United Rugby Championship play-offs odds: South African sides set to struggle

The 2025/26 United Rugby Championship play-offs are well underway, as Leinster, Glasgow, Bulls and Stormers get set to face off for a place in the showpiece final.

With the URC quarter finals now behind us, we know that the four teams competing in the semi finals will be the four sides who finished in the top four of the regular season table.

As is the format of the URC play-offs, the top two seeded teams from the league table will be at 'home' in the semi finals - which are played at a somewhat neutral, home country venue - for a place in the final.

As things stand, should Glasgow defeat the Bulls at Murrayfield this weekend, the final would be held in Edinburgh at that same venue, as Glasgow topped the standings at the end of the campaign.

With all that in mind, let's take a look at how the odds suggest the play-offs will unfold.

Glasgow Warriors v Bulls

Saturday 6th June 2026 at Murrayfield Stadium, kicking off at 14:30 BST

After topping the overall standings, Glasgow headed into the United Rugby Championship play-offs on a high.

The Scottish side comfortably dispatched Connacht in their quarter final to set up a contest with the Bulls from the South African province of Pretoria.

On the other side, Bulls finished the regular season in fourth, but dismantled Irish side Munster in their semi-final.

With the nature of the South African teams' involvement in a Northern Hemisphere competition, home advantage is key, with the sheer scale of travel for supporters and players alike playing a huge role in results.

This, coupled with the form of both sides this season, all points in the direction of a Glasgow win in this fixture.

As expected, the odds reflect a heavy discrepancy between the two sides, with Glasgow 8/15 favourites to reach the final, as opposed to the Bulls at 11/8.

While a hard fought contest is expected, the form books and odds point to what could be a relatively comfortable passage to the final for the Warriors.

Leinster v Stormers

Saturday 6th June 2026 at the Aviva Stadium, kicking off at 17:30 BST

The second semi final of the day will see the second place side Leinster play host to the third place side in the Stormers.

Despite only finishing three points behind Leinster in the standings, both sides' performances in Europe stand out, with the hosts for this fixture reaching the final, before ultimately falling short against the world class Bordeaux Begles.

After finishing second in the standings, Leinster were tasked with a home match against another South African side, which saw them decimate the Lions 59-10.

In keeping with the theme of home advantage being significant, the Stormers hosted Cardiff in their quarter final and comfortably progressed to the semi finals via a 44-21 victory.

With Leinster holding the home advantage - even more so considering they play a number of high profile matches at the Aviva Stadium anyway - most would anticipate a relatively easy match for them to reach the final.

The odds reflect this, with Leinster coming in as heavy 1/8 favourites for this fixture and the visitors heading to Dublin as 5/1 outsiders to cause an upset and reach the final.

United Rugby Championship winner odds

Surprisingly, despite likely having to travel for a prospective final, losing European Rugby Champions Cup finalists Leinster are odds-on favourites to lift the URC trophy at 4/5.

Glasgow Warriors, who will likely host the Grand Final, are second favourites for the overall trophy, being priced at a surprisingly wide 12/5.

Given that they are likely to have both away semi finals and finals - should they get there - it's not surprising that the South African sides are extreme underdogs to lift the trophy, with the Bulls priced at 5/1 and the Stormers given a price of 10/1 to win the Grand Final.

Odds will display when markets are available and odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.