Can Cardiff end eight-year wait for Welsh play-off win?

Can Cardiff end eight-year wait for Welsh play-off win?Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Cardiff finished sixth in the 2025-26 URC by beating StormersByChris KirwanBBC Sport WalesPublished4 minutes agoCommentsCardiff will attempt to end an eight-year wait for Welsh success in play-offs by causing a United Rugby Championship (URC) upset at Stormers on Saturday (14:30 BST).The Blue and Blacks earned a spot in the quarter-finals by beating the South Africans in their final game of the regular season.Their reward is a trip to Cape Town to face a Stormers side fuelled by revenge after a costly Arms Park defeat that saw them slip to third in the table.It is a fixture between two sides with contrasting expectations.Cardiff have ticked off a big target by just qualifying for the play-offs while their hosts won the title in 2022, were runners-up the following year and have lost quarter-finals in Glasgow for the last two seasons.Stormers v CardiffURC play-off quarter-finalSaturday, 30 May at 14:30 BSTListen on SoundsListen on Radio Wales and online with live text on BBC Sport app & websiteWelsh battle to make top eightThe introduction of the South African quartet of Stormers, Bulls, Lions and Sharks led to a change of format for the URC in the 2021-22 season, which was previously the Pro14, Pro12 and Celtic League.Cardiff have become just the third Welsh side to make the play-offs in five seasons, and there is yet to be a URC quarter-final success.In 2025 Scarlets pipped the Blue and Blacks to eighth place by a point and travelled to Dublin where they were beaten 33-21 by Leinster.The previous season Ospreys extended their season by just one more fixture and also lost in Ireland, going down 23-7 at top seeds Munster.Cardiff and South Africa's Lions have qualified for the URC quarter-finals for the first time, meaning that 14 of the 16 sides have made them since they were introduced.Only Zebre and Dragons have never made the top eight while Glasgow,...