Thankfully, sanity prevailed and the South African URC derbies have been moved forward amid the Omicron Covid breakout. Darry Worthington previews all of the round 7 action.
While the travel ban on Southern Africa has affected fixtures involving Cardiff, Scarlets, Zebre and Munster; there are still six exciting fixtures to look forward to, including two mouth-watering South African derbies.
Friday 3 December
Sharks 12/10 | Draw 22/1 | Bulls 7/10 (19:00)
Handicap
Sharks (+2.5) 17/20 | Bulls (-2.5) 17/20
It wasn’t the fixture we were expecting a week ago but it should be a cracker nonetheless with the Sharks taking on the Bulls in the first of this weekend’s local derbies.
Both sides endured miserable tours of Europe – albeit without their Springboks – and headed home with just a win each with the KZN side beating the Ospreys and the Bulls beating the Cardiff Blues.
Having struggled on the road and uncertainty surrounding whether South African teams will be able to host games next year, this game could be of vital importance to both outfits.
With the above in mind, both teams are likely to field very strong sides in this derby. The Bulls have been the force to reckon with on the domestic scene but there were signs of improvement from the Sharks during the latter part of their European jaunt and will be bolstered by the returns of some world-class springboks. I’m going to back the hosts to come good here.
Edinburgh 17/100 | Draw 25/1 | Benetton 42/10 (21:35)
Handicap
Edinburgh (-11.5) 17/20 | Benetton (+11.5) 17/20
Next up we’ve got third-placed Edinburgh taking on eighth-placed Treviso. The visitors will fancy their chances here as they beat Edinburgh 28-27 back in Round 2 and head to Scotland off the back of a 19-18 victory over the Glasgow Warriors.
Edinburgh also had a solid time of it last weekend as they claimed their fourth victory of the campaign beating the Dragons 14-30. They have only suffered defeat once this term going down, but that defeat did come at the hands of this weekend’s opponents. I reckon Treviso have enough about them to keep it within this double-digit ‘cap.
Leinster 1/14 | Draw 33/1 | Connacht 7/1
Handicap
Leinster (-16.5) 17/20 | Connacht (+16.5) 17/20
We have an all-Irish affair next up as Leinster welcome local foes Connacht to the RDS.
The hosts went into last weekend unbeaten but, as I said in last weekend’s preview, they haven’t looked as strong as in recent PRO14 seasons and this was to ring true as they went down 10-20 to Ulster.
Connacht will smell blood in the water after Leinster’s loss and they’ll also be buoyed having hammered the Ospreys 46-18 in the last round. The hosts will bring their heavy hitters back into contention here and they should be able to grind out a win but it should be by a narrow margin. As such, I’m on a very generous +16.5 handicap here.
Saturday 4 December
Ospreys 23/10 | Draw 20/1 | Ulster 36/100
Handicap
Ospreys (+6.5) 17/20 | Ulster (-6.5) 17/20
We’ve got an early kick-off in Swansea this weekend with the Ospreys taking on an Ulster side that will head to Wales in an ultra-confident mood having beaten champions-elect Leinster on their own patch this past weekend.
Last weekend 10-20 victory saw Ulster move level on log points at the summit of the standings with Leinster. Another solid showing in Wales could well see them pull away at the top of the standings with Leinster facing a tricky fixture this weekend.
The Ospreys have been a tricky side to roll over this term though and have only suffered defeat twice. One of those losses came last weekend, though, where they were routed by 28 points by Ulster’s fellow Irish side, Connacht.
This is largely the problem with the Welsh side. When they’re hot, they look like they can beat any side in the competition. But when they’re off the boil, they get slapped around as the Sharks and Connacht have shown this season.
This should be a close-run thing with the Ospreys a solid team on their own patch. I can see Ulster edging this one by a narrow margin. Get on the Ospreys plus.
Stormers 1/6 | Draw 28/1 | Lions 4/1
Handicap
Stormers (-12.5) 17/20 | Lions (+12.5) 17/20
The second of the South African local derbies is the next URC offering with the Lions taking on the Stormers in Cape Town.
Like the Bulls and Sharks, the Lions and Stormers could only manage a win apiece during their tour of Europe with the Lions beating Zebre 26-38 and the Stormers beating the Dragons 10-24. The visitors for this weekend did manage a draw as well as they held Glasgow to a 20-20 stalemate in Scotland.
Neither side was in action last time out due to the Omicron COVID variant popping up. Both these teams actually gave decent accounts of themselves on the road. I reckon the Lions will keep it within a generous cap.
