All of the South African teams are out to maintain their recent winning form in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, the Sharks and Stormers especially sounding a warning to the front-runners with emphatic wins at home last weekend.
The Sharks and Stormers leapt several places to sixth and eighth, respectively, while the Vodacom Bulls remained in 10th position, having barely hung on for a 29-24 triumph over Munster. The Lions, though still in 14th, will be pleased after snapping a five-game losing streak with their 37-20 win over the Cardiff Blues.
The Sharks beat the Scarlets 37-20 at Kings Park, and the Durbanites will fancy their chances of making it two wins in a row when they host Zebre on Saturday.
This, after the Italian basement-dwellers were manhandled by the Stormers 55-7 in Stellenbosch, a result which sets John Dobson’s men up nicely for their clash with Cardiff at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday.
The Bulls will next take out their frustrations on Scarlets at Loftus Versfeld while, across the Jukskei, the Lions will try to build on their success when they host Johann van Graan’s Munster at Ellis Park.
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