The Sharks take on Benetton in the United Rugby Championship in Durban on Saturday and play off places are now beyond both of these sides.
Sharks v Benetton, Saturday 9th May, Durban, KO 16:00 (South African time)
Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Assistants: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Craig Evans (WRU)
Weather Forecast - Durban
Sharks:
The Sharks are tenth in the standings with a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 9 defeats. They have 36 log points but that is 11 shy of a play off spot so they are no longer contenders for an extended stay in this season’s tournament.
The Sharks spent Rounds 15 and 16 overseas, the writing already looked to be on the wall in terms of their play of hopes and that was confirmed as they lost at the Ospreys (21-17) and then Edinburgh (33-28).
Prior to that they chalked up back to back home wins over Munster (45-0) and Cardiff (21-15).
Benetton:
Benetton are thirteenth on the log, 3 points and 3 places behind the Sharks and they have a record of 6 wins, 2 draws and 8 defeats.
Their two most recent results comprise of a 45-15 home defeat to Munster in Round 15 before they turned Leinster over 29-26 in another home fixture.
In earlier home matches against SA opposition Benetton beat the Lions 41-15 in Round 3 and they lost to the Stormers 31-16 in Round 5.
After this Benetton finish up against the Bulls at Loftus.
Line Ups:
Sharks: tbc
Benetton: tbc
The Betting,
Average early show
Sharks -13.5 points at 9/10
Benetton +13.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Bets:
Tips, more news and betting angles for Round 17 of the URC will be available on Brent Graham's betting blog which is available here.
Plays for Round 13 of Super Rugby will be available here.
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.
