Now that international duty is out of the way for now, and every team in the competition officially has played at least one match, Round 3 of the United Rugby Championship season feels like the moment the competition will grow into its proper potential for the year.

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Zebre Parma pulled off maybe the greatest upset in the history of the competition this past weekend, and that was just one of the multiple double-digit comeback victories that went down in Round 2.

We’re only just getting started in the URC, and with an influx of extra star power on the way, rugby is going to get better and better as we go along throughout each round.

Here’s one big thing you need to know about every Round 3 match in the United Rugby Championship this weekend, streamed in the United States live, and exclusively, on FloRugby:

Friday, Oct. 4 URC Fixtures

Connacht vs. Scarlets - 2:35 p.m. ET

• Connacht’s Not To Be Messed With

Down 27-7 at the half, an unfazed Connacht scored 29 unanswered points to pull off a thrilling comeback against the visiting Sharks at the Dexcom Stadium by a 36-30 margin, showing off that its near-upset of Munster in Limerick in Round 1 may not have been a fluke. 

Sure, the South Africans may have been missing some Springboks who were sealing The Rugby Championship title against Argentina, but there are a lot of encouraging signs from the province early on in the season as they’ve shown plenty of fight against stiff opposition. 

The winless Scarlets — who scored 15 points in 11 minutes, but none in the last 69 minutes, in a derby loss to Cardiff in Round 2 — are next on the docket for Connacht, which does have a path to leading the table after this weekend.

Glasgow Warriors vs. Cardiff - 2:35 p.m. ET

• Warriors Have More In The Tank

In the second round, the league champions dominated against an ineffective Benetton, scoring 42 points, and potentially could have scored more.

That’s a scary thought for the rest of the URC if the Glasgow Warriors can get cooking at a level they’ve shown capable of reaching. 

Though man of the match Kyle Steyn had a brace as part of Glasgow’s six-try haul in a 42-10 demolition of the Italians, the Warriors’ execution wasn’t perfect. 

They had two disallowed tries in the final 10 minutes due to a knock-on and stepping into touch on different occasions. Yet, It was exactly the kind of bounce-back performance the Warriors needed after a season-opening defeat to Ulster.

But an unbeaten Cardiff coming off of the back of a derby win away from home against the Scarlets will be attempting to ruin the Warriors’ good vibes from Round 2.

Saturday, Oct. 5 URC Fixtures

Edinburgh vs. Lions - 7:45 a.m. ET

• No Currie Cup, No Problem

The Lions had to get right back into focus after losing the Currie Cup final to the Sharks on Sept. 21 and successfully returned to form in their URC opener with a 35-22 victory over Ulster at Ellis Park last weekend. 

The only South African URC team that was not missing a player due to international duty last round, the Lions took advantage of the fact that they had their heavy hitters playing to get out to an early lead in the South African Shield table with a five-try haul. 

Edinburgh is reeling after a brutal start to the season, having had to face both the juggernaut Leinster and the Bulls at altitude at Loftus Versfeld in back-to-back weeks, but the Scottish side picked up bonus points in both and would love nothing more than to complete its mini tour of South Africa with a takedown of the Lions.

Ulster vs. Bulls - 10 a.m. ET

• Bulls Find Ways To Win

Starting a week later than their non-South African counterparts? Numerous stars missing due to The Rugby Championship? 

It all didn’t matter for the Bulls, who joined the Lions as South Africa's winners in Round 2 of URC thanks to a 22-16 triumph over visiting Edinburgh. 

Was it a perfect performance for last years runners-up? Far from it, as the Bulls were looking like, well, a team that was just getting back to playing together after a long layoff. 

Star power from players such Canan Moodie — a past Springbok who was named man of the match and scored a try against Edinburgh — gave the Bulls enough of an “oomph” to push through and get the win in their 2024-2025 debut. 

Ulster’s Round 2 outing against the Lions was a bit deflating after a thrilling Round 1 win over the champion Glasgow Warriors, but the province will get another chance at winning in South Africa this weekend, as the Bulls get back some reinforcements from international duty.

