Richie Rees
Former Cardiff and Wales scrum-half on BBC Radio Wales

Cardiff have got to control their own destiny here tonight. They have to come away with a victory.

They're hit by a few injuries, so if I was a betting man, I would say Stormers just about edge it in terms of being favourites.

Image source, BBC Sport

Such is the congestion in the middle of the URC table, Ulster, Cardiff and Connacht could finish anywhere from fourth to eighth.

The top eight secure a URC play-off place and Champions Cup qualification, while ninth and below brings your league campaign to an end and you have to settle for a place in the Challenge Cup next year.

We'll keep you up to date on the permutations as the night progresses.

Image source, Getty Images

With the Challenge Cup final next week, academy player Wilhelm De Klerk and Bryn Ward are two of 10 changes made by Richie Murphy for tonight's game.

There are welcome returns for Rob Herring and James Hume, but captain Ian Henderson is suspended and influential backs Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale are injured.

Nick Timoney will captain the side and Murphy has named a strong bench as Tom Stewart, Angus Bell, Scott Wilson, Cormac Izuchukwu and Lorcan McLoughlin are the forward replacements, while Nathan Doak, Jack Murphy and Ethan McIlroy are the backline options.

For Glasgow, Gregor Brown will make his first outing since Scotland's final match of the Six Nations against Ireland two months ago.

Nathan McBeth comes into the front row to join Johnny Matthews and Zander Fagerson.

There is a late change as Matt Fagerson is forced out, and Jack Dempsey comes in at number eight and Macenzzie Duncan shifts to the number seven jersey.

Ulster: Lowry; Kok; Hume, De Klerk; Z Ward; Flannery, McKee; B Ward, Timoney (capt), Hopes, Irvine, Sheridan, O'Toole; Herring, Crean.

Replacements: Stewart, Bell, Wilson, Izuchukwu, McLoughlin, Doak, Murphy, McIlroy.

Glasgow Warriors: McBeth, Matthews, Z Fagerson, Brown, Samuel, Miller, Duncan, Dempsey; Horne, Lancaster, Rowe, Tuipulotu, McDowall, Steyn, McKay.

Replacements: Hiddleston, Sutherland, Talakai, Oguntibeju, Ferry, Vailanu, Afshar, Smith.

Rhys Priestland
Wales international fly-half on S4C

Cardiff have a very good home record at the Arms Park but they're facing a very good side here against Stormers tonight.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff suffered anguish last year when they were pipped to the final play-off berth by Welsh rivals Scarlets.

They have been in the top eight throughout this season but head into the final round at risk.

After the despair of 2025, Cardiff are desperate to not be reeled in the last game of the regular season.

“It is always a discussion point, but especially in the beginning,” said Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl said about missing out in 2024-25.

“We think about going forward and collecting every point because at the end we know it will be close and that's exactly where we are this year.

“It was disappointing, but it's also another chance for us to keep it in our own hands.”

Image source, Inpho

Wing Werner Kok and long-serving hooker John Andrew are two of 11 senior players who will leave Ulster at the end of the season.

Australia prop Angus Bell will return to the NSW Waratahs after his short-term deal to stay in Belfast comes to an end.

Forwards Matthew Dalton, Marcus Rea, Rory McGuire, Bryan O'Connor and Sean Reffell will leave the Affidea Stadium after the expiry of their contracts.

Experienced scrum-half Dave Shanahan will also leave the province, while Ben Moxham and James Humphreys will also depart.

Academy players Sam Berman, Wilhelm De Klerk, Ethan Graham, Lukas Kenny and Josh Stevens will also leave at the end of the season.

Ulster will look to secure a play-off place against Glasgow Warriors in their final game of the United Rugby Championship regular season on Friday before they take on Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao on 22 May.

"I'd like to thank the players who are moving on for their application and contributions to Ulster Rugby," said general manager Rory Best.

"I hope that supporters will join us on Friday night after full-time, as we celebrate their efforts and wish them well for the future."

Jamie Roberts
Former Wales international on S4C

It's a pleasure to be here for an enormous game.

Stormers are a very good team and they're here playing for something, as are Cardiff.

Friday night at the Arms Park, you can't beat it.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

A win would secure a play-off spot for Cardiff regardless of how Ulster and Connacht get on, but they are down to the bare bones for the visit of a Stormers side hunting top spot.

The Blue and Blacks are without a raft of key players including Wales internationals Josh Adams, Callum Sheedy, Alex Mann, Taulupe Faletau, Teddy Williams and Mason Grady.

The lengthy list of absentees means there could be a farewell outing for legendary former Wales and Lions full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who is on the bench.

The 37-year-old has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

After missing out on the play-offs by a point in 2025, Cardiff will hope Halfpenny will still be needed for a quarter-final.

Stormers controversially salvaged a draw at Ulster last weekend and will hope to profit from any slip by Glasgow in Belfast.

Cardiff: Winnett; Beetham, B Thomas, Jennings, Bowen; I Lloyd, Mulder; Southworth, Belcher (capt), Sebastian, Nott, Thornton, Botham, D Thomas, Basham.

Replacements: D Hughes, Barratt, Assiratti, Lawrence, E Lloyd, E Bevan, S Emanuel, Halfpenny.

