The Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs will kick off on Friday, 3 June after the schedule for the ‘Final Eight’ was confirmed on Monday morning.

Four games will take place across Friday, 3 June and Saturday, 4 June, with Ulster’s home quarter-final against Munster the curtain-raiser to the ‘Final Eight’ at 8:35pm (SA time).

On Saturday, there are three consecutive quarter-final clashes with the action beginning and ending in South Africa.

The Vodacom Bulls will host the league’s first-ever playoff game on South African soil when they face Cell C Sharks in Pretoria at 1:45pm.

The action then returns to the northern hemisphere as Leinster take on Glasgow Warriors in Dublin at 4:15pm, before Edinburgh’s trip to Cape Town to face the DHL Stormers at 7pm.

The timings of each game have allowed for the possibility of extra time and a place-kicking competition.

Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final schedule:

Friday, 3 June
Ulster vs Munster
Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (8.35pm, SA time)

Saturday, 4 June
Bulls vs Sharks
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (1.45pm)

Leinster vs Glasgow Warriors
RDS Arena, Dublin (4.15pm)

Stormers vs Edinburgh
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town (7pm)

Playoff pathway:

Semi-final 1: Leinster/Glasgow Warriors versus Bulls/Sharks
Semi-final 2: Stormers/Edinburgh versus Ulster/Munster

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix