUL

• Deon Fourie and Leolin Zas return from injury as they are named in DHL Stormers starting XV
• Vodacom Bulls name an unchanged starting XV
  

#LEIvSHA

• Harry Byrne set to earn his 50 th cap for Leinster
• Corne Rahl returns to Cell C Sharks starting XV

#GLAvMUN

• Richie Gray set to make his 100th appearance for Glasgow Warriors
• Two changes to the Munster side as RG Snyman comes into the second row and Tadhg Beirne returns from injury to start at blindside flanker

FRIDAY, MAY 5

Ulster v Connacht

Kingspan Stadium, Belfast – KO 19.35  IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 88th league game)

AR 1: Frank Murphy (IRFU) AR 2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Live on: Viaplay, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery +, FloRugby.com & URC.tv

Ulster: Mike Lowry, Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Rory Sutherland, Rob Herring, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Alan O’Connor (CAPT), Kieran Treadwell, Dave McCann, Nick Timoney, Duane Vermeulen

Replacements: Tom Stewart, Eric O’Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Sam Carter, Jordi Murphy, Nathan Doak, Stewart Moore, Craig Gilroy

Connacht: Tiernan O’Halloran, John Porch, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Jack Carty (CAPT), Caolin Blade, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Josh Murphy, Niall Murray, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast

Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Oisín Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Kieran Marmion, Tom Daly, Byron Ralston

Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland said: “They will come hungry. It’s do or die in play-offs and we expect an extremely physical, intense side coming to play against us.”

Connacht Director of Rugby Andy Friend said: “Tomorrow is the culmination of months of hard work. We were very clear at the start of the season that we wanted to be playing playoff football, and now that we’re here we plan on making the most of it. Beating Ulster in Belfast is a tough task for any team, but we’re confident in our abilities and we’ve improved a lot since our last trip up there. I’ve heard there’s a huge crowd travelling up to support us which always gives us a boost, so I’m sure they’ll make their voices heard.”

SATURDAY, MAY 6

DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls

DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 14.30 IRE & UK / 15.30 ITA & SA

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU, 18th league game)

AR 1: AJ Jacobs (SARU) AR 2: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Viaplay, Premier Sports, Discovery +, FloRugby.com & URC.tv

DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Steven Kitshoff (CAPT), Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe, Ruben van Heerden, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos

Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Gary Porter, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Paul de Wet, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Vodacom Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Embrose Papier, Johan Goosen, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Mornay Smith, Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Marco van Staden, Cyle Brink, Elrigh Louw

Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Lionel Mapoe

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said: "We will have our biggest crowd of the season for a North-South knock-out game, so this is something everyone has been looking forward to. It is fantastic to have the likes of Deon and Leolin back in the mix for this one, they have both made such a big impact for us in recent times. We are very proud of what we have already achieved this season as our goal was to broaden depth across the squad and consolidate our position. To have hosted a Heineken Champions Cup play-off, retain the SA Shield and have a home Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal on top of capping as many players as we have means a lot to us. We are really excited about the future and the new generation of players coming through, but right now it's all about Saturday. We want to play the kind of rugby that has got us into this position and repay the incredible support we get with a worthy performance."

Leinster v Cell C Sharks

Aviva Stadium, Dublin – KO 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA & SA

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 46th league game)

AR 1: Sam Grove-White (SRU) AR 2: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Live on: RTÉ, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery +, FloRugby.com & URC.tv

Leinster: Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, Ciarán Frawley, Charlie Ngatai, Dave Kearney, Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath (CAPT), Michael Milne, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Ryan Baird, Jason Jenkins, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris

Replacements: John McKee, Andrew Porter, Cian Healy, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ross Byrne, Liam Turner

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Marnus Potgieter, Lukhanyo Am (CAPT), Ben Tapuai, Makazole Mapimpi, Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Corne Rahl, Gerbrandt Grobler, James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Sikhumbuzo Notshe

Replacements: Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Carlu Sadie, Jeandre Labuschagne, Phepsi Buthelezi, Cameron Wright, Nevaldo Fleurs, Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Glasgow Warriors v Munster

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 35th league game)

AR 1: Adam Jones (WRU) AR 2: Manuel Bottino (FIR)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Live on: Viaplay, RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery +, FloRugby.com & URC.tv

Glasgow Warriors: Ollie Smith, Sebastian Cancelliere, Sione Tuipulotu, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Tom Jordan, George Horne, Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Nathan McBeth, Simon Berghan, JP du Preez, Lewis Bean, Sione Vailanu, Ali Price, Huw Jones

Munster: Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Malakai Fekitoa, Shane Daly, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony (CAPT), Gavin Coombes

Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, Fineen Wycherley, John Hodnett, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Alex Kendellen

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said: “Munster are a team who knows how to play in playoff rugby, and have been on a strong run of form in recent weeks. We know that we must be at our best level in order to meet the challenge they will pose. Training this week has been competitive and has seen the squad push each other to be the best they can be - we look forward to the test waiting for us tomorrow night.”