Stormers: Willemse; Hartzenberg, Simelane, Roche, Zas; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Khan; Mchunu, Venter, Fouche (capt), Smith, R van Heerden, P de Villiers, B-J Dixon, Roos.

Replacements: Kotze, Kebble, Sandi, Moerat, Theunissen, Morabe, Ungerer, Matthee.

Image source, Getty Images

Edinburgh captain Magnus Bradbury replaces Tom Currie as Sean Everitt makes four changes from the bonus-point win at Dragons last week.

Marshall Sykes comes into the second row for Grant Gilchrist, who is ruled out with a finger injury.

Tom Dodd slots in at blindside flanker, with Glen Young moving into the second row alongside Sykes, while Piers O'Conor takes over from Mosese Tuipulotu at outside centre.

For Connacht, hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin and lock Darragh Murray have been ruled out through injury and have been replaced by Eoin de Buitlear and Joe Joyce.

In a third and final change to Stuart Lancaster's team, Ireland prop Finlay Bealham comes in for Sam Illo, who drops to the bench.

Edinburgh: Paterson, Graham, O'Conor, Thomson, Van der Merwe, Thompson, Patterson; Schoeman, Ashman, O Blyth-Lafferty, Sykes, Young, Dodd, Douglas, Bradbury.

Replacements: J Blyth-Lafferty, Venter, Hunter-Hill, McVie, Currie, Shiel, Brown.

Connacht: Gilbert; Jennings; West, Aki; Bolton; Ioane, B Murphy; Bohan, De Buitlear, Bealham; Joyce, J Murphy; Prendergast, Hurley-Langton, Jansen.

Replacements: Yarr, Dooley, Illo, O'Connor, Boyle, Devine, Carty, Naughton.

Image source, Getty Images

Glasgow Warriors have been forced to search for a venue outside Scotland to host the United Rugby Championship final should they progress that far - and are considering Belfast's Affidea Stadium.

They have had to look elsewhere because no suitable Scottish venues, including their own Scotstoun Stadium, will be available on 20 June.

Warriors currently lead the URC table and a bonus-point win away to Ulster tonight will secure top spot - and with it top seeding and home advantage in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

Glasgow will play at Scotstoun on 30 May if they have a home quarter-final, but the venue will then be handed over to Glasgow 2026 for Commonwealth Games preparations.

A potential home semi-final on 6 June will therefore be switched to Murrayfield Stadium, but the home of Scottish Rugby is unavailable to host the final as it is staging a series of summer music concerts.

Image source, Getty Images

Ulster captain Iain Henderson will miss the European Challenge Cup final against Montpellier after he was handed a three-match suspension by the United Rugby Championship.

Henderson was initially shown a yellow card that was then upgraded to a 20-minute red card for a croc roll on Deon Fourie in Ulster's dramatic 38-38 draw with Stormers in the United Rugby Championship on Friday.

The 34-year-old this week appeared in front of an independent disciplinary committee and "accepted that he had committed an act of foul play that warranted a red card".

This was for falling foul of Law 9.20 (d) which states that "a player may remove the tackler from the tackle area, but must not roll, pull or twist an opponent".

The disciplinary committee deemed that the act of foul play was "reckless" and merited a "mid-range entry point of six weeks for sanctioning".

But mitigation was applied for Henderson because of his "previous good record (one suspension in a 15-year playing career), his remorse and immediate concern for the opponent player plus his good conduct and full co-operation with the disciplinary process".

As a result, the second row was afforded 50% mitigation, reducing the length of his suspension to three weeks.

Image source, Getty Images

With two trophies potentially on the line on the home straight, Ulster have been flying high this season.

For prop Sam Crean, he has his own additional aspirations of being in the air.

In the high pressure environment of sport, and with two huge season-defining matches in the space of a week, it can be good for athletes to take themselves out of the bubble.

While golf is a familiar hobby for many athletes, Crean says "there's lots of things outside of rugby that keep me going" - including one he describes as "niche".

The 25-year-old is working towards obtaining a pilot's licence, with the aim of flying small aircraft.

"I just think it's pretty cool how a plane can fly," Crean told BBC Sport NI.

"We're quite lucky here [at the Affidea Stadium]. We're on the flight path for Belfast City Airport, so we sometimes catch ourselves watching a plane.

"I feel like the adrenaline rush that you would get from probably flying a plane would be pretty cool."

Image source, Getty Images

It's a glorious evening in Belfast.

Let's hope the rugby matches the weather.

Image source, Getty Images

It's a huge weekend in the United Rugby Championship as we enter the final round of the regular season.

There are three games on this fine Friday night and as Glasgow Warriors visit Ulster, Cardiff host the Stormers and Edinburgh host Connacht.

At the top, Glasgow will be looking to consolidate top spot in the table and enter the play-offs as the first seeds, but the Stormers aren't far behind.

Meanwhile, Cardiff, Ulster and Connacht are looking to secure a place in the play-offs and the Champions Cup qualification that comes with it.

We'll have updates from all three games right here, and there's also radio coverage on BBC Sounds from Cardiff, so we'll keep you updated with all the implications.