After Connacht's shock win against Ulster in the quarter-final, they now head to South Africa to take on defending champions the Stormers in the semi-finals, with the western province eyeing another big upset. We have all the information you need on how to watch Connacht v Stormers right here.
Connacht v Stormers: TV details
Connacht v Stormers will be broadcast live on TG4 with coverage beginning at 14:55 ahead of kick-off at 15:00.
When does Connacht v Stormers take place?
Connacht v Stormers kicks off at 15:00 (Irish time) on Saturday 13th of May in the DHL Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa.
24 September 2022; Tom Farrell of Connacht during the United Rugby Championship match between DHL Stormers and Connacht at Stellenbosch in South Africa. Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile
What is at stake?
It's all or nothing for both of these teams if they're to take home any silverware this year. The winner of Saturday's semi-final will be teeing themselves up for a URC final against either Leinster or Munster.
The Stormers are the defending champions after winning the tournament last year and will be keen to make it two from two in just their second full year in the tournament.
Connacht on the other hand last won the title back in 2016 under Pat Lam, but have had little success since. While they certainly aren't favourites, the last time an opportunity like this presented itself they won the title.
The story so far
These two sides have met just twice before with a win for each team, however, the most recent fixture this season saw a comprehensive 38-15 win for the Stormers in South Africa, on the same pitch that's condition is being slated ahead of Saturday's game.
The Stormers are definitely favourites. Aside from Cape Town being a notoriously difficult place to go and win, the Stormers have had a great season. They finished third in the table with twelve wins and were the only side not to lose to Leinster at home. They're the defending champions for a reason and that showed when they beat the Bulls 33-21 in the quarter-finals.
Connacht were all but written off until the quarter-finals when they beat Ulster 15-10 in what was a major upset of the northern Province. Connacht finished seventh in the table with just ten wins and eight losses. Saturday will be an uphill battle for Andy Friend's side and frankly, anything but a Storme's win would be a huge surprise.
Team News
Connacht
The Connacht team remains unchanged from last week's win against Ulster with captain Jack Carty starting at out-half, while Six Nations winners Mack Hanses, Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham all start.
🟢 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 🦅
Your Connacht 23 for tomorrow's semi-final showdown in Cape Town 💪
Full story: https://t.co/frApaeVdxX#STOvCON | #BKTURC | @Genesys pic.twitter.com/ctY5OoKxCg— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) May 12, 2023
Stormers
Ulster-bound prop Steven Kitshoff leads out the Stormers who have made two changes from their quarter-final. Willie Engelbrecht comes in at blindside flanker while Ben-Jason Dixon comes into the second row for injured Deon Fourie and Marvin Orie.
Two injury-enforced changes to our starting line-up for the @Vodacom #URC semifinal at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
📢 Team announcement https://t.co/ygd0dchhFE
🎟️ Tickets https://t.co/J9Dq7IoX52#STOvCON #iamastormer #dhldelivers #UnitedWeRise pic.twitter.com/thuzYun4Fa— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 12, 2023
That's all the info you need to watch Connacht v Stormers this Saturday.
SEE ALSO: Andy Friend Explains How Connacht's 'Moneyball' Approach Helps Them Find Gems
