The Sharks are back in South Africa and looking to kick start their United Rugby Championship campaign when they take on Ulster in Durban on Saturday.
Sharks v Ulster, Saturday 18th October, Durban, KO 16:00 (South African time)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Connor (Wales)
Weather Forecast - Durban
Sharks:
The Sharks spent the first three rounds in Scotland, Wales and then Ireland and they return home with two defeats and one draw against their name. They failed to trouble Leinster in Dublin in Round 3, conceding 5 tries in a 31-5 defeat.
The two log points the Sharks have earned so far came from a 19-19 draw with the Dragons in Newport in Round 2 whilst a Round 1 clash with the Warriors in Glasgow saw them finish beaten 35-19.
After this the Sharks host the Scarlets and they come into Round 4 down in thirteenth position.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Sharks are 17/2 with Hollywoodbets
Ulster:
Ulster arrive in South Africa in good shape with two wins from two matches (a scheduled Round 2 clash away to Edinburgh was postponed) and they have 10 log points. That saw them finish Round 3 in fifth place, 4 points off the top but with a game in hand on the four teams above them.
A 42-21 home victory over the Dragons in Round 1 saw Ulster run in 6 tries and last weekend in Round 3 they saw off the Bulls in Belfast (28-7), scoring another 4 tries to secure a bonus point.
Last season Ulster lost both tour matches in SA, at the Lions (35-22) and then the Bulls (47-21) in Rounds 2 and 3. In home fixtures they beat the Stormers (38-34) in Round 14 but lost to the Sharks (22-19) in Round 16.
After this Ulster will remain in South Africa for a clash with the Lions.
In the outright betting to win the URC title Ulster are 50/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Sharks: 15 Edwill van der Merwe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius,12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Bathobele Hlekani, 20 Manu Tshituka, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Lukhanyo Am
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 David McCann, 5 Harry Sheridan, 4 Iain Henderson (c), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Sam Crean
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Joe Hopes, 20 Sean Reffell, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery 23 Jude Postlethwaite
The Betting,
Average early show
Sharks -10.5 points at 9/10
Ulster +10.5 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 4 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.