The Sharks begin their United Rugby Championship season against the Warriors in Glasgow on Friday and the pre-match betting suggests the visitors will be up against it.
Glasgow Warriors v Sharks Friday 26th September, Glasgow, KO 21:05 (South African time)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)
Weather Forecast – Glasgow
Glasgow Warriors:
The Warriors eventually finished fourth in the standings at the end of the regular 2024/25 season. They were in the top 2 for much of the campaign before three successive defeats in their last 3 matches. Their overall record comprised of 11 wins and 7 defeats and their tally of 59 log points was 4 more than the Stormers and 3 shy of the third placed Sharks. In the quarter finals they saw off the Stormers 36-18 in Glasgow but they were no match for Leinster in the semi finals, going down 37-19 in Dublin.
In other matches at home to South Africa sides last season the Warriors thrashed the Lions 42-0 in Round 14 but lost 26-19 to the Bulls in Round 16.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Warriors are 14/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Sharks:
In 24/25 the Sharks finished in third spot in the standings with a record of 13 wins and 5 defeats for 62 log points, 6 shy of the second placed Bulls and 3 better off than fourth placed Glasgow Warriors. They also topped the SA shield with 4 derby wins and 2 losses.
The Sharks hosted Munster in the quarter finals, a game that finished 24-24 and after extra time failed to deliver any further points it came down to place kicking and the Sharks prevailed. That set up a semi final clash with the Bulls at Loftus where the Sharks bowed out 25-13.
When the Sharks hosted the Warriors in Round 5 last season they came out on top 28-24.
After this the Sharks head to Wales to take on the Dragons before a visit to Leinster and they return home for a Round 4 clash with Ulster.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Sharks are 8/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Adam Hastings
Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Christie Grobbelaar, 10 Jaden Hendrikse, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Bathobele Hlekani, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Jean Smith, 22 Jurenzo Julius, 23 Hakeem Kunene
The Betting,
Average early show, to be updated
Glasgow Warriors -20.5 points at 9/10
Sharks +20.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for Week 5 of the Rugby Championship will be posted on this Blog.
Likewise the Womens RWC Final bets will be posted in this blog
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.