State of Play URC: Champions Cup qualification

With two full rounds of the United Rugby Championship remaining, the race for Champions Cup qualification next season is heating up.

The South African teams will participate in the Champions Cup next season, and there is little separating the three franchises that can qualify.

The eight highest-ranked URC clubs, based on their final finishing positions, will qualify for the Champions Cup. The four Clubs that finish top of the respective Geographic Pools at the conclusion of the League Stage.

The four remaining spots will be taken by the four highest placed Clubs in the final Standing League Table, having already taken out the four Pool winners.

However, a Club could still take a qualification spot from one of those top eight sides if they win the Challenge Cup or Champions Cup. Leinster and Munster are still in the running for the Champions Cup title, while Glasgow and Edinburgh made the Challenge Cup quarters.

As it stands, none of the Shields have been won yet. Leinster lead the Irish Shield by 10 points with two rounds to go. A single point will win them the Shield, while two more points will ensure they finish at the top of the overall standings.

Leinster is also the only team to secure Champions Cup rugby next season, even if they fail to claim any points from their remaining fixtures.

They face the Stormers this weekend, who are in second place on the overall standings, before returning to Ireland, where they face off against Munster.

Munster host Cardiff this weekend, knowing that they can keep the pressure on Leinster with a bonus-point victory before their meeting the following week. Ulster are on the same points as Munster (51) with two rounds remaining and face the daunting task of taking on Edinburgh away in round 17 before they welcome the Sharks to the Kingspan.

It is unlikely that Leinster will fail to claim at least two points from their remaining fixtures and ultimately secure the Irish Shield.

The Scarlets lead the Welsh Shield with 43 points. Mathematically, Ospreys (34) could finish on top with an extra game in hand provided that the Scarlets fail to claim at least six points from their last two games against Ospreys (A) and Stormers (H). This weekend's match between the two sides will decide the Pool. A win for Scarlets, and they secure Champions Cup qualification. Their chances to make the knockouts will have to wait until the final round of matches.

Over in the Scottish/Italian Shield, the Glasgow Warriors (50) led the Shield by a single point. Edinburgh (49) has a healthy 25 point buffer over third-placed Edinburgh. Both sides could qualify by winning the Challenge Cup or making the playoffs of the United Rugby Championship.

Glasgow face the Bulls in Pretoria this weekend, while Edinburgh host Ulster. The Shield may well be decided in the final round, with Edinburgh hosting Glasgow at the Dam Health Stadium.

The battle in the South African Shield is incredibly tight, with four points separating the Stormers (52) in first and the Bulls (48) in third. All three sides have challenging run-ins to the final round, with the Stormers and Sharks hosting Leinster and Connacht, respectively, this weekend, while the Bulls are away to Munster.

They all finish their regular season's on the road with the Sharks away to Ulster, the Bulls are on the road against Ospreys, and the Stormers are in Wales to face the Scarlets.

The Clubs ranked 1st to 9th, plus the Ospreys, could all mathematically make the playoffs for the United Rugby Championship.