The eleventh placed Sharks host the tenth placed Melbourne Rebels at Kings Park in the early hours of Saturday morning, Sydney time. Join The Roar for live scores from 3:10am (AEST).
There are just two rounds remaining in the 2015 Super Rugby season and both of these teams will be looking to close the season out on a positive note.
The opportunities for the Sharks to do so are even more limited by the fact that they still have a bye to come, next week in Round 17.
On the bright side, the Sharks do get to enjoy their final two games of the season at home in Durban. They face the high-flying Stormers in the final round, so today’s opponent offers the best chance for a win in what is left of the 2015 season.
With the Sharks coming off a strong win against the Reds in Queensland, they will be full of confidence that they can impress their fans today.
The Rebels on the other hand are coming off consecutive losses to the Stormers and Reds, losses that trashed their hopes of a maiden Super Rugby finals appearance after stringing together some impressive mid-season form.
The Rebels have a couple of winnable games to look forward to as they head home to Australia for Round 18 and Round 19; a win today would see them enter both those games as favourite and give the club, and its fans, something to get genuinely excited about looking forward to the 2016 season.
But a win on a trip to South Africa is never an easy task, and history is against the visitors today.
The Sharks and Rebels have only met on three occasions since the Melbourne-based franchise joined the competition in 2011 and the South African side has won them all.
As well, the only time the Rebels have played in Durban against the Sharks saw an incredible 64-7 thrashing handed down to the visitors.
The Rebels have brought in a string of players for this clash: Sefanaia Naivalu, Toby Smith, Luke Burgess, Laurie Weeks, and Colby Fainga’a.
They’ll all need to be on top of their game if the Rebels can take some fresh strides in South Africa and knock off the Sharks on their home turf.
Join The Roar for live scores from 3:10am (AEST) and if you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
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