Rainbow Cup Sa - Round 4 Preview

The Sharks will be hunting a return to the top of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA in Round 4 of the competition.

Sean Everitt's men were well beaten by the Vodacom Bulls last weekend and welcome the DHL Stormers to Durban on Saturday.

The Stormers, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a dramatic late victory in their clash with the Emirates Lions, who were downed by a last-gasp penalty from Tim Swiel in a 10-try thriller in Johannesburg.

The winless Lions are at home again this weekend, with the Bulls - now three points clear at the top of the table - their visitors this time around.

Another victory for the Bulls would put next month's north-versus-south final within their reach with a further two games to follow, at home to the Stormers and away to the Sharks.

Sharks v Stormers

Reniel Hugo scored a hat-trick of tries as the Sharks recovered from a 23-7 deficit to win 33-30 when these sides met in Cape Town in Round 1.

The Stormers have been involved in another two tight affairs since then, losing 20-16 to the Bulls before winning at the Lions 39-37, but they have not won back-to-back away games since beating the Cheetahs and the Bulls in Super Rugby in July 2017. 

The head-to-head record between these sides is fairly even, with the Sharks edging it with 18 victories from 32 fixtures, although the Stormers are heading to a venue where the hosts have won their last eight matches.

Lions v Bulls

The Bulls beat the Lions 22-9 at Loftus Versfeld earlier in the Rainbow Cup and have won 16 of the teams' 22 previous meetings.

Having lost at home to the Stormers in agonising fashion last time out, the Lions are bidding to avoid losing back-to-back matches at Emirates Airline Park for the first time since 2015.

The Bulls, who will be putting their 100 per cent winning record on the line, have won the last six matches they have played against the Lions since losing 38-12 at Emirates Airline Park in Super Rugby in July 2018.