The Lions host the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship catch up game in Johannesburg on Saturday, an opportunity for either side to move into the play off spots.
Lions v Sharks, Saturday 21st February, Johannesburg, KO 14:00 (South African time)
Referee: tbc
Assistant Referees: tbc
TMO: tbc
Weather Forecast - Johannesburg
Lions:
The Lions most recent URC outing came at home to the Bulls at the end of January and they crashed and burned in a 52-17 defeat.
That leaves the Lions with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats and with 24 points they have slipped down to 10th position, level on points with the Sharks, 1 point behind the Bulls and the Stormers remain the top SA side in third spot with 36 points. The Lions do have this game in hand over a number of other play off contenders from Europe.
In earlier SA derby matches the Lions turned the Bulls over (43-33) at Loftus they went down to the Stormers (34-27) in Cape Town and they edged out the Sharks (23-22) in Durban.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Lions are 150/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Sharks:
The Sharks have an identical W/D/L record to the Lions and are ninth on the log, also with 24 points. That puts them just 1 point behind the 2 sides directly above them although there is a significant gap to bridge to the top 6.
They come into this game having completed back to back bonus point wins over the Stormers, ending their rivals 100% record with a 30-19 win in Cape Town and following up with a 36-24 win in Durban. Two other SA derby matches, both in Durban saw the Sharks beat the Bulls 21-12 and lose 23-22 to the Lions.
In terms of the SA Shield standings, the Sharks have 16 points, the Lons have 10, the Stormers have 9 and the Bulls have 7.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Sharks are 16/1 with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Lions: tbc
Sharks: tbc
The Betting,
Average early show
Lions 19/20
Draw 21/1
Sharks 19/20
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for this game will be available here nearer to match day.
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.
