GAME DAY I Sharks and Lions fancied as Bulls face Munster reality check

South Africa’s hopes of a second clean sweep in the United Rugby Championship collapsed at the first hurdle when the Stormers lost a desperate 17-13 arm wrestle in Edinburgh on Friday night.

At least one South African was smiling — former Sharks coach Sean Everitt, who now heads the Scottish team.

A similar type of match can be expected at Thomond Park in Limerick on Saturday night, when the Bulls visit Munster.

The Bulls scored 47 points in Parma last week despite not playing particularly well, but Zebre are the easybeats of the URC. The first thing Johan Ackermann said after that game was that Munster would be a very different proposition.

The Bulls were unimpressive in the set scrum without their front-row Springboks, and Ackermann has chosen not to call up the likes of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp.

Munster lost a tight home game to Glasgow Warriors last week and will empty the tank against the Bulls. I expect a low-scoring arm wrestle, with Munster winning by three points. Kick-off is at 8.45pm.

The Lions once again have the early Saturday kick-off at Ellis Park, 1.45pm against the Ospreys. The reason for the early start is to avoid the possibility of Highveld storms later in the afternoon.

The Lions impressed in beating Leinster in a fantastic game of rugby, and there is growing evidence that last season’s first-ever quarter-final appearance was no flash in the pan.

The Lions won eight of their nine home games last season, and another victory at Ellis Park looks likely. I expect them to win by 15 points or more in a high-scoring affair.

The match of the weekend, however, is probably the Sharks versus Leinster in Durban.

The Sharks have a different feel about them this season after so much disappointment over such a long period. They seem to have got their ducks in a row off the field, enjoyed their first proper pre-season in years and, crucially, have a much better-balanced squad.

Instead of relying heavily on the old policy of hiring players from all over the place, there is now a genuine pathway for young talent coming through.

Leinster have picked a stronger side this week, so this should be an epic tussle. But I am backing the Sharks to win by seven points or more. Kick-off is at 6.30pm.

Teams:

Lions: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Boan Venter Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Siba Mahashe, 21 Dylan Sjoblom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Quan Horn

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles (co-captain), 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Liam Wright (co-captain), 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Efan Daniel, 1 Gareth Thomas Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Cam Jones, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Lawson Creighton, 23 Luke Morgan

Referee: Fillipo Russo (Italy). Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (SA), Dylen November (SA). TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

Sharks: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Lili Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Esethu Mnebelele, 1 Thomas du Toit. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 23 Ethan Hooker

Leinster: 15 Todd Lawlor, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Caspar Gabriel, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Josh Ericson, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Alan Spicer, 4 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher (captain), 1 Andrew Porter. Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Niall Smyth, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Diarmuid Mangan, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Hugo McLaughlin.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales). Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen (SA), Jonathan Lottering (SA). TMO: Ben Breakspear (Wales).

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Seán O’Brien, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Shay McCarthy, 10 Charlie O’Shea, 9 Craig Casey (captain), 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Seán Edogbo, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Michael Milne. Replacements: 16 Kieran Brookes, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Ben O’Donovan, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Alex Kendellen

Bulls: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Stravino Jacobs, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Alu Tshakweni. Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Cheswill Jooste, 23 Willie le Roux.

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy). Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (England), Andrew Fogarty (Ireland). TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy.)