FULL-TIME, SHARKS 21-25 STORMERS. A very convincing display for the most part from the Stormers, but the Sharks fought back superbly and came oh-so-close… but the injustice for the Sharks of another tight loss. They could be top of the table but for a few unlucky moments each match. Well played to the Stormers though who move up the table after yet another win over the Sharks. Thanks for sharing the action with us and enjoy the rest of your sporting weekend.

HEARTBREAK FOR THE HOME SIDE! The Stormers steal the lineout and the ball is kicked into touch, with the hooter having sounded before the lineout took place.

Stormers win their lineout and drive forward… but they are penalised and the Sharks have a penalty inside their half… and it's driven down to 5m past the Stormers 22.

CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 21-25; Conversion simple but vital… it's now a four-point game. A try and the Sharks have it!

CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 21-25; Conversion simple but vital… it's now a four-point game. A try and the Sharks have it!

TRY, SHARKS, MBONAMBI! 19-25; Mbonambi does a pick and dive over the top of the pile of bodies and over for the score. Incredile pressure from the home side well rewarded.

Sharks win their lineout and roll forward towards the line… they are parked on the line, bodies everywhere…

… Mapimpi and Mbonambi combine 7m short of the Stormers line on the left touchline… Sharks maintain possession and win a penalty.

Sharks pressing around the Stormers 10m… Andrews get the ball and breaks the line and is brought to ground, but the Sharks keep the momentum going…

PENALTY, STORMERS, FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU! 14-25; Easy as you like from just right of the posts.

INTERCEPT! Loaded positions himself well to snatch a Sharks pass and then drives downfield when he is closed down by three Sharks… but there's a high tackle and an offside so the Stormers will kick this for points.

Zas is brought back into play and the Sharks have lost their one-man advantage.

DRAMA! The Sharks with a brilliant driving run up the right, Masuku with a brilliant drive through the Stormers before laying it off to Dyantyi, on the touchline, but he can't hold it and it's out for a lineout… with the tryline beckoning. So frustrating for the home side.

Stormers with possession driving forward but the Sharks manage to collect the ball near the line and clear the danger.

CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 14-22; No problem from in line with the right post.

YELLOW CARD, STORMERS, ZAS. Deliberate knock-on… and the Sharks have 10 minutes to right back with a man advantage.

TRY, SHARKS, VENTER! 12-22; Venter rounds off superb pressure from the Sharks and crashes over, and mostly into, the right post cushion. Great, great pressure from the Sharks and amazing defence from the Stormers, but the home side aren't giving this match away easily in front of a large home crowd.

TRY, SHARKS, VENTER! 12-22; Venter rounds off superb pressure from the Sharks and crashes over, and mostly into, the right post cushion. Great, great pressure from the Sharks and amazing defence from the Stormers, but the home side aren't giving this match away easily in front of a large home crowd.

Sharks win the line and press, press, press on the Stormers 5m line. The Stormers are defending like crazy, two breaks throughs are held up short of the line…

Sharks press back into the Stormers 22, win a penalty and quick close to the 5m for a lineout.

Sharks with a great running move into the Stormers half, passing and moving quickly… there's a chip to the edge of the Stormers 22 but it's well collected and cleared upfield.

Sharks power back at the Stormers, driving up to their 5m… they spread the ball wide and it's taken into the right corner, but incredible defence from the Stormers stops what looked like a certain try, Gelant in particular with great work in defence.

CONVERSION, STORMERS, FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU! 7-22; Superb conversion from the right touchline gives the Stormers a lot of wiggle room.

TRY, STORMERS, FOUCHE! 7-20; TMO rules it was a try. Super team effort.

YOU CAN'T STOP ME! Fouche gets the ball near the halfway line and powers through a few tackles, lays it off for a team-mate who continues the movement… the ball is laid out wide to Zulu who powers over in the corner… but the ref has asked the TMO to check it out.

ENOUGH! The ref blows for a penalty for the Stormers, who clear the danger upfield.

Both sides are struggling to get the scrum to work…

Lovely driving run from the Sharks down the right wing, but the Stormers defence holds tight and brings the attack to its knees just inside their 22, the Stormers winning the scrum feed.

SUBSTITUTION, SHARKS. Mbatha makes way for Mbonambi.

Sharks press up again but the Stormers counter-attack up the right wing, before being forced into touch on the Sharks 10m.

Superb start from the Sharks, driving up the right flank, Werner Kok doing good work but the Stormers win a penalty and clear the danger.

KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half, it's the Sharks 7, Stormers 15…

HALF-TIME, SHARKS 7-15 STORMERS. Some great play from a very dominant Stormers side, but the Sharks have fought back well and are looking dangerous. We should be in for a busy second half here at King' Park.

GREAT RUN from Mapimpi breaking through the Stormers line before feeding to Bosch, who carries it into the 22 before being dumped hard by the Stormers defence. Superb play and unlucky not to score.

Sharks driving hard into the Stormers half looking for a gap to exploit.

Sharks with good pressure but the Stormers are defending well.

