The four South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship sides will have their sights set on building on their strong start to the competition last weekend in which they registered a clean sweep of victories with another challenging round awaiting them this weekend.
Siya Kolisi will make a welcome return to action following a calf injury in what will be his 50th appearance for the Hollywoodbets Sharks when they take on Edinburgh in Friday night’s final away match of the regular season in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach JP Pietersen has named a 28-man squad that flies to Wales ahead of back-to-back away matches against the Ospreys and Edinburgh.
Boan Venter, a former Toyota Cheetahs prop who now plays for Edinburgh, earned his first Springbok call-up on Sunday as Bok coach Rassie Erasmus named a group of 45 players following the completion of the team’s first week of training in Johannesburg for the forthcoming international season.
The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks kept the South African flag flying in a drama-filled knock-out round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, with both teams winning their quarter-finals, which will see them face off against one another in an all-South African semi-final in Pretoria next Saturday.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks take a strong, settled and successful side into Saturday’s EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final against Edinburgh at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
The DHL Stormers were the only South African side to come away with a victory in the second round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this weekend, as the Emirates Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls all came up short in the Northern Hemisphere.
The DHL Stormers will be looking to build on their strong start to the third season of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship when they host Scarlets on Saturday – the only game in South Africa with the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls playing abroad.
Ox Nche will return to start for the Sharks in their Vodacom #URC match against Edinburgh in Durban on Saturday evening, but the home side will be without the injured Aphelele Fassi.
The Kings suffered an 11th successive defeat in the Pro14 as they slumped to a 37-7 loss against Edinburgh at Myreside Stadium on Friday night. (more…)