Live scoring: Lions v Sharks

The Sharks and Lions will go into battle in the only URC game this weekend, and its tricky to pick a clear favourite for this encounter at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon.

JP Pietersen – who has just been appointed as permanent Sharks head coach – has rested several leading Springboks, but will still be hoping his side can maintain the momentum they achieved before the URC break when they claimed back-to-back wins over the Stormers.

Meanwhile, the Lions will field a strong side in hopes of taking full advantage of playing at home, and as they target a push towards the playoffs.

Kick off is at 14:00 on Saturday.

LIONS V SHARKS LIVE SCORING

Although the match will be important for both teams, the Lions will place extra significance on this encounter, as it marks the first of six successive home games in the URC, which could steer them on a strong course in the cross-hemisphere showpiece.

While the Durbanites come off two successive victories in the competition against the Stormers, the Lions have won two of their three home matches and will be desperate to bounce back from their disappointing 52-17 defeat against the Bulls at the end of last month, which will set the scene for a gripping match-up.

Despite losing their last clash against the Lions, in Durban on 3 January, the Sharks may enter the match as favourites, but the Lions will have the luxury of home ground advantage and will draw confidence from the fact that they boast better attacking statistics with 267 points scored to the Durbanites’ 222 in their 10 outings so far.

The KwaZulu-Natalians, however, have a superior defence having conceded 52 points fewer.

With both teams coming off a short break as the Six Nations continues, both teams will look to break out of the blocks with a bang and make the most of the opportunity to field a fresh squad.

TEAMS

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Eddie Davids, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Erich Cronjé.

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Thomas Dyer, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane
Replacements: 16, Eduan Swart, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Emile van Heerden, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Yaw Penxe