🗣️ "We want to get back to winning ways and build some good momentum with a win this weekend."

Mike Lowry, Jonny Bell, and James McNabney all spoke to the media this week ahead of Bulls this Sat 🐂

— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) October 3, 2024

Leinster vs. Benetton - 12:15 p.m. ET

• Leinster Scores In Bunches

No squad in the URC has scored more tries in the first two rounds than Leinster’s 11, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that the province is a giant across Europe with a cohesive unit of stars that frequently play at a high level for both club and country. 

Leo Cullen’s men had absolutely no problem rolling past the Dragons in a 34-6 romp at the Aviva Stadium (where Leinster is playing as RDS Arena is undergoing renovations) in Round 2, getting the bonus point on a landmark night for prop Cian Healy, as the Ireland international broke Leinster’s all-time appearances record with his 281st game for the club. 

The province will be heavily favored against a slumping Benetton, even with the match in Italy, and we could see a try-fest from Leinster if its form from the first two rounds continues.

Sharks vs. Dragons - 12:15 p.m. ET

• Dragons Are Battered, Bruised

While the Dragons had the ecstasy of pulling off an after-the-siren, win over rival Ospreys at Rodney Parade to open the season, it came at a cost for the Newport-based club. 

The Welsh side had 12 players out due to injury (including Wales teammates Aaron Wainwright, Elliot Dee and Tanie Basham) against Leinster, being bowled over as a result by the three-time reigning Champions Cup runners-up in Round 2. 

The Dragons only managed a pair of penalties against the province, and things won’t get any easier when they return home to welcome a Sharks side that gets back Springboks captain Siya Kolisi. 

Kolisi is returning to the club for this URC season after a tumultuous year spent at French powerhouse Racing 92 — plus a whole host of other South Africa internationals from Rugby Championship play. 

Stormers vs. Zebre Parma - 2:35 p.m. ET

• Zebre’s Back From A Stunner

In one of the biggest upsets ever to happen in the URC, Zebre came back from 13 points down at the half to shock Munster 42-33 for the first time in the Italian side’s history in Round 2. 

The hosts (who had only won one match from 18 last season) picked up the biggest win in their history against the defending table-toppers, breaking a 20-match losing streak to the province in the process, thanks to braces from both Jacopo Trulla and Alessandro Fusco. 

We’ll know quickly if Zebre’s moment of magic is a one-off when the Stormers — themselves coming off a loss to the Ospreys — come to the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi this weekend in a suddenly very interesting fixture.

Round two photo dump ❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/EGRXYBEnNb

— Zebre Parma 🦓 (@ZebreParma) October 1, 2024

Ospreys vs. Munster - 3:35 p.m. ET

• Munster Must Be Better

The obvious flip side of Zebre’s stunning win is that alarm bells are blaring in Munster after what should have been a cut-and-dry victory for the province turned into an absolute disaster. 

It’s a long season with plenty of matches before the playoffs, especially after coach Graham Rowntree’s men first struggled to put away Connacht at home in Round 1 and then proceeded to lose to an Italian team for the first time in over a decade. 

There’s undoubtedly some soul-searching going on for the four-time URC champions (dating back to the competition’s founding as the Celtic League in 2001). 

The Ospreys won’t be scared at Thomond Park, especially after a strong 37-24 win over the short-handed Stormers last weekend. Munster will need to recover, and fast, to get back to its winning ways.

URC Rugby Schedule For Round 3 Fixtures

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URC Rugby Fixtures Friday, Oct. 4

• 2:35 p.m. ET - Scarlets vs Connacht
• 2:35 p.m. ET - Cardiff vs Glasgow Warriors

URC Rugby Fixtures Saturday, Oct. 5

• 7:45 a.m. ET - Lions vs Edinburgh
• 10:00 a.m. ET - Vodacom Bulls vs Ulster
• 12:15 p.m. ET - Dragons vs Sharks
• 12:15 p.m. ET - Benetton vs Leinster
• 2:35 p.m. ET - Zebre Parma vs DHL Stormers
• 2:35 p.m. ET - Munster vs Ospreys

URC Standings Table After Round 2

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