Having let a commanding lead slip in their first United Rugby Championship last week the Sharks bid to make amends when they take on the Dragons in Newport in Round 3 on Saturday
Dragons v Sharks, Saturday 5th October, Newport, KO 18:15 (South African time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales); Nathan James (Wales)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Weather Forecast - Newport
Dragons:
The Dragons have played 2 matches and they have 1 win and 1 defeat against their name, collecting 4 log points in the process.
They began by edging out the Ospreys (23-21) on a Welsh derby at this venue but in Round 2 an ultra tough trip to Leinster saw them beaten 34-6.
Last' season's clash with the Sharks came in Durban in Round 6 and the Sharks ran away with it, 69-14. When hosting SA sides in 2023/24 the Dragons lost to the Bulls (31-10) in Round 12 and they went down (44-21) to the Stormers in Round 16.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Dragons are 525/1 rank outsiders with BoyleSports.
Sharks:
After winning the Currie Cup final the Sharks went into their first action of the URC season away to Connacht in good spirits. They were underdogs, given around 6.5 points start on the bookmakers main handicap line and that proved to be accurate as Connacht came out on top 36-20 with the home side scoring 5 tries to 3. It had looked so promising for the Sharks at half time after they led 27-7 but their only score in the second half came from a penalty at the death which salvaged a losing bonus point.
Last season's URC campaign began disastrously with 5 straight defeats and the Sharks eventually finished third bottom with 4 wins and 14 defeats. However they prioritized the EPCR Challenge Cup which they won, beating Gloucester in the final in London.
After this the Sharks remain in Europe for a clash with Benetton before they return home.
In the outright betting the Sharks are 20/1 to win the URC with BoyleSports.
Team News
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (c), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood
Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter
The Betting,
Updated 4 October 09h53
Dragons +8.5 points at 9/10
Sharks -7.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
Posted 4 October 09h55
The Dragons stayed in touch with Leinster for a long time last week before losing by 29 points right on the handicap line. The week before they scored late for a 2 point home win over the Ospreys.
The Sharks blew a big lead against Connacht and they will be hurting after that one. They have picked a strong side and I am firmly in the visitors camp here.
The points line is set at 49.5 and I will wait for the Dragons team announcement and more bookies to price up before deciding whether to get further involved.
BET: 4 units Sharks -7.5 at 93/100 at Betxchange
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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