2026 has rolled into town and with it, an explosive Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby clash in Durban to close out the first half of the tournament.
The Lions have enjoyed a good start to the tournament and they will come to Durban looking to get the new year off to the perfect start away from home, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks take confidence from their recent home record and will look to make Hollywoodbets Kings Park a hostile place for their visitors.
Head coach JP Pietersen feels that despite the Christmas break, his team come into this game tracking along really nicely and determined to continue their winning form.
“Training has gone well, the boys feel refreshed after a week off and that has helped,” he said in the lead up to the clash.
Coming into this match off back-to-back Investec Champions Cup and Vodacom United Rugby Championship victories over Saracens and the Vodacom Bulls respectively has lifted spirits and provided the necessary momentum to start the year off on a strong note.
Pietersen did warn, however, that they have to use the confidence they’ve gained to maintain their winning ways.
“Two wins does help, it brings energy and it’s made the group tighter, but we have also identified work-ons which is important for us to grow.
“Two wins means nothing if you don’t back it up and we want to keep working hard and keep going, growing and making the team better.”
Warning about the threat that faces them, he said, “The Lions are in the top eight and it shows in the way they play how good they are. They have a good group of coaching staff that’s been together for a long time, so they have a strong understanding of what they want to do.
“They beat the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus convincingly and could have beaten the DHL Stormers in Cape Town
“It’s going to be a great challenge because South African derbies are unpredictable, they’re physical and we need to prep ourselves for a really physical game.
“We expect the Lions to move the ball around, something we also want to do and play a bit of rugby, and hopefully we can give the fans a good game, a nice entertaining match to come watch.
“We’re really excited for the challenge!”