United Rugby Championship – Sharks v Lions Preview and Prediction

The Sharks and the Lions will look to start 2024 on the right foot when they face off at Kings Park on Saturday (5pm kick-off), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The derby in Durban is the only United Rugby Championship fixture of the weekend and is a rescheduled Round Eight encounter.

The Sharks will be determined to put a dreadful 2023 behind them and start fresh. With just a solitary win in eight games, John Plumtree’s men are down in last place and have a mountain to climb to make the top eight.

Though unsuccessful, they produced one of their best performances of the season to push the Stormers to the limit last weekend. Aside from the pitch-perfect strike move that saw Werner Kok streak over in the corner, the coastal derby wasn’t easy on the eye and that was by the Durbanites’ design.

As a team going through growing pains and sans synergy, the Sharks were shrewd in turning the game into an arm wrestle. They managed to do so through superior physicality and good old-fashioned grit, which saw them make massive hits and win collisions for the most part.

They’ll aim to do exactly the same against the far more fluid Lions. The 12th-placed pride of Johannesburg will run them off their feet if given the chance, so the hosts’ game plan will be to stifle them at the source. 

Winners of four straight and six of their last eight games in all competitions, the Lions punched above their weight to close out 2023 and will want to continue in that vein. Sanele Nohamba has been the key cog in the machine since his move from scrumhalf to flyhalf and will look to stick it to his former team.

Ivan van Rooyen’s charges will fancy their chances, however, their break came at the wrong time. Recovery time is always welcome, but the Lions would’ve much rather had the opportunity to continue their momentum.

Their bye, I believe, will prove to have cooled them off and will play a big part, along with the Sharks’ stronger tight five, in the result going the men in black and white’s way.   

Prediction: Sharks by 5.

Suggested Bet: Lions +7 at 1.86.