Embrose Papier prepares to pass the ball for the Bulls during their URC match against Munster last week. Picture: Gallo Images
Another fruitful weekend is in store for South Africa’s United Rugby Championship sides, with at least three of the four teams expected to walk away with wins.
The Bulls, Sharks and Stormers are expected to defeat Llanelli Scarlets, Zebre Parma and the Cardiff Blues, while the Lions face the toughest match of the weekend against Munster.
Bulls v Scarlets at Loftus – Friday, kickoff 7:10pm
The Bulls would have been expected to walk away with a bonus-point win in this match against a weakened Scarlets on the Highveld, but with a large contingent of their squad playing their third match in six days, it will be interesting to see how they react.
Having beaten Munster 29-24 in a gruelling game on Saturday, 17 players from that match-23 were involved in the Bulls’ Currie Cup win against the Sharks on Wednesday.
The Bulls team named on Thursday to face Scarlets on Friday night features 15 players in the match 23 who played in both of those games.
Despite this, the hosts should be able to see off Scarlets, but it might be a much closer game than originally expected.
Lions v Munster at Ellis Park – Saturday, kickoff 2pm
The Lions have a massive opportunity to pick up what would be a fantastic win against a Munster side who are missing their internationals on Six Nations duty.
It is still a very strong Munster squad, however, featuring a World Cup winner in Damian de Allende, who have proved that altitude is not much of a factor after coming back hard in the second half of their match against the Bulls.
Munster will start as slight favourites but the Lions have a golden chance to build on their solid win over Cardiff, and if they can put in a similarly concerted effort, they could walk away with a big scalp.
Sharks v Zebre at Kings Park – Saturday, kickoff 6:30pm
The struggling Sharks have the perfect match to try and fine-tune their attacking woes when they take on basement dwellers Zebre.
It’s strange to refer to the Sharks as “struggling” when they are the country’s strongest URC side on paper and are the highest placed at sixth on the log, but despite that, they are yet to hit their straps.
Their last two wins, bonus-point results against Benetton away and Scarlets at home, were unconvincing despite the scorelines, and their backline just seems not to have clicked yet, largely due to their issues at flyhalf.
However< beleaguered Zebre offer a great opportunity to play an entertaining brand of rugby and an opportunity to build some good momentum.
Stormers v Cardiff at Cape Town Stadium – Sunday, kickoff 2pm
The country’s in-form team, the Stormers, will be gunning for another bonus-point victory over Cardiff to secure their place in the upper half of the URC log.
After managing only one win and a draw in their opening five matches, the Stormers have since gone on to win four, draw one and lose one of their next six games, hitting form at the perfect time.
Last week’s drubbing over Zebre moved them into the top half of the table for the first time this season and they will be eager to build on that with another dominant showing against Cardiff to solidify their spot.
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