Both the Sharks and Sunwolves will continue searching for their first win of the Super Rugby season when they meet in Durban during Round 4. Join The Roar for live scores from 12:05am (AEDT).
While the season is still only in its early days and both sides have played just the two games, there isn’t a heap of positives going on for either.
The Sharks lost their season opener during the South African-only Round 1 to the Lions, who knocked them out of the 2017 finals series.
They then had a bye, before a chance to host the Waratahs. The Sharks would have been more than confident of beating the New South Wales-based franchise, but fell short, coming up with a 24-all draw.
Even at home, they couldn’t find a way to get over the line and if the Sharks want to play finals rugby season, they must start making immediate improvements, starting against the Japanese club.
While the Sharks haven’t been bad by any stretch, they must look to defend more aggressively. Letting in seven tries during the first two matches of the season gives them one of the poorer defensive records and it could be enough to spark the Sunwolves into form.
In contrast, the Japanese club have scored just five tries across their first two matches, letting in 11, so, in essence, their defence must improve as well.
They have played two matches against Australian franchises so far and while they put up improved efforts on last year, it’s not going to be nearly enough to make them competitive in this competition.
The ‘Wolves were competitive against the Brumbies in a 32-25 loss, but were never in it against the Rebels, going down 37-17.
If their defence can’t find a way to improve, the Sharks may well put on a lot more than 30 points in this one, and that’ll be the key component which determines if the visitors stand a chance.
Prediction
The Sharks, with home ground advantage should win. The Sunwolves have shown improvement this season, but not enough to suggest they are going to win away in South Africa.
Sharks by 12.
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