Rugby
URC: Bulls vs Sharks Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: February 15, 2025 Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium Kickoff Time: 17:00 (SAST) We have two South African teams going up against each other. It’s arguably one of the most competitive matches in the world. Not many other teams have World Cup winners on both sides of the field. The Bulls play the Sharks in a URC match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, 15 February 2025. SportsBoom is talking about the Bulls and the Sharks, and we’re also speaking about the top-rated rugby betting sites. Read our in-depth match preview before betting on the URC.
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The Bulls currently sit in third place on the URC table with 35 points from nine matches played which includes seven wins and two defeats. Meanwhile, the Sharks occupy 4th position with 29 points from nine matches played which includes six victories and three losses.
Hollywoodbets sponsors the Sharks. Meanwhile, World Sports Betting sponsors the Bulls. This makes this match an interesting game between two popular online betting sites. It’s Hollywoodbets vs World Sports Betting. You’ll notice the logos of these two brands on the kits of both teams.
The Pretoria-based team have won three out of their last five matches played against the Sharks. However, it’s important to note that all their victories came at Loftus Versfeld - which is the venue for Saturday’s game. The Sharks have won two out of their last five matches against the Bulls. However, their two victories came in Durban.
The most recent match between the teams ended in a thrilling 20-17 victory for the Sharks. Springbok scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse scored a try for the home team in this match. Cobus Wiese and Harold Vorster both scored a five-pointer for the Bulls. This game took place on the 21st of December 2024.
PRE-GAME ODDS AND WIN PROBABILITY
BULLS FAVOURITES
We’ve researched top online betting sites with competitive odds for the Bulls vs the Sharks. Be sure to check out the below odds from leading South African bookmaker Betway.
Home: 3/10 (1.30) - 76,9%
Draw: 24/1 (25) - 4%
Away: 31/10 (4.10) - 24,4%
*Odds courtesy of Betway, subject to change.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Last Five Games (URC)
21/12/24: Sharks 20-17 Bulls
02/12/23: Bulls 44-10 Sharks
31/12/22: Sharks 47-20 Bulls
30/10/22: Bulls 40-27 Sharks
04/06/22: Bulls 30-27 Sharks
BULLS: CURRENT FORM – WWWLL
The Bulls head into this game against the Sharks on the back of three wins on the trot. They edged the Stormers 33-32 on the 8th of February 2025. They also beat the Lions 35-22 and smashed Stade Francais 48-7. The Bulls have recorded consistent victories against South African opposition this season. However, their last defeat against opposition from the Rainbow Nation was against the Sharks. The Bulls are tough to beat at Loftus Versfeld. They often grow an extra arm and leg at this historic venue.
BULLS TEAM NEWS
Ruan Nortje and Johan Goosen are recovering from injuries, and they are only expected to return to action in April. Springbok loose forward Elrigh Louw is out with a long-term injury. These stalwarts will be missed. However, the Bulls have good depth throughout the squad to cover for these players.
SHARKS TEAM NEWS
| Name of Player | Injury and Status |
| Andre Esterhuizen | Underwent surgery on his knee. Recovery is in progress and the knee is healing well. |
| Aphelele Fassi | Underwent surgery on his ankle. Recovery is in progress and the ankle is healing well. |
| Eben Etzebeth | Suffered a return of symptoms of his recent concussion. Eben is being managed by concussion specialists. He will be cleared to return once they are fully satisfied that his injury has completely resolved. |
| Emile van Heerden | Underwent surgery on his knee. Recovery is in progress and the knee is healing well. |
| Emmanuel Tshituka | Dislocated big toe. Being managed conservatively and recovery in progress. |
| Fez Mbatha | Lower limb stress fracture. Being treated conservatively and recovery in progress. |
| Gerbrandt Grobler | Underwent surgery on his foot. Recovery in progress and the foot is healing well. |
| James Venter | Tear of chest wall muscle. Being treated conservatively and recovery in progress. |
| Ox Nche | Tear of upper arm muscle. Being treated conservatively and recovery in progress. |
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Willie le Roux, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi (TBC), 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
SUGGESTED BETS
Total Tries - Over 5.5: The Bulls and Sharks both have spectacular attacking ability. South African derbies at Loftus Versfeld and previous matches between these two teams have been high-scoring. We expect plenty of tries in this match. *Odds not available at the time of writing.
