United Rugby Championship Predictions – 13-14 March

The much-anticipated North-South derby is one of three rescheduled fixtures that’ll be contested this weekend.

The other two games will be played on Friday night, with Edinburgh entertaining Ulster in the Scottish capital and Connacht hosting the Scarlets in Galway.

Here’s how we see things playing out:

Edinburgh v Ulster

Friday, 13 March – 21:45

Edinburgh will be out to strike while the iron is hot at home.

The Scottish side dealt better without their Six Nations stars than Ulster did in the previous round, picking up a much-needed 24-19 win over the Scarlets to snap a three-game losing streak, while the Irishmen lost 21-10 to the Ospreys.

Given where the teams are on the table, Edinburgh seven points outside of the top eight down in 12th and Ulster in sixth position, it’s essentially a must-win game for the hosts to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Considering the previous round’s results, the venue and the likelihood that Edinburgh will want the win a little bit more than their visitors, I’m siding with Sean Everitt’s men. 

Prediction: Edinburgh by 3.

Suggested Bet: Edinburgh -2 at 1.90.

Connacht v Scarlets

Friday, 13 March – 21:45

Connacht have quietly crept up the ladder and will be looking to make further inroads in this one.

A run of five straight losses had all but relegated the team from Galway to also-rans before a 31-15 triumph over Zebre in Parma suggested all might not be lost for them after all.

That ember of hope turned into a scorching flame when they upset the log-leading Glasgow Warriors 15-10 in the previous round, moving them up to 10th place, and a bonus point win here would lift them to ninth.

The Scarlets put up a solid fight in Edinburgh but their aforementioned five-point loss was their seventh in 11 outings and left them in lowly 15th position. This is an opportunity Connacht have to capitalise on, and I have little doubt that they will.

Prediction: Connacht by 12.

Suggested Bet: Connacht -10 at 1.90.

Bulls v Stormers

Saturday, 14 March – 14:00

It’s always an epic whenever these two arch-rivals square off and Saturday’s showdown will be no different as the sides seek to strengthen their positions in the top eight.

This instalment is a tussle of teams on opposite trajectories. The Bulls are moving on up, having strung together four wins on the bounce, three of those coming in the URC, to build a healthy head of steam and climb to eighth on the ladder.

The Stormers, conversely, are desperate to stop a concerning slide before it turns into a free-fall. The Capetonians have gone from topping the table with a flawless 8-0 record to dropping three games in a row and four places on the log.  

Whereas the Bulls have found their groove since Johan Ackermann made some changes to his management team, John Dobson’s side have lost focus. Gremlins have crept into their system like a virus, with them becoming increasingly more reckless.

Instead of structure, they’ve been chasing sensationalism, looking for the outlandish when simplicity would’ve served them much better. Their discipline on the defensive end has also regressed significantly, leaving them returning to the Highveld following a 24-10 loss to the Lions and having to climb out of the hole they dug for themselves.

The Stormers have dominated this rivalry since the dawn of the URC, winning nine of the 11 meetings between the teams, including a 13-8 victory in Cape Town in January. However, with the Bulls having rediscovered their power game and added some new strings to their bow, which saw them smash the Sharks 41-12 last time out, they should come out on top.

Prediction: Bulls by 5.

Suggested Bet: Stormers +7 at 1.90.