The United Rugby Championship (URC) continues to deliver thrilling rugby action, and the upcoming fixtures involving South African teams promise to be no exception. Here’s a detailed preview and predictions for the matches:
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Cardiff vs Loins
The Emirates Lions are back in action in Friday night’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff in the Welsh capital.
With just six rounds left to play until the quarterfinals, the Lions are sitting in eighth spot with 29 points and will be eager to keep their playoff hopes alive, as only four log points are separating the Johannesburg side from Zebre in 15th place. Cardiff sit in 6th place and are currently on a three-match losing skid but will be hoping to use their home advantage to good effect. However, the Lions will be buoyed by the fact that they beat Cardiff 34-13 in Johannesburg last season and 31-18 at the Arms Park in 2022.
Coach Ivan van Rooyen has bolstered the Lions 23 with returning Springbok blindside flanker Ruan Venter and fullback Quan Horn, which will be a big boost to their two-week European tour. Cardiff have also been boosted by the return of four international stars with Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, James Botham and Ellis Bevan named on the replacements bench.
The Pride have been inconsistent and are hard to predict, but will be good value at 2.22 and I am backing them to win on Friday night.
Prediction: Lions by 8-14 at 6.15.
Sharks vs Zebre
The first of Saturday’s matches in the United Rugby Championship will see the Sharks taking on Zebre Parma at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The Sharks are currently fourth on the overall log with 39 log points and trail the Vodacom Bulls by two points. They have also recently clinched the top spot in the South African Shield following a series of derby matches. Meanwhile, Zebre find themselves in 14th position on the table but only just four points adrift of the eighth-placed Lions.
The Sharks and Zebre met twice last season with Zebre winning 12-10 in Italy and the Sharks 47-3 in Durban in April 2024. The Durban outfit have won 3 of their last 4 matches and the visitors are currently on a 3-game win streak, so the could cause an upset.
Siya Kolisi is back to lead the Sharks this weekend with a few other internationals also named in the Sharks squad. However, Eben Etzebeth is still missing due to injury. Zebre will most likely not make too many changes as their recent form suggests.
The Sharks are heavy favourites heading into this one and I do expect a comfortable win with a 22.5 handicap.
Prediction: Sharks by 23+ at 1.83.
Blue Bulls vs Leinster
Loftus Versfeld will be a full-house for the biggest game of the weekend, when the Blue Bulls face top of the table Leinster in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match on Saturday. In a repeat of last season’s semi-final, where Jake White’s men won 25-20 and also upsetting the Irish giants in Dublin in the 2022 semi-finals.
Leinster are unbeaten in all competitions this season and are the current log leaders with 57 points. The Bulls will look to become the first team to beat Leinster, who had no less than 16 players in the Irish playing squad that beat Italy this past weekend and will not likely be naming a full-strength squad. However, the Blue Bulls have lost their last two home games, to the Sharks (29-19) and the Stormers (19-16) respectively.
Both teams pose an attacking threat which sets up a high-scoring encounter, but the Bulls are favourites at outright odds of 1.21 with Leinster opting to rest key players for this table topping clash.
Prediction: Bulls by 12+ at 1.93.
Scarlets vs Stormers
The Stormers visit the Scarlets in Llanelli on Saturday after reviving their hopes of a place in the United Rugby Championship playoffs.
After a surprise 19-16 win away to the Bulls, the Stormers are favourites heading into this clash. However, the hosts have won their last six in front of their home fans while the South Africa side has lost four of their last five fixtures.
The Scarlets are currently 10th on the log after 12 games, with the Stormers struggling for consistency and sit in 12th place. The Cape Town outfit has been boosted by the return of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse, while the home side have some internationals returning after the Six Nations. The Stormers thrashed Scarlets 52-7 at home in 2023.John Dobson’s team may be favourites at 1.64 but recent form suggests that the Scarlets at 2.38 are likely to edge this encounter at home.
