United Rugby Championship Round 3 Schedule And How To Watch
United Rugby Championship Round 3 Schedule And How To Watch
Four URC clubs enter Round 3 with perfect records, including Connacht Rugby and Ulster Rugby, who face off in Round 3. Here's what to know about Round 3.
The United Rugby Championship heads into November and Round 3 begins this weekend as clubs continue to get players back from their national teams following an exciting Rugby World Cup won by South Africa.
And November, although still early in the season, could be an important month for many clubs.
Once December arrives, they'll be entering Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup pool play as well as URC play. Then in 2024, many players in the URC will compete for national clubs in the Six Nations.
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It means November may be the only month clubs can focus fully on URC matches.
And Round 3 will provide several big matches, including a showdown in Western Ireland between Connacht and Ulster, who are both undefeated. Connacht had some good news this week with the re-signing of a pair of star players, meanwhile, Ulster is probably happy that the Rugby World Cup is finished (keep reading to find out why).
While that match in Ireland is intriguing, the week, which begins on Friday, includes one of the best home teams in the URC over the last two years, Glasgow Warriors, hosting the top team in the URC through two rounds, DHL Stormers.
Here's what to know about the United Rugby Championship Round 3.
How To Watch United Rugby Championship Round 3 Matches
The URC is streaming all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app all season long. The platforms will also be home to highlights, breaking news and match replays.
The URC Round 3 Rugby Match Schedule
The slate features another eight games starting for the first time this season on a Friday in Week 3.
The first set of games will begin on Nov. 3 at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Here’s the schedule.
November 3 URC Matches
Glasgow Warriors Vs. DHL Stormers, Scotstoun Stadium
Round 3 begins on a Friday afternoon with one of the best matches of the week between Glasgow Warriors, who beat Leinster at home in Round 1, facing the DHL Stormers, who sit at the top of the standings.
Glasgow lost in Western Ireland in Round 2 to Connacht 34-26, while the Stormers walloped the Scarlets 52-7 to help put themselves at the top of the URC table.
Ospreys Vs. Hollywoodbets Sharks, Twickenham Stoop
The Ospreys barely escaped Round 2 without a win. Zebre Parma, riding a near-18-month losing streak, almost snapped it in Wales. But the Ospreys hung on to win 34-31. Meanwhile, the Hollywoodbets Sharks dropped to 0-0-2 with a 34-13 loss in Dublin to Leinster.
November 4 URC Matches
Zebre Parma Vs. Vodacom Bulls, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Will this be the week Zebre finally gets their elusive first win since 2022? So far, Zebre have lost two matches by a combined seven points (to Ulster and the Ospreys). They return to Italy to face the Vodacom Bulls (1-0-1), who crushed the Scarlets in Round 1 (63-21) but lost in Northern Ireland to Ulster 26-19 in Round 2.
Leinster Rugby vs. Edinburgh Rugby, RDS Arena
The preseason United Rugby Championship favorites, Leinster, avoided an 0-0-2 start in Round 2 with a 34-13 win over the Sharks. Now the club hosts Edinburgh, which scored a 17-16 win over Emirates Lions in Round 2. This may still be the perfect time to catch Leinster, as the full roster still likely isn't back yet following the Rugby World Cup.
Scarlets Rugby Vs. Cardiff Rugby, Parc Y Scarlets
It's been a rough start for the Scarlets to the 2023-2024 season.
The Welsh team is 0-0-2 with a 42-point loss to the Bulls and a 45-point loss to the Stormers, both in South Africa. Suffice to say, they're probably glad to be back in Wales. But waiting for them is Cardiff Rugby (1-0-1), who, after nearly beating Conancht in Round 1, beat fellow Welsh club Dragons RFC 16-9 in Round 2.
Munster Rugby Vs. Dragons RFC, Musgrave Park
The defending URC champions had a surprising 13-13 draw in Italy against an equally surprising Benetton team. Now Munster is hosting the Dragons, who, much like all the Welsh teams (a consequence of Wales making the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals), are struggling through the first two rounds.
The Welsh teams are a combined 2-0-6 and have been outscored by 98 points. One of the wins was by Cardiff, which beat the Dragons in Round 2.
Connacht Rugby Vs. Ulster Rugby, The Sportsground
Quite possibly the match of the week in URC and professional club rugby, the two rivals are undefeated in URC play. Connacht has wins over the Ospreys and Glasgow, while Ulster survived Zebre in Round 1 and beat the Bulls in Round 2 for an impressive win.
Both Irish teams are likely still not at full strength. While it's unclear when superstar Bundee Aki will be back for Connacht, he did recently re-sign with the club.
He's a Connacht legend and World Player of the Year nominee.
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) October 27, 2023
And he's here to stay!#Bundee2025 https://t.co/3TDI8FxaLT pic.twitter.com/dMpKm9tMHb
As did prop Finlay Bealham, who re-signed this week. Bealham is ranked as the No. 3 player in the URC.
And we love @FinlayBealham 💚
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) October 31, 2023
Read more: https://t.co/vEhFHGxYFN#ConnachtRugby pic.twitter.com/XdOzv21IsB
Ulster, meanwhile, can start the countdown for Steven Kitshoff's arrival after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup. The star prop, and No. 1-ranked player, according to URC, will make his Ulster debut at some point in the coming weeks.
The name 'Spicy Plum' is starting to make more sense now🌶️🕺 pic.twitter.com/cDyzuWP9Iy
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) October 31, 2023
November 5 URC Matches
Benetton Rugby Vs. Emirates Lions, Stadio Monigo
The last game of the longest round yet includes one of the biggest surprise teams and one of the unluckiest teams.
Benetton has turned heads in the opening rounds and is currently eighth in the URC stable. Benetton took a draw from powerhouse Munster and beat Cardiff Rugby 23-22 in Round 1. They now face the winless Emirates Lions in Italy.
The Lions nearly beat the top South African club, the DHL Stormers in Round 1 (losing 35-33) and came up one point shy of winning in Scotland in Round 2 before losing to Edinburgh 17-16.
United Rugby Championship Table After Round 2
| PL | W | D | L | BP | PF | PA | DIFF | PTS | ||
| 1 | DHL STORMERS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 87 | 40 | 47 | 10 |
| 2 | CONNACHT RUGBY | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 52 | 16 | 9 |
| 3 | ULSTER RUGBY | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 55 | 11 | 9 |
| 4 | EDINBURGH RUGBY | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 33 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | MUNSTER RUGBY | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 34 | 13 | 7 |
| 6 | VODACOM BULLS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 47 | 35 | 6 |
| 7 | GLASGOW WARRIORS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 69 | 59 | 10 | 6 |
| 8 | BENETTON RUGBY | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 35 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | OSPREYS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 65 | -5 | 6 |
| 10 | CARDIFF RUGBY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 32 | 6 | 5 |
| 11 | LEINSTER RUGBY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 59 | 56 | 3 | 5 |
| 12 | ZEBRE PARMA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 67 | 74 | -7 | 4 |
| 13 | EMIRATES LIONS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 52 | -3 | 3 |
| 14 | DRAGONS RFC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 2 |
| 15 | HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 68 | -34 | 0 |
| 16 | SCARLETS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 115 | -87 | 0 |
How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby
The United Rugby Championships will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports are also the U.S. home to:
FloRugby is also home to match archives and match replays.
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