Kings v.s Sharks Super Rugby preview

Venu: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth.

Kick-off Sat 9 Mar: 19:10 (Local)

10 Mar NZ 06:10 (Auck).

Referee:  Jason Jaftha (South Africa)

Southern Kings: 15. SP Marais,  14. Sergeal Petersen,  13. Ronnie Cooke,  12. Andries Strauss,  11. Marcello Sampson,  10. Demetri Catrakilis,  9. Shaun Venter,  8. Jacques Engelbrecht,  7. Wimpie van der Walt,  6. Cornell du Preez,  5. Steven Sykes,  4. Darron Nell (c),  3. Kevin Buys,  2. Bandise Maku ,  1. Schalk Ferreira. Bench:  16. Edgar Marutlulle,  17. Jaco Engels,  18. David Bulbring,  19. Luke Watson,  20. Nicolas Vergallo,  21. George Whitehead,  22. Hadleigh Parkes.

The Sharks:  15. Louis Ludik,  14. JP Pietersen,  13. Paul Jordaan,  12. Francois Steyn (c),  11. Lwazi Mvovo,  10. Patrick Lambie,  9. Cobus Reinach,  8. Ryan Kankowski,  7. Jean Deysel,  6. Marcell Coetzee,  5. Franco van der Merwe,  4. Anton Bresler,  3. Jannie du Plessis,  2. Craig Burden,  1. Tendai Mtawarira. Bench: 16. Kyle Cooper,  17. Wiehahn Herbst,  18. Pieter-Steph du Toit,  19. Jacques Botes,  20. Charl McLeod,  21. Meyer Bosman,  22. Odwa Ndungane.

Previous results:  Kings: Away 31 – 41 Lions

Home 22 – 10 Force (most recent fixture).

Sharks:   Home 71 – 8 Leopards

Away 50 – 19 Pumas

Away 29 – 22 Cheetahs

Home 12 – 6 Stormers (most recent fixture).

The Kings have enjoyed an ideal start to the tournament by beating the Force at home before enjoying a bye in round 3. Their match against the Force displayed opportunistic finishing and effective tackling to comfortably win the contest. Round 4 offers the Kings a shot at going toe to toe with South African heavyweights the Sharks which will be a very different prospect.

The Sharks are 2 from 2 as they came through in a massive effort last weekend to beat a very sound Stormers side. Their aim will be to take 5 log points from this derby and so are unlikely to sit on a lead of any size (until at least 4 tries have been scored). Mentally the Sharks will have an edge over the Kings which the Force did not due to their imposing presence in South African rugby.

Betting: Outright:  14/1 v.s 1/14

Handicap: +17 v.s -17

Prediction: Sharks to win big. The handicap is however very large and would only be overcome should the flood gates open for the Sharks in the last 25 minutes of the match. For us its no bet but have a go on the minus if you are certain the flood gates will open. Our Superbru pick will be around 18 points.