Total Points - Over 54.5: Three out of the last five matches between the Bulls and the Sharks have produced over 54.5 points. This is rugby entertainment at its finest! *Odds not available at the time of writing.
Odd/Even Match Points - Odd: Four out of the last five matches between these great rivals have ended with an odd number of points scored. (43/50 with Betway) (83/100 with 1Win)
VALUE BETS
Canan Moodie - Anytime Try Scorer: The electric winger has scored four tries for the Bulls throughout the URC season. Canan Moodie is always a good bet as an Anytime Try Scorer. *Odds not available at the time of writing.
Willie le Roux - Anytime Try Scorer: The experienced Springbok fullback has been a revelation for the Bulls. Willie le Roux pulls the strings in conducting the attack for his team. He is the best player in the world at joining the attacking line and this often leads to a try. *Odds not available at the time of writing.
Grant Williams - Anytime Try Scorer: The nippy Sharks scrum-half often finds the half gap and beats his defender for pace. He also has a good offload and likes to run with the ball. *Odds not available at the time of writing.
PREDICTION: BULLS TO WIN
This is a big game. It’s a tough prediction to make. Based on past results either team can win this match on their day. However, past fixtures show us that results tend to go the way of the home team. On this occasion, the Bulls are playing at their fortress of Loftus Versfeld. We’ve drawn up a player rating comparison. This ranking table looks at key stats for both the Bulls and the Sharks throughout the URC season. This table will help you understand how we arrived at our prediction for this game.
BULLS PLAYERS VS SHARKS PLAYERS: FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RANKING TABLE
| Bulls | Key Stats | Position | Sharks | Key Stats | Winner |
| Devon Williams | • 150 metres gained • 19 carries • 387 kick metres | 15. Fullback | Jordan Hendrikse | • 1 try • 289 metres gained • 652 kick metres | Sharks |
| Canan Moodie | • 4 tries • 465 metres gained • 30 successful carries | 14. Right wing | Yaw Penxe | • 2 tries • 130 metres gained • 6 successful carries | Bulls |
| David Kriel | • 3 tries • 273 metres gained • 11 defenders beaten | 13. Outside centre | Jurenzo Julius | • 2 tries • 140 metres gained • 17 defenders beaten | Bulls |
| Harold Vorster | • 2 tries • 35 carries • 17 successful carries | 12. Inside centre | Ethan Hooker | • 2 tries • 43 carries • 25 successful carries | Sharks |
| Sergeal Petersen | • 94 metres gained • 5 clean breaks •13 carries | 11. Left wing | Makazole Mapimpi (TBC) | • 2 tries • 412 metres gained • 44 carries | Sharks |
| Willie le Roux | • 80 metres gained • 1347 kick metres • 46 kicks in play | 10. Flyhalf | Siya Masuku | • 130 metres gained • 666 kick metres • 26 kicks in play | Bulls |
| Embrose Papier | • 2 tries • 190 metres gained • 13 offloads | 9. Scrum-half | Grant Williams | • 2 tries • 107 metres gained • 2 offloads | Sharks |
| Cameron Hanekom | • 1 try • 357 metres gained • 23 defenders beaten | 8. Number eight | Nick Hatton | • 0 tries • 28 metres gained • 0 defenders beaten | Bulls |
| Reinhardt Ludwig | • 1 try • 56 tackles • 96% tackle success | 7. Flanker | Emmanuel Tshituka | • 0 tries • 58 tackles • 82% tackle success | Sharks |
| Marcell Coetzee | • 1 try • 49 carries • 61 tackles | 6. Flanker | Phepsi Buthelezi | • 0 tries • 47 carries •76 tackles | Bulls |
| JF van Heerden | • 25 carries • 2 offloads • 43 tackles | 5. Lock | Jason Jenkins | • 31 carries • 1 offload • 55 tackles | Sharks |
| Cobus Wiese | • 3 tries • 62 carries •2 lineout steals won | 4. Lock | Vincent Tshituka | • 2 tries • 50 carries • 2 lineout steals won | Sharks |
