United Rugby Championship

URC Power Poll: No. 1 & No. 2 Play This Week, But Who Is No. 16?

URC Power Poll: No. 1 & No. 2 Play This Week, But Who Is No. 16?

Leinster Rugby will host the Emirates Lions this week in massive showdown before the teams go on a break. But it's the No. 16 teams that have done well.

Oct 22, 2024 by Joe Harrington
United Rugby Championship | Round Five Recap

Here's the FloRugby United Rugby Championship Power Poll, where being ranked No. 16 isn’t all that bad. 

For the fourth week in a row, the team that earned the wooden spoon on our rankings scored a big win in the next match. This week, it was the DHL Stormers of Cape Town. 

The Stormers lost to Edinburgh Rugby in Scotland 38-7 in Round 4, which led them to drop to No. 16 in the power poll after losing to a previously 0-0-3 team by that much. 

So how did they respond? Well, first the Springbok international players returned, the squad flew back to South Africa and the Stormers beat Munster Rugby 34-19. 

The Stormers earned their ranking the week before, just like Munster will this week, and so have the Emirates Lions. 

In what was a bad week for Glasgow, which lost to the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban, and the Bulls, who lost to the Scarlets, it was the Lions who actually won their close road match against Zebre Parma. 

The Lions have some momentum after reaching the Currie Cup Final last month, and they now have back-to-back road wins. They are second on the URC table. The Lions schedule, though, only gets more difficult.

And that starts with the No. 1 team on the table, Leinster Rugby, welcoming Leinster to Dublin.

Speaking Of Leinster Rugby, Here’s What Caelan Doris Said

Caelan Doris spoke at the EPCR Capture Day - or media day - last week, and the star No. 8 for Leinster spoke about the Dublin club’s strong start in URC:

“In terms of points, we’re right where we want to be,” he said at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. “(At) the top of the league, which is great. Still early days in the season, but a good start performance wise. Been pretty good overall, but still plenty of room of improvement.”

The 26-year-old was named captain of Leinster this season and is one of the best players in the world, ranking No. 4 in the latest FloRugby Top 100 Player List. Doris didn’t shy away from saying rival Toulouse of Top 14 was home to the best player, Antoine Dupont.

Now, Doris has a sneaky-tough match against the Lions, who could move to No. 1 in the rankings with a win. 

But where is everyone ranked entering Round 6, the last round before a long Autumn Nations break? 

Here’s the FloRugby URC Power Poll in Round 6:

URC Power Power In Round 6

1. Leinster Rugby (5-0-0)

  • Last week: 1
  • Round 5: Leinster Rugby 33, Connacht Rugby 12
  • Round 6: Leinster Rugby vs, Emirates Lions, 12:15 p.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • Notes: Leinster enters the final match before a month long break with five straight bonus points, 5-for-5, with 25 points. 

2. Emirates Lions (4-0-0)

  • Last week:  4
  • Round 5: Emirates Lions 10, Zebre Parma 9
  • Round 6: Leinster Rugby vs, Emirates Lions, 12:15 p.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • The Lions have avoided losing so far and have two really impressive wins against Ulster and Edinburgh, but the matches have been closer away from Johannesburg. Next up: Dublin.

3. Ulster Rugby (3-0-2)

  • Last week: 5
  • Round 5: Ulster Rugby 36, Ospreys 12
  • Round 6: Cardiff Rugby vs. Ulster, 2:35 p.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • Ulster Rugby recovered from its South African trip with an Irish Derby win over Connacht and blowout win over Ospreys.

4. Glasgow Warriors (3-0-2)

  • Last week: 2
  • Round 5: Hollywoodbets Sharks 28, Glasgow Warriors 24
  • Round 6: DHL Stormers vs. Glasgow Warriors, 7:45 a.m. ET, Oct. 26

5. Vodacom Bulls (3-0-1)

  • Last week: 3
  • Round 5: Scarlets 23, Vodacom Bulls 22
  • Round 6: Benetton vs. Vodacom Bulls, 2:35 p.m. ET, Oct. 25

Who's loss was worse? Well, so far European teams heading to South Africa have not ended well and the Warriors lost to the Hollywoodbets Sharks by just four, which is an improvement from what happened to Munster, Edinburgh and Ulster. The Bulls, meanwhile, lost a stunner-- we think -- to Welsh club Scarlets. It may say more about the Scarlets probably being the best Welsh club in the URC than the Bulls. 

6. Edinburgh Rugby (2-0-3)

  • Last week: 8
  • Round 5: Edinburgh Rugby 27, Cardiff Rugby 8
  • Round 6: Ospreys vs. Edinburgh, 10 a.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • Edinburgh Rugby nearly beat Leinster in the first round then were punked in South Africa in back-to-back rounds. Since arriving back in Europe, the Scottish club has demolished the DHL Stormers and Cardiff Rugby. They'll have two more matches before they play the Warriors. 

7. Benetton Rugby (2-1-2

  • Last week: 12
  • Round 5: Benetton 31, Dragons RFC 21
  • Round 6: Benetton vs. Vodacom Bulls, 2:35 p.m. ET, Oct. 25
  • After a sluggish start that bottomed out with a 35-5 loss in Dublin to Leinster, Benetton has won back-to-back games, including to the Newport Dragons, which had looked like the top team in Wales this season.

