That's it for our live coverage of this South African derby. Thank you for following along with us.
FULL-TIME: LIONS 38-14 SHARKS. All the Sharks' points came in the final three minutes of the game.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE. 38-14.
TRY, SHARKS, KOLISI. 38-12. Two tries in quick succession see the Sharks finish with a flourish, but it's all too little too late.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE. 38-7.
TRY, SHARKS, HOOKER. 38-5. The big back walks in a simple try against the man-down Lions defence. But the try is nothing more than a consolation.
With time running out, the Sharks are having a go at the Lions tryline in a bid to break their drought.
YELLOW CARD, LIONS, LOMBARD. The Lions are punished for two indiscretions in quick succession.
With the Sharks set to taste defeat here, the Bulls will clinch the South African Shield later today if they beat the Stormers at Loftus.
The Sharks have defending in their own half for more than 70% of this game. That is a telling stat.
CONVERSION, LIONS, JONKER. 38-0.
TRY, LIONS, LOMBARD. 36-0. Lombard is on the end of the final pass after a sequence of offloads and pop passes and superb interplay between the forwards and back.
The Lions are relentless as they look for a sixth try.
The Sharks are looking lethargic here. With 13 minutes remaining, it looks like they'll be unable to dig themselves out of this hole.
Lombard executes the perfect 50/22 kick to give the Lions another attacking platform. The Lions' game management has been impeccable.
Yaw Penxe brings the Sharks close to the tryline with a run down the touchline, but he loses the ball forward and the Lions run it out from deep.
The Lions have the Sharks on the ropes here. The home side are 31-0 up on the scoreboard.
TRY, LIONS, CAIRNS. 29-0. Brilliant from the Lions, they just chipped away at the Sharks defence, forcing an opening for Cairns to streak through and score.
And the Lions have successfully pinged the Sharks back in their own half again.
The Lions forwards have been the MVPs of this match. They've dominated every facet of this encounter.
Every time the Sharks get the upper hand, they make an error. This must be frustrating to watch for the coaches.
The Sharks have brought on Siya Kolisi. Can he inspire the Sharks to a comeback here?
The Sharks are getting a bit of rhythm now. But they still haven't manage to breach the Lions defence when it matters most.
The ball is lost right on the tryline by the Lions and the Sharks launch a counter-attack from behind the poles. They scuttle back in defence, but they illegally play the ball on the ground and concede a penalty.
The Sharks find themselves defending their line once again.
After conceding a try for the first kick off, the Sharks now concede a penalty from the restart. This is not looking great for the Sharks.
TRY, LIONS, KRIEL. 24-0. The Lions create space out side and Kriel slides in to score their fourth of the game.
KICK-OFF: The second half in underway and the news from touchline is that the Sharks will be without their captain for the rest of the game. Lukhanyo Am is now the captain.
HALF-TIME: Lions 19-0 Sharks. That's it for the opening half of the game. The Lions scored three tries, while the Sharks have nothing to show for their efforts.
Can the Sharks get on the scoreboard before the break?
That's a third try for the Lions, but it goes unconverted.
TRY, LIONS, VAN DER MERWE. 19-0. The speedster runs a brilliant angled lined and latches onto the ball to score a brilliant solo try.
But it was no try. And the Sharks clear their lines.
It's all happening, as the Sharks concede a yellow card for cynical play, the referee scolds Mbonambi for back-chatting and then the Lions claim to have scored.
JC Pretorius makes a nuisance of himself at the breakdown and steals the ball for the Lions, although he doesn't appear to have supported his own bodyweight.
After a bit of aerial ping pong, the Sharks decide to take the game to the Lions. This is their best sequence of play so far in the game.
From the 22m drop-out, the Lions go the aerial route and Jordan Hendrikse leaps high to secure possession.
Lombard's penalty kick is wide. The score remains 14-0.
The Sharks clearance is gathered at the back for the Lions and they bring it forward again. And they win a penalty again for a dangerous hit. The penalties are stacking up against the Sharks here.
Mbonambi gets possession back for the Sharks. That will go down as a wasted opportunity for the Lions.
This Lions pack is dominating the Sharks forwards.
The Lions get their penalty and kick to touch.
The referee calls advantage for the Lions and knowing they have a free play, the home side launch via the right touchline.
It's bucketing down at Ellis Park now. The referee calls for a scrum reset and asks the two front rows to engage at a higher level.
The Lions steal possession as the set-piece and hoof it down field. The Sharks return the favour, but the ball rolls dead in the in-goal area.
Lombard gets no distance on his clearance kick. The Sharks will have an attacking lineout just outside the 22.
This is just an all-round scrappy game.
Lombard's grubber kick is blocked, but he gets a second chance and toe's the ball up field.
Bongi Mbonambi drops the ball cold as the rain gets heavier and heavier in Johannesburg.
Lombard is penalised for advancing towards the ball when he should have been retreating.
The Lions front rowers are bossing the scrum battle. They just won another penalty at the set-piece.
The Sharks are in control of their own fate. A win today against the Lions and another win against the same opposition in Durban next week, will see them clinch the South African Shield, regardless of what the Bulls do.
The Sharks need a response here and they need it soon.
CONVERSION, LIONS, LOMBARD. 14-0.
TRY, LIONS, HORN. 12-0. The bulky No 8 crashes over for the Lions.
Here come the Lions again.
The Lions attempt to maul their way over the tryline, but it becomes a bit fractured. The referee awards a penalty to the home side though. They get a second opportunity from a lineout.
The Lions win a penalty and set a 5m lineout. The Sharks be pinged for streaking offside.
And it comes nothing as they lose the ball in contact. Another scrum to the Lions.
Now the Sharks look to transition onto attack through Lukhanyo Am.
CONVERSION, LIONS, LOMBARD. 7-0.
TRY, LIONS, BOTHA. 5-0. The hooker gives the Lions the perfectly start. The hosts capitalised on turnover possession.
After a lot of back and forth between the sides, the Lions have a wonderful attacking opportunity close to the line.
And now Tapiwa Mafura kicks the ball straight into touch, giving the Sharks a scrum.
And Siya Masuku puts the kick off directly into touch. Lions scrum on the halfway line.
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the first half here in Joburg… It's the Lions against the Sharks!
Sharks – 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka (c), 6 Tinotenda Mavesere, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Lappies Labuschagne, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Eduan Keyter.
Lions – 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman. Bench: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Jarod Cairns, 23 Rynardt Jonker.
The Sharks sit comfortably in third place on the table with two wins from their last two matches, while the Lions are languishing in 13th position with three losses and two wins across their last five matches.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the URC clash between the Lions and the Sharks, brought to you live from Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Zebre v Lions, URC, 13:30