| Wilco Louw | • 22 carries • 32 tackles • 1 turnover won | 3. Tighthead prop | Trevor Nyakane | • 19 carries • 34 tackles • 1 turnover won | Sharks |
| Johann Grobbelaar | • 1 try • 72 tackles • 52 lineouts won | 2. Hooker | Bongi Mbonambi | • 2 tries • 29 tackles • 19 lineouts won | Sharks |
| Jan-Hendrik Wessels | • 1 try • 30 metres gained • 10 carries | 1. Loosehead prop | Ntuthuko Mchunu | • 1 try • 50 metres gained • 23 carries | Sharks |
| Jake White | • 2007 Rugby World Cup winner as head coach of the Springboks • Big emphasis on discipline • Structured gameplan with big ball carriers • Securing possession and turnovers at the breakdown | Head coach | John Plumtree | • Innovative attack minded coach • Previously coached teams in Super Rugby • Coached New Zealand teams | Bulls |
| Stadium (counts as two scores) | • Loftus Versfeld | Bulls | |||
| Bulls score | • 8 | ||||
| Sharks score | • 10 |
• 10 carries
As you can see from the above table, we expect a close contest. On paper, the Sharks have a slightly better rating of ten points than the Bulls’ eight. However, it is so close that either team can win this match on their day. Even though our rating system on paper shows us that the Sharks have a better team, we have a feeling that the Bulls might just edge this game.
BULLS VS SHARKS: TEAM RANKING TABLE
This table shows us the performance of the Bulls and the Sharks as a team and not as individual players. Some teams have the best players in the world. However, they’re not able to gel as a team. Team performance can sometimes trump individual performances.
| Bulls | vs | Sharks | Winner |
| 250 | Points scored | 245 | Bulls |
| 33 | Tries scored | 30 | Bulls |
| 89 | Offloads | 85 | Bulls |
| 3504 | Metres gained | 3379 | Bulls |
| 158 | Defenders beaten | 195 | Sharks |
| 67 | Clean breaks | 75 | Sharks |
| 1175 | Tackles made | 1294 | NA |
| 78 | Tackle success% | 79 | Sharks |
| 166 | Total tackles missed | 174 | Bulls |
| 119 | Turnovers lost | 132 | Bulls |
| 62 | Turnovers won | 43 | Bulls |
| 11 | Penalties scored/missed | 13 | Sharks |
| 26 | Conversions scored/missed | 27 | Sharks |
| 0 | Drop goals scored/missed | 0 | Even |
| 258 | Kicks from hand | 193 | Bulls |
| 40 | Kicks retained | 43 | Sharks |
| 2 | Tries from kicks | 3 | Sharks |
| 7221 | Kick metres | 4626 | Bulls |
| 7 | Yellow cards | 5 | Sharks |
| 3 | Red cards | 0 | Sharks |
| 91 | Penalties conceded | 90 | Sharks |
| 16 | Scrum offences | 27 | Bulls |
| 11 | Lineout offences | 3 | Sharks |
| 110 | Lineouts won | 81 | Bulls |
| 24 | Lineouts lost | 11 | Sharks |
| 82 | Lineout success% | 88 | Sharks |
| 13 | Lineout steals | 9 | Bulls |
| 53 | Scrums won/lost | 52 | Even |
| 94 | Scrums won% | 88 | Bulls |
| 16 | Scrum penalties won | 12 | Bulls |
| Bulls score | 16 | ||
| Sharks score | 13 |
SPORTSBOOM’S PLAYER RATING AND TEAM RANKING CONCLUSION
Bulls win on the team score. Sharks win on the player score method. The combined total of the team score and the player score for the Bulls is 24 points. The combined total for the Sharks is 23 points. The Bulls just edge this game thanks to home-ground advantage and their superior team score.
Josh has over ten years of experience as a sports writer. He has worked for some of the biggest and most well known sports betting companies in the world. Josh is passionate about creating disruptive work. He is also great at creating brand stories that resonate with sports fans. Josh has a keen eye for detail, stats, analytics, and creativity. He also excels at breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand sentences.
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