URC Round 3 preview: Bulls vs Lions, Stormers vs Sharks derbies

The Lions and Sharks are on the road this weekend, with their URC streaks at risk.

They will travel to Pretoria and Cape Town, respectively, for two crunch derby games.

Here’s what the URC Round 3 looks like for the 4 South African franchises.

URC Round 3 fixtures for SA teams

10 October

Bulls vs Lions – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (13:30)

Stormers vs Sharks – Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town (16:00)

Details are correct according to the URC website.

Bulls vs Lions preview

The Bulls will still be stinging from a narrow 22-26 loss to Munster on 3 October.

It was a tough outing for the Pretoria side, who made mistakes and struggled to make a real impact on the field.

Although the Bulls’ defence was solid, they were lucky to lose by only 4 points.

Munster were carried by young flyhalf Charlie O’Shea, who scored 2 tries and had 3 successful conversions.

The Lions, meanwhile, are fresh off a 35-19 win over the Ospreys.

While the scoreline looks flattering, it was not a perfect outing by the Johannesburg side by any stretch.

Heading into halftime 10-12 down, the Lions needed a second-half blitz to seal the result at Ellis Park.

Captain and eighth man Francke Horn was the standout player, with winger Kelly Mpeku scoring two tries.

Springboks could be the difference

According to SuperSport, the Bulls will welcome several big names back for the Juksei Derby against the Lions.

Gerhard Steenekamp, Cameron Hanekom, Canan Moodie, and Handre Pollard are all expected to be available.

The Lions, meanwhile, have built a strong core unit that has not really been impacted by Springboks call-ups.

This will be a close, highly physical game, and the Bulls need solutions to their defensive flaws quickly.

Stormers vs Sharks preview

The Stormers are also coming off a loss in the second round, falling 13-17 to Edinburgh in Scotland.

The match was a flat affair, with a James Grayson penalty the only points of the first half.

One of the crucial clashes was at the lineout, with the Stormers repeatedly failing to make the ball stick.

A late Hacjivah Dayimani try looked to be the final say, before Edinburgh’s Rory McHaffie crossed the line on debut.

On the opposite coast, the Sharks had to muscle their way to a win over defending champions Leinster.

It was a gritty clash in Durban, and the only real advantage for the home team was their dominant scrum.

Eventually, Eben Etzebeth made a crucial break and handed it off to Andre Esterhuizen to retake the lead.

Winger Edwill van der Merwe then made a crucial intercept to seal a tough 26-20 bonus-point win at home.

Both teams looking to exploit weaknesses

As cited by IOL, the Sharks are expecting a huge physical battle that will test their powerful scrumming.

The Stormers will also be aware of their lineout problems, with the set piece certain to be tested in the coastal derby.

SuperSport also quoted Sharks scrum coach Philip Lemmer and his concerns about the home team’s strong mauling.

“They are very physical with their maul so the lineout is just as big a threat as their scrum. They love a mauling, physical battle and it is what they pride themselves on. We know what is coming at us on Saturday.”

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