Cape Town - It's going to be a repeat of last year's final on May 6 in Cape Town when the North-South derby between the United Rugby Championship (URC) winners, the Stormers, and the Bulls will decide who progresses to the semi-finals.
The two arch-rivals will face each other, while the Sharks have the daunting task of travelling to Ireland for a quarter-final with top-of-the-log Leinster. It was due to their own doing, after a draw with Munster, that the Durban side will have to face the Irish powerhouse in Dublin.
On Saturday, the Sharks had the opportunity to beat Munster after leading 22-3, but they gave up the healthy lead to draw the game which cemented eighth position on the log.
All eyes, though, will be fixed on the Cape Town Stadium, where a repeat of the competition's 2022 final will play out. The Bulls have hit their straps recently after some terrible results across all the competitions they play and on Saturday thrashed a Leinster side, without their star players, to move up the URC log.
Their win, coupled with other results, means a trip to the Stormers, who they haven't beaten in two seasons of URC rugby.
But, the Stormers are currently going through a bit of a slump after losing back-to-back important games in the Champions Cup and URC which saw them knocked out of the Cup and drop down to third on the log in the URC.
They put in a brilliant second-half display against Benetton on Friday, but there's an element of vulnerability about the team currently that their opponents will want to exploit.
Luckily for the defending champions, there's a break of a week before the play-offs commence and it gives them enough time to recuperate and take stock of their injuries and available players.
In the other quarter-finals, there will be an all-Irish clash as Ulster face Connacht, who failed to beat Glasgow Warriors on Saturday for a better log position.
The Irish, with all four teams in the play-offs, will be happy that they can potentially have three sides making it through to the semi-finals. Just like South Africa, they will at least have one team playing after the first knockouts.
Glasgow and Munster complete the quarters and they will square up in Scotland after the former secured their home play-off spot a week ago.
Should the Sharks pull off the impossible, as the Bulls did last year in Leinster, SA rugby will have two teams in the semi-finals. But after their display against Munster, and losing captain Siya Kolisi to injury, it could become mission impossible for the Durban side when they head over to Ireland.
United Rugby Championship quarter-final fixtures:
Leinster v Sharks
Ulster v Connacht
Stormers v Bulls
Glasgow v Munster
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