The Sharks bid to kick start what has been a disappointing United Rugby Championship campaign so far when they host the struggling Scarlets in Durban on Saturday
Sharks v Scarlets, Saturday 25th October, Durban, KO 16:00 (South African time)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
TMO: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Weather Forecast - Durban
Sharks:
The Sharks passed up an opportunity to claim a first win of the tournament when, despite being 11.5 point favourites on the bookmakers main handicap line, they went down 34-26 to Ulster in Durban in Round 4.
That was a first home game for the Sharks who spent the first three rounds in Scotland, Wales and then Ireland. A Round 1 clash with the Warriors in Glasgow saw them finish beaten 35-19 and they picked two log points from a 19-19 draw with the Dragons in Newport in Round 2. In their final tour match they failed to trouble Leinster in Dublin, conceding 5 tries in a 31-5 defeat.
After the international break the Sharks visit Connacht before a series of SA derby matches. They come into Round 5 down in fourteenth position with just 3 log points.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Sharks are 14/1 with Hollywoodbets
Scarlets:
The Scarlets were in Johannesburg for a clash with the Lions last week and they went down 29-18, leaving them rooted to the foot of the standings and the only side yet to earn a log point.
The Scarlets hosted the Stormers in Round 3 and they crashed and burned 34-0, conceding five tries in total. Their scheduled Round 2 clash away to Connacht was postponed and in the opening round they lost 34-21 at home to Munster.
At the tail end of last season, the Scarlets beat the Lions 32-19 in Johannesburg before losing 12-3 to the Sharks in Durban.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Scarlets are 500/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 JJ Scheepers, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Jurenzo Julius
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams (c), 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Dane Blacker, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Sam Lousi, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Harvey Cuckson, 3 Archer Holz, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Alex Groves, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Joe Hawkins, 23 Ioan Nicholas
The Betting,
Average early show
Sharks -16.5 points at 9/10
Scarlets +16.5 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 Round 5 of the URC will be available on 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.