Leo Cullen’s Leinster aim to maintain their position at the top of the URC table as they take on Sharks in South Africa.
The league leaders have won twelve of their thirteen games and will be looking to regather their form following the conclusion of the Six Nations.
The game will be shown live on RTE Two and will be streamed on the RTE Player, kick-off is at 5.15pm.
Sharks will provide plenty of the bite as they reside in fourth spot with nine wins but do sit fourteen points off the summit.
Head Coach, Cullen, has made eight changes from the side that lost at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria for the clash at King's Stadium in Durban (5.15pm kick-off), with Max Deegan captaining the side and academy scrum-half Fintan Gunne making his first start after eleven appearances off the bench.
"Sharks are very aggressive in the air and they get a lot of reward, they kick the ball a fair bit from 9," he said.
"The temperature will be around 27 but it doesn't really paint the picture of the humidity. It’s very, very sweaty, so handling can be a challenge. They also have (former Leinster lock) Jason Jenkins in their ranks, so he’ll have an idea of what we are trying to do."
Fionn Nolan
Fulltime! Sharks 7-10 Leinster
Victory for Leinster after holding the ball up. A tight game ends in a three-point win for Leo Cullen's side and you can see the joy in the celebrations.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 7-10 Leinster
80' Time running out for Sharks but they win a penalty for a Leinster offside.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 7-10 Leinster
75' 15 minutes to go in South Africa, still not much between the teams heading into crunch time.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 7-10 Leinster
65' The referee has again expressed his discontent with the scrums of both teams and has another word with the players.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 7-10 Leinster
59' The players get a few seconds of respite during the second half. Ciaran Frawley done well to hold up a deep Sharks run. Despite a good away performance, there's just three points in it with just over 20 minutes to go in Durban.
Fionn Nolan
The Mbonambi try
53' Sharks 7-10 Leinster
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 29, 2025
Bongi Mbonambi gets the hosts right back in it - watch the action now on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/PLK01n6uO3
Fionn Nolan
The Penny try
48' Sharks 0-10 Leinster
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 29, 2025
Ciaran Frawley finishes off a fine Leinster move - live now on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/RO6io7tiLE
Fionn Nolan
Try! Sharks 7-10 Leinster
Sharks back in it, they get the ball in from a line-out and Bongi Mbonambi divers over the line, and the kick goes over. All of a sudden, there's three points in the game.
Fionn Nolan
Try! Sharks 0-10 Leinster
Leinster breakthrough for a second try. Scott Penny gets in behind after some quick passing. Frawley's kick hits the woodwork and misses from a scoring position.
Fionn Nolan
Back underway! Sharks 0-5 Leinster
Leinster start the second half.
Fionn Nolan
Halftime! Sharks 0-5 Leinster
Players have to be separated after an O'Brien tackle but the hafltime whistle has gone.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-5 Leinster
39' Sharks so close to the line but Leinster do so well to stop the wave of attack and get themselves a penalty just before the halftime whistle.
Fionn Nolan
The McErlean try
20' Sharks 0-5 Leinster
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 29, 2025
Henry McErlean gets over for the visitors who've come through a period of intense pressure to gain a foothold in this contest (live now on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer) #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/Fj2DZh3mRW
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-5 Leinster
28' Leinster close to a second try but Frawley's throw across is cut out by a Sharks defender.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-5 Leinster
25' Sharks looking to get back into it but Leinster are working hard to hold onto the ball.
Fionn Nolan
Try! Sharks 0-5 Leinster
19' Substitute Henry McErlean puts down for a try and it is awarded after checking for a forward kick. Frawley puts the kick wide.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-0 Leinster
19' Yellow card for Jaden Hendrikse. Sharks down to 14 players for kicking the ball out of Leinster hands.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-0 Leinster
17' Leinster trying to work a scoring position as Ciaran Frawley kicks across the Sharks defence line but the ball is eventually worked back to the middle where the away side take a penalty.
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-0 Leinster
9' The captains are called to have a word with the referee as tempers slightly fray with some pushing and shoving between Emile van Heerden and John McKee. Almost ten minutes played.
Emile van Heerden
Fionn Nolan
Sharks 0-0 Leinster
5' Sharks pushing close to the try line in the opening moments and they've wracked up three penalties with a warning going to Leinster.
Fionn Nolan
Underway!
Sharks kick the game underway, the home side in black and the travelling side in light blue and white.
Fionn Nolan
Results
This weekend’s result so far:
Ulster 38-34 Stormers
Edinburgh 38-5 Dragons
Bulls 63-24 Zebre
Connacht 24-30 Munster
Scarlets 38-22 Ospreys
Fionn Nolan
Almost time!
Kick-off in a few minutes.
Fionn Nolan
Betting odds
Sharks 1/6
Draw 50/1
Leinster 7/2
Fionn Nolan
Sharks team
Penxe, Hooker, Julius, Esterhuizen, Mapimpi, Hendrikse, Hendrikse, Nche, Mbonambi, Koch, Jenkins, van Heerden, Venter, V Tshituka, Kolisi (captain). Replacements:Mbatha, Mchunu, Dreyer, Rahl, M Tshituka, Davids, Masuku, Venter.
Fionn Nolan
Leinster team
J O’Brien, T O’Brien, Turner, Tector, Osborne, Frawley, Gunne; Healy, McKee, Clarkson, Mangan, Deeny, Soroka, Connors, Deegan (captain). Replacements: Barron, Milne, McGuire, Spicer, Penny, Coffey, Byrne, McErlean.
Fionn Nolan
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to today's live blog of Sharks vs Leinster in URC action at Kings Park Stadium. Can Leo Cullen's side continue their ruthless run in this year's league table? Can the South African host's cut the gap at the top? We'll have team news and more coming up ahead of today's kick-off at 5.45pm.
