The Sharks and Lions kick-off the fourth round of the United Rugby Championship on Friday night, with matches in Edinburgh and Cardiff, respectively.
Both matches kick off at 8.45pm, SA time.
All four teams are in the top eight after three rounds — No 1-positioned Edinburgh host seventh-placed Lions, while the Sharks are fifth and Cardiff sixth.
In Edinburgh, the Scottish team will honour the tragic death of Hyron Andrews by staging a one-minute round of applause five minutes into the match at the Hive Stadium. In another mark of rugby’s special camaraderie, Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt and his staff had coffee with the Lions after their captains’ run at the Hive Stadium on Thursday afternoon to offer their commiserations.
Given the recent form of the teams, the Lions will be up against it. Edinburgh have won five of their last six URC matches while the Lions haven’t won outside South Africa since beating Zebre in Parma in October 2024.
The Lions' only victory in Scotland came at Hive Stadium in October 2022.
Cardiff return home to the Arms Park after a 29-5 loss at Leinster, while the Sharks look to respond to their 39-22 coastal derby defeat in Cape Town.
Cardiff have not lost at the Arms Park since Scarlets beat them in Round 7 last season.
The Sharks do not have the best record on the road, but they have been good in Wales. Their 21-17 defeat to Ospreys at Brewery Field in Round 15 last season ended a five-match unbeaten run on visits to Wales.
The Sharks are also the most recent South African side to win at the Arms Park, defeating Cardiff 42-22 in January 2025.
Sharks coach JP Pietersen is determined to address their overall performances overseas.
“From last season’s results point of view, we never really performed away from home, so that’s something that we do want to be better at,” Pietersen said.
“We need to be more consistent away from home and not just be a team that performs with home-ground advantage. That’s what we’re chasing for the Cardiff and Munster games.”
Teams:
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Le Roux Malan, 12 Steff Emanuel, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Scott Sio. Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Tom Manz, 20 Semisi Paea, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Tom Bowen
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 André Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Matt Romao, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Phatu Ganyane. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jaco Williams.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy). Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales). TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Geordie Gwynn, 13 Matt Currie (co-captain), 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson,8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain), 7 Tom Currie, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Jamie Stewart, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Harry Paterson
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horne (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Morné Brandon, 1 Boan Venter. Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Siba Mahashe, 21 Zian Cilliers, 22 Richard Kriel, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.
Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland). Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland). TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland).