Sharks vs Golden Lions Prediction & Betting Tips - Currie Cup

Prediction published on 03/07/2024, 11:15  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 05/07/2024 at 05:22 in Currie Cup Predictions

Match two of the opening round at the 2024 Curie Cup will come from Durban where the Sharks will take on the Golden Lions on Friday afternoon. The hosts ended the group stage last season in second place, while the visitors finished sixth.

After a somewhat sluggish start to the competition last season, the Sharks came steaming back in the latter stages, winning four of their last five games to secure a home semi-final against the Pumas. Unfortunately, the side from Mpumalanga arrived at the Shark Tank in excellent form and overcame the home team 26-20 in a nail-biting encounter. Since then, the Sharks had a very poor United Rugby Championship campaign finishing 14th, but made amends by going on to win the EPCR Challenge Cup, beating Gloucester 36-24 in the grand final on May 24 this year.

Meanwhile, last season was a tough one for the Lions and they will be seeking major improvement this time around. They finished the 2023 Currie Cup group stage in sixth place with a record of six wins and eight losses, along with a points difference of -4.

The only positive the side would have taken from their domestic campaign was that they earned 12 bonus points, which was the second-most in the competition behind the Cheetahs’ 13. In the URC, the Lions finished ninth in the table splitting their 18 matches with nine wins and nine losses.

They also had an underwhelming Challenge Cup campaign, finishing fourth in their group before being knocked out in the first postseason knockout match by Benneton. While the Sharks are the favourites here, it is worth noting that the Johannesburg outfit did beat the Durbanites home and away in the URC earlier this year.