Five battles that will decide coastal derby

FOR 80 minutes tomorrow, the gloves are coming off on the Kings Park battlefield when the Sharks host the Stormers in the return coastal derby in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

- LEIGHTON KOOPMAN

Revenge will be on the minds of the Cape side as they look to return to winning ways in the Durban cauldron (5pm kickoff). For the hosts, a rare opportunity presents itself — the chance to win back-to-back matches over the Stormers for the first time in the URC.

We look at five areas that could shape the outcome of the battle.

LINEOUTS

The Sharks dominated the Stormers in this part of the game and there are probably a couple of players from the visitors that will want to show they are better at lineout time. It was a poor performance on their own throw and the lost balls contributed heavily to last weekend's loss. However, a few lineout steals worked in the favour of the Cape side.

Right now, the plan for the hosts would be to execute the same or even better than last weekend. Maybe if they do, they can spoil more than the five lineouts that they won from the Stormers. That would put the visitors massively on the backfoot. Expect the Sharks to come out firing when the hookers of the visitors throw the ball in the lineout.

ROLLING MAULS