CRAIG LEWIS looks ahead to the final three matches in round three, including the highly-anticipated clash between the Bulls and Lions.

SHARKS vs WARATAHS (Durban, Saturday, 15:05)

The Sharks come into this clash after a bye, while the Waratahs have travelled to Durban following a morale-boosting victory over the Stormers.

During the Sharks’ break from action, they would have looked closely at some of the problem areas that emerged in a narrow opening-round loss to the Lions – namely their scrum (six were lost) and defence (29 tackles were missed).

However, one can expect the Sharks’ scrum to be much improved as Beast Mtawarira returns to a starting berth, and they would have noted how the Stormers enjoyed complete ascendancy over the Waratahs at this set piece last weekend.

So the Sharks should be confident of enjoying a better return in this area of the game on Saturday, although they will know that the real threat from the Waratahs comes through the Wallabies trio of Bernard Foley, Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau.

It places an onus on the Sharks to ensure that they are defensively cohesive and capable of contending with the aerial strengths of towering Folau, and it is perhaps part of the reason why Kobus van Wyk has been picked on the wing ahead of Makazole Mapimipi.

This will be the Sharks’ penultimate match before heading on a challenging four-week overseas tour, and they should have the necessary motivation and forward firepower to claim a first win of the season.

Stats and facts

• Each of the last six games between these teams has been won by the home team.
• The Sharks have now lost their last two games at home; the last time they lost more in succession was a four-game stretch from May 2009 to February 2010.
• The Waratahs lost both of their games in South Africa in Super Rugby last year; however, they had won four of six games in the country prior.
• The Sharks have conceded just eight tries in their last six home games against Australian opposition, twice keeping their opponents tryless in that period.
• Bernard Foley has crossed for a try in each of his three previous games against the Sharks.

Sharks – 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Ruan Botha (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Curwin Bosch.

Waratahs – 15 Israel Folau, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Curtis Rona, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Michael Wells, 5 Tom Staniforth, 4 Ned Hanigan, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Tom Robertson
Subs: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Kalivati Tawake, 19 Nick Palmer, 20 Will Miller, 21 Mitch Short, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Alex Newsome.

PREVIEW: Super Rugby (Round 3, Part 1)

BULLS vs LIONS (Pretoria, Saturday, 15:05)

Lions coach Swys de Bruin has emphatically stated that the Bulls should be regarded as firm favourites for this clash after their stunning victory over the Hurricanes last weekend.

It’s not an uncommon practice for coaches to deflect pressure in such a manner, but there is an element of substance to his claim when one considers just how the new-look Bulls managed to outplay the Hurricanes.

According to Opta Stats, the Bulls made 448m to 354m, 125 carries to 87 and 152 passes to 116, while their set-piece and defensive work was solid. It was also notable how the Bulls used a short-passing game to shift the point of contact and at times baffle the Canes’ defence.

De Bruin will have quietly taken note of these changes to the Bulls’ approach, while encouraging his side to continue on a pathway that saw them make 666m through carries against the Jaguares, while beating 49 defenders last weekend.

It should make for an enthralling contest at Loftus.

It will be fascinating to see how Franco Mostert transitions from lock to blindside flank, with his mobility and work rate seeing him entrusted with a new role in the back row.

Besides this notable change up front, the Lions have opted for the ball-carrying power of Rohan Janse van Rensburg in the midfield. The Bulls have understandably made no changes to a winning team.

The Lions have claimed victory in four of their last five games against the Bulls, while winning their last six away from home, but this is the sort of game that could go either way.

Stats and facts 

• The Lions have won four of their last five games against the Bulls, including their last two meetings; they had previously never beaten them as the Lions.
• Each of the Bulls’ last three games against South African opposition has been won by the away team.
• The Lions have won their last six games away from home, and haven’t lost on the road against South African opposition since round 12 in 2015 against the Bulls.
• The Bulls have had one player receive a yellow card in each of their last three games at home; only once in 21 home games prior was a Bulls player on the receiving end of a yellow card.
• Malcolm Marx has crossed for a try once in each of his last three games away from home, within South Africa.

Bulls – 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Subs: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Nic de Jager, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Duncan Matthews.

Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Cyle Brink, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Marco Janse van Vuuren, 22 Harold Vorster, 23 Madosh Tambwe.

JAGUARES vs HURRICANES (Buenos Aires, Saturday, 23:40)

The Hurricanes will still be hurting after a rather humbling defeat to the Bulls last weekend, but this clash will present the perfect opportunity for the 2016 champs to bounce back in style.

Barrett brothers, Beauden and Jordie, are set to return to the starting lineup in two key changes for the Hurricanes, and a dangerous backline will be looking to expose a porous Jaguares defence (75 points have been conceded in two games).

Although the Jaguares have proved to be a competitive force in Argentina, they have now lost their last three games at home, and it’s nigh impossible to see them avoiding another defeat against a smarting Canes side.

Stats and facts

• The only previous meeting between these teams came in round seven in 2016, when the Hurricanes ran out to a 40-22 victory.
• The Jaguares have lost their last three games on home turf and are currently enduring their longest ever losing streak at home.
• The Hurricanes will be looking to avoid opening their campaign with consecutive defeats for the fourth time in the last six Super Rugby seasons.
• The Jaguares have lost six scrums in their last two games, twice as many as they had lost in their previous seven games combined.
• Wes Goosen has scored seven tries in his last six Super Rugby games, crossing at least once in each of those fixtures.

Jaguares – 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Tomas Lezana, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Felipe Arregui.
Subs: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Javier Diaz, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Juan Martin Leguizamon, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Juan Martin Hernandez, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere.

Hurricanes – 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Chris Eves.
Subs: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Fraser Armstrong, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Michael Fatialofa, 20 Blade Thomson, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23 Vince Aso.

SUPERBRU: SA Rugby magazine team’s picks

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images