The Sharks are still looking for their first log point of the United Rugby Championship season as they prepare for a Round 3 clash against the Ospreys at Twickenham Stoop on Friday
Ospreys v Sharks, Friday 3rd November, Twickenham Stoop, KO 21:35 (South African time)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Dewi Phillips (Wales) and Mark Butcher (Wales)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Weather Forecast – Twickenham Stoop
Ospreys:
The Ospreys have 1 win and 1 defeat against their name and they have earned 6 log points.
In the opening round they went down 34-26 away to Connacht whilst in Round 2 they edged out Zebre Parma 34-31 in Swansea. They conceded the first 12 points of that game and although they lost the try count 5-4 a welcome bonus point win was secured.
At home to South African opposition last season the Ospreys lost 28-27 at home to the Lions and drew 16-16 with the Stormers. In SA they lost 43-26 to the Bulls and 25-10 to the Sharks.
In the outright betting the Ospreys are 285/1 long shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports
Sharks:
The Sharks had a tough start to their tournament overseas and they have failed to earn a log point in their 2 defeats so far.
In Round 2 they went down 34-13 to Leinster in Dublin, trailing 12-6 at half time, scoring just the 1 try late on and conceding 5 in total in a game they were given a 16.5 point start on the handicap.
The Sharks were also in Ireland in Round 1 for a clash with defending champions Munster and they were beaten 31-24, a result which was pretty much in line with the pre-match handicap. Munster always had plenty of daylight on the scoreboard and they ran in 5 tries to secure a bonus point whilst the Sharks scored 3.
Away to Welsh opposition last season the Sharks won 20-19 at the Dragons and lost 32-20 at the Scarlets. In Durban they crashed 35-0 to Cardiff and beat the Ospreys 25-10.
In the outright betting the Sharks are 13.5/1 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports.
Team News
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Keiran Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Toby Fricker, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris (c), 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 James Fender, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Ethan Lewis, 1 Garyn Phillip
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Max Nagy, 23 Luke Scully
Sharks: 15 Aphele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 George Cronje, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Murray Koster
The Betting,
Ospreys +7.5 points at 9/10
Sharks -7.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
This handicap has been stable this week having opened Ospreys +7.5 a couple of points higher than I was expecting.
One thing I only realized when starting this preview was that this game is being played at The Stoop, Twickenham and knowing how many Sharks supporters live in the UK they could have plenty of support.
Conditions look a bit dodgy but it doesn’t seem like we will get heavy rain and I think we might get points in this one.
My money is on the Sharks getting off the mark after a tough start and I will back them to score 30 points or more
Stay close to our rugby betting forum thread where other punters share their bets and info
BET: 4 units Sharks over 29.5 points at 17/20 at Sportingbet*
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Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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