Friday night’s action sees Connacht and Hollywoodbets Sharks pause their conquests for URC Play-Off spots and turn their attention to a huge head-to-head in the Challenge Cup.

Connacht go into this one brimming with confidence, off the back of a five game winning streak in the URC, which included wins against table toppers Glasgow Warriors and third place Ulster. They qualified in third place in Pool 1 with two wins from four, but boasted the best points difference of any side in the Challenge Cup with 108 in their favour, which highlights their confident attacking rugby in this competition.

Hollywoodbets Sharks began the season playing Champions Cup rugby, however two wins from four wasn’t enough to secure them a top four finish. They instead placed fifth in their pool, missing out on the next stage purely on points difference. With discussions surrounding the once-more available Eben Etzebeth dominating the headlines this week, Sharks will want to mark their superstar’s return with an impressive win in Galway on Friday night.

Dexcom Stadium has already played hosts to a 60 point thriller between these sides this season, where hosts Connacht put up a statement victory, winning 44-17 in Round 6 of the URC. Sharks will be hungry to take vengeance and overturn that result, but have a poor history in this fixture, having lost all four previous match-ups.

Top seed in the league Glasgow Warriors welcome the in-form Vodacom Bulls to fortress Scotstoun Stadium for a reverse fixture of the 2023/24 URC final, in arguably the match-up of the weekend.

Glasgow have been almost flawless across the board this season. The Warriors have won 15 from 18 games in all competitions and were one of just three sides to win all four group stage games in the Champions Cup. They topped Pool 1 with ease, cruising past previous victors Saracens and Toulouse with bonus point victories. Glasgow seem impossible to stop at the moment, having put up a combined 100 points against Benetton, Leinster and Munster, their last three opponents at home.

On the contrary, Vodacom Bulls haven’t been perfect this season. They finished fourth in Pool 4, scraping into the knockout stages by a singular point. One win in four matches made for worrying signs in Europe, however the Vodacom Bulls’ URC form of late has propelled them back into contention. They sit in eighth place, with only the bottom four sides still to play, meaning the prospect of a home Quarter-Final is still certainly on the cards.

Glasgow just about have the historical edge in this match-up, winning three of the last five head-to-heads between these sides.

Leinster welcome Edinburgh to Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon in what has all the makings to be a European rugby classic.

Leinster have been excellent once again in the Champions Cup, winning all four Pool games, including a thumping victory over Harlequins and a last-gasp, one point thriller against two time victors La Rochelle, as Harry Byrne had the last laugh over Ronan O’Gara on his return to the Irish capital.

Edinburgh have struggled in all competitions this campaign. They finished fourth in Pool 2, winning two of their four games and currently sit in a measly 13th position in the URC, out of Play-Off contention and the prospect of Champions Cup rugby next year – unless they win this. Edinburgh will have to rely on the firepower of returning Scottish internationals Darcy Graham and Pierre Schoeman to get them over the line in this one.

Historically, Leinster have had the upper hand in this match-up, winning all five of their previous encounters with one another, including a 28-20 victory at Aviva Stadium earlier this year.