PENALTY, STORMERS, FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU! 7-15; Nice kick from the Stormers centre after the visitors win a penalty and choose to stretch their lead ahead of half-time.

CONVERSION, SHARKS, BOSCH! 7-12; No problem with the conversion from just to the right of the poles.

TRY, SHARKS, NCHE! 5-12; Ox Nche picks and goes from one metre out, but he forces himself over to press down, altho it needed a check from the TMO to confirm he had pressure on the ball. Lovely fightback from the hosts.

Superb running and handling from the Sharks takes them deep into the Stormers 22… they're pressing in the 5m and win a penalty, it's taken quickly and the Sharks push hard for the line…

Stormers win the ball and clear from the back of the maul, but the kick doesn't find touch and Fassi drive back at the Stormers, making great ground.

Sharks win the ball and drive across the tryline, but they are blown for a knock-on as the ball was brought down in the lineout. Stormers with the scrum on their 5m.

Sharks pull themselves together and drive hard into the Stormers 22, where there win a penalty. It's kicked into touch for a 5m lineout…

CONVERSION, STORMERS, FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU! 0-12; Feinberg-Mngomezulu taps it over nonchalantly from right under the poles.

TRY, STORMERS, DE WET! 0-10; Stormers win the turnover and press forward at the Sharks, Gelant with a chip over the top and it bounces well for him, he feeds it left to De Wet who sprints 30m to dive over under the poles, despite the close attentions of the Sharks defence. Superb play from the visitors.

Stormers drive forward to the Sharks 10, where the Sharks win a scrum.

Mngomezulu fails with his conversion from the right touchline, the ball curling across the posts.

TRY, STORMERS, DWEBA! 0-5; Dweba with a great supporting run, collects the ball and drives towards the corner flag where he breaks through a tackle and rolls over for the opening score!

Superb crossfield kick from Matthee finds the wing, who combines well inside. Stormers then press right and then back left… they run the line… Zulu with a cross kick to the wing, who is caught but stands firm and waits for Dweba to power through in support…

Sharks win ball back and press up the left touchline, but the Stormers close them down, winning a lineout but electing to scrum.

Sharks win a scrum just outside their 22, win it and Bosch kicks low and hard upfield… but it's directly out, so the Stormers can pressure from a lineout just ahead of the Sharks 22.

Sharks clear the danger from the lineout but the Stormers pour back on attack in to the Sharks 22.

Stormers win the ball back and press again into the 22, driving hard for the corner flag but Roets plows Fouche out of play as he looked to dot down. Superb defence by the Sharks.

Lovely to see the players all wearing their school socks as a way to promote schools rugby tradition… as if they need it in South Africa!

Lovely to see the players all wearing their school socks as a way to promote schools rugby tradition… as if they need it in South Africa!

Stormers win the lineout, drive hard at the Sharks who hold them up, only to be penalised with another penalty for collapsing the maul. Kick from the 5m for a 5m for a Stormers lineout.

Stormers win the ball and drive and ruck across the tryline all the way to 15m from the right touchline. They win a penalty and kick for a 5m lineout… incredible early pressure from the visitors.

Great early drive by the Stormers up into the Sharks 22 and win a lineout on the 5m…

KICK-OFF! We're underway with the first half!

Our referee for today is Morne Ferreira from South Africa, and he will be assisted by an all-South African team of Cwengile Jadezweni and Stephan Geldenhuys running the lines, while Ben Crous will have his eye on the TMO screen.

Stormers: Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Angelo Davids.

Sharks: Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

The Stormers have won all five of their last five matches. Their last two matches saw them win 31-24 against Sale Sharks and 20-24 over Stade Francais Paris.

The Sharks have lost three of their last five matches, although the positive is that their two wins are in their last two matches: a 38-7 win over US Oyonnax, followed by a 29-9 win over.

The Stormers lead the head-to-head count, winning four of their last five clashes against the Sharks, along with a 22-22 draw in 2022.

The Stormers have won five of their nine matches, losing four, to total 26 points. They've scored 213 points to 163 conceded, with 26 tries to 22.

Last season the Stormers failed narrowly to defend their URC title, losing to Munster in the final. This season the Stormers are in 8th place, which is playoff territory… but there are three teams within two points of them.

The Sharks are bottom of the table after nine matches, with just one win and eight crushing defeats. They have run most of their opponents close, with 173 points scored to 206 conceded… that works out to less than four points difference in every match. You break to be bottom of the table. AND… they have scored 23 tries to 25, so there is plenty to be positive about (aside from their place on the table!).

The Sharks will be looking to earn revenge after losing to the Stormers 16-15 in Cape Town late in December. That was the last action for both sides ahead of the summer break… but it's action stations again, with both teams needing lots and lots of wins.

Our referee for today is Morne Ferreira from South Africa, and he will be assisted by an all-South African team of Cwengile Jadezweni and Stephan Geldenhuys running the lines, while Ben Crous will have his eye on the TMO screen.

Stormers: Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Angelo Davids.

Sharks: Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

It's a very good afternoon from Kings Park Stadium in Durban for the United Rugby Championship clash between the Sharks and the visiting Stormers.