The Sharks are in European Challenge Cup action in Galway on Friday night and their Round of 16 opponents Connacht are in a rich vein of form.
Connacht v Sharks, Friday 3rd April, Galway, KO 21:00 (South African time)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (Sco), Rob McDowell (Sco)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Weather Forecast - Galway
Connacht:
Connacht finished third in their Challenge Cup pool, winning 2 and losing 2 of their matches. Their pool was topped by Montpellier and Connacht finished either side of URC rivals Zebre and the Ospreys. Connacht completed wide margin home wins over Black Lion and US Montauban who finished fifth and sixth but were edged out away to the Ospreys (26-21) and Montpellier (33-31).
In the URC Connacht are in ninth position with 39 log points and a record of 7 wins and 7 defeats are they are just 1 point behind the Bulls who are currently in eighth, the last of the play off places. They have put together a 5 match winning streak through February and March which includes a home win over log leaders Glasgow Warriors (15-10) and a derby victory away to third placed Ulster (26-19).
Connacht hosted the Sharks in URC Round 6 at the end of November and they came through with a more than comfortable 44-17 victory, scoring 5 tries to the Sharks 3.
Sharks:
The Sharks finished fifth in their Champions Cup pool which has seen them parachute into the Challenge Cup, a competition they won in 2024.
They won 2 and lost 2 of their matches but missed out on qualification to Saracens on points difference. Sale Sharks were 1 point better off in third, Stade Toulouse were 2 points ahead in second and Glasgow Warriors finished well clear at the top of the standings. Clermont were rock bottom, failing to earn a log point. The Sharks won at home to Saracens (28-23) and Clermont (50-12) but went down 26-10 away to Sale and 56-19 in Toulouse
In the URC the Sharks are in tenth position with a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 7 defeats and they are 7 points off a play off spot and 6 shy of their opponents here. Most recently they chalked up back to back home wins over Munster (45-0) and Cardiff (21-15).
Team News
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Chay Mullins, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Cian Prendergast (c), 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Billy Bohan.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 John Devine
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Le Roux Malan, 12 Marnus Potgieter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Corné Rahl, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Ethan Hooker
The Betting,
Average early show
Connacht -12.5 points at 9/10
Sharks +12.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
The handicap is table at around the -11.5 and -12.5 Connacht levels. The Sharks team looks a bit think and I expect a home victory and the handicap looks well set.
The points line is 50.5 and I am leaning unders in what looks like being tricky conditions with rain expected throughout the day.
I am not looking to get too involved here though and will have a small interest the winning margin is 8-14 points in favour of Connacht.
Bet: 1 unit (1-5) Connacht win by 8-14 points at 27/10 at Betxchange
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