The Sharks host the Lions in a United Rugby Championship catch up game in Durban on Saturday, an opportunity for both sides to make up ground in the standings

 

 

 

Sharks v Lions, Saturday 6th January, Durban, KO 17:00 (South African time)

 

Referees: Morne Ferreira
Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadezweni & Stephan Geldenhuys
TMO: Quinton Immelman

 

Weather Forecast – Durban

 

 

Sharks:

 

The Sharks were edged out out 16-15 by the Stormers in Cape Town last Saturday. They were given around 7.5 points start on the bookmakers main handicap line and conceded the first 10 points of the game but stuck to their task and got their noses in front beforet the Stormers hit back to take the win.

 

The Sharks other United Rugby Championship derby clash came on 2^nd December and they crashed and burned 44-10 to the Bulls at Loftus, conceding 6 tries in total.

 

The Sharks have just 1 win (and 8 defeats) against their name and the sole victory came at home to the struggling Dragons 69-14. The Sharks are bottom of the standings with just 8 log points although they do have a game in hand on 3 sides directly above them.

 

In the outright betting the Sharks are 36/1 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports

 

Lions:

 

The Lions most recent URC action came on 2^nd December when they saw off the Dragons with a 49-24 bonus point win in a home fixture.

 

Their only local derby so far was an opening round home game against the Stormers where a late fightback from 32-7 down at one stage in the second half came up just short and they were beaten 35-33.

 

Last season the Lions lost 37-10 to the Sharks in Durban and they also lost the return in Johannesburg 29-7.

 

The Lions have a record of 3 wins and 4 defeats and they are in twelfth spot with 19 log points, 6 points shy of a top half position but with 2 games in hand on a number of other sides.

 

In the outright betting the Lions are 72/1 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports

 

Team News

 

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gebrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Joel Hintz, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 George Cronje, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg

 

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.

Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Reinhard Nothnager, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Rynhardt Jonker

 

 

The Betting,

 

Sharks -7.5 points at 9/10

Lions +7.5 points at 9/10

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

Betting Angle

 

The early +11.5 Lions was quickly snapped up and the handicap appears to have settled at 7.5 with the home team favourite. 

 

As I near the end of my coastal holiday I am battlng to find a bet here and a post in our forum from "Shaft" caught my eye. He reckons the Lions could be a bit rusty and the Sharks with Eben back can beat the 1st half handicap. 

 

Bet: 3 units Sharks -3.5 HT cap at 19/20 at WSB 

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

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