8. Scarlets (2-1-2)

  • Last week: 9
  • Round 5: Scarlets 23, Vodacom Bulls 22
  • Round 6: Scarlets vs. Zebre Parma, 2:35 p.m.. Oct 25
  • The Scarlets are probably looking at Edinburgh's placement on the ranking and wondering what in Prince of Wales is happening. Well, maybe that's one us. The Scarlets have split with Cardiff Rugby this season and its other loss is a 1-point loss to Connacht. The win over the Bulls may be the best win they've had in a while as a club.  

9. Hollywoodbets Sharks (2-0-2)

  • Last week: 15 
  • Round 5: Hollywoodbets Sharks 28, Glasgow Warriors 24
  • Round 6: Hollywoodbets Sharks vs. Munster Rugby, 10 a.m., Oct. 26
  • The internationals returned and the Sharks are ready to make up for lost ground this season. A home win against the defending champion Warriors is a good start and now here comes a reeling Munster team. 

10. DHL Stormers (2-0-2)

  • Last week: 16 
  • Round 5: DHL Stormers 34, Munster Rugby 19
  • Round 6: DHL Stormers vs. Glasgow Warriors, 7:45 a.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • There were some upset folks when the Stormers landed at No. 16 last week, but a bonus-point win over Munster will change your power ranking fortunes. 

11. Connacht Rugby (2-0-3)

  • Last week: 7
  • Round 5: Leinster Rugby 33, Connacht Rugby 12
  • Round 6: Connacht Rugby vs. Dragons RFC, 2:35 p.m.. Oct. 26
  • Connacht Rugby is now 0-3 against fellow Irish Rugby clubs. The best win the Westerns own is against the Scarlets in Wales. 

12. Munster Rugby (2-0-3)

  • Last week: 6 
  • Round 5: DHL Stormers 34, Munster Rugby 19
  • Round 6: Hollywoodbets Sharks vs. Munster Rugby, 10 a.m., Oct. 26
  • What a strange season its been for the Red Army. Last year's best team only suffered four losses and yet they approach the Fall break with three already. And now they head to Durban to face a Sharks team with many of their best players back. 

13. Cardiff Rugby (2-0-3)

  • Last week: 10
  • Round 5: Edinburgh Rugby 27, Cardiff Rugby 8
  • Round 6: Cardiff Rugby vs. Ulster, 2:35 p.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • Cardiff Rugby has lost three matches in a row after its 2-0 start and Edinburgh Rugby handed them the worse one this far.

14. Zebre Parma (1-0-4)

  • Last week: 14 
  • Round 5: Emirates Lions 10, Zebre Parma 9
  • Round 6: Scarlets vs. Zebre Parma, 2:35 p.m.. Oct 25
  • After crushing Munster in Round 2, Parma has was blown out in back-to-back matches, but they nearly beat the Lions last week. 

15. Dragons RFC (1-0-4)  

  • Last week: 11
  • Round 5: Round 5: Benetton 31, Dragons RFC 21
  • Round 6: Connacht Rugby vs. Dragons RFC, 2:35 p.m.. Oct. 26
  • The season looked like it was starting with so much promise. And then it just went downhill. Four straight losses after a Round 1 win over the Ospreys is tough. The Dragons have never bounced back since the Sharks scoring late in Newport in Round 3. 

16. Ospreys (1-0-4)

  • Last week: 13
  • Round 5: Ulster Rugby 36, Ospreys 12
  • Round 6: Ospreys vs. Edinburgh, 10 a.m. ET, Oct. 26
  • The first wooden spoon holder in the power rankings is back here again after a 36-12 loss to Ulster.

URC Standings Table After Round 5

Rank

Team

Played

Won

Lost

Drawn

For

Against

Pts Diff

Bonus

Points

1

Leinster Rugby

5

5

0

0

161

66

95

5

25

2

Emirates Lions

4

4

0

0

123

71

52

2

18

3

Glasgow Warriors

5

3

2

0

170

97

73

6

18

4

Vodacom Bulls

4

3

1

0

120

79

41

3

15

5

Ulster Rugby

5

3

2

0

131

140

-9

3

15

6

Edinburgh Rugby

5

2

3

0

133

125

8

5

13

7

Connacht Rugby

5

2

3

0

132

153

-21

5

13

8

Benetton Rugby

5

2

2

1

104

128

-24

2

12

9

Cardiff Rugby

5

2

3

0

109

136

-27

4

12

10

Scarlets

5

2

2

1

106

109

-3

1

11

11

Munster Rugby

5

2

3

0

122

135

-13

3

11

12

DHL Stormers

4

2

2

0

101

99

2

2

10

13

Hollywoodbets Sharks

4

2

2

0

101

128

-27

2

10

14

Dragons RFC

5

1

4

0

99

142

-43

3

7

15

Zebre Parma

5

1

4

0

76

134

-58

3

7

16

Ospreys

5

1

4

0

89

135

-46

2

6

URC Rugby Schedule For Round 6 Fixtures

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URC Rugby Fixtures Friday, Oct. 25

URC Rugby Fixtures Saturday, Oct. 26

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