Round 4 of the 2024-25 United Rugby Championship presents South Africa with a rare opportunity to go unbeaten against northern rivals on back-to-back weekends.
In round 3 of the 2024-25 season, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and DHL Stormers all claimed wins against northern hemisphere teams.
The Lions got the run under way with a 55-21 thrashing of Edinburgh, before the Bulls thumped Ulster 47-21, the Sharks snatched a 33-30 win against Dragons in Newport and the Stormers claimed a bonus-point 36-5 win over Zebre in Parma.
In round 4, all four SA teams are overseas and looking to achieve successive sweeps against foreign opponents for just the third time in URC history.
Benetton vs Sharks (Treviso, Saturday, 4pm)
The Sharks four-game slump in the URC ended with their 33-30 victory at Dragons on Saturday. They have not won successive away games in the competitions since February 2023
Benetton are winless in their last four URC matches, since beating Edinburgh 31-6 at Stadio Monigo in June. However, they won both home games against SA opponents in the URC last season, including a 25-24 victory at Kings Park.
The Sharks did beat Benetton 29-7 when they last played at the Stadio Monigo in February 2022.
Edinburgh vs DHL Stormers (Edinburgh, Saturday, 6.15pm)
The Stormers’ two-game losing run ended with a 36-5 victory at Zebre on Saturday. John Dobson’s men have won four of their last seven away games in the competition.
Stormers flyhalf Jurie Matthee is one of the leading sharpshooters this season, one of four players who have recorded a 100% kicking rate at goal.
Edinburgh have lost their last five URC fixtures and have not lost six in a row in the competition since 2017.
The two sides have met on four previous occasions with the Stormers winning the last three added to a 20-all draw at Hive Stadium in October 2021.
Ospreys vs Vodacom Bulls (Swansea, Saturday, 8.35pm)
The Bulls have lost just once away from home in the URC this year: 47-14 to Leinster at the RDS Arena in March. Their only loss to a Welsh region since they joined the competition in 2021 was to the Scarlets in Llanelli in January 2023.
Ospreys have won four of their last five fixtures against SA in the URC.
The Bulls have won all three previous matches they have played against Ospreys, including a 38-31 win when they last played in Swansea in May 2022.
Dragons vs Lions (Newport, Sunday, 3.30pm)
The Lions have won both of their matches in the URC this season and have not won three in succession since January. However, they have lost their last two away games since beating Connacht in Galway in March.
Dragons’ most recent victory over a South African opponent was 13-10 over the Cheetahs at Rodney Parade in February 2020.
The Lions won their most recent meeting with Dragons, a 49-24 victory at Ellis Park.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
