URC 2025/26 · Round 18
Sharks
Zebre Parma
Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Championship Standings
Sharks sit 10th on 41 points — mathematically alive but realistically out of the playoff race with one round left and Munster (8th, 51) ten points clear. Zebre are anchored to 16th on 15 points, a −240 points difference that is 109 worse than any other side, and have already been eliminated for months. The fixture matters for pride, points difference, and a Sharks home season send-off — not for seeding.
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 13 | 5 | +141 | 64 |
| 2 |  Stormers | 18 | 12 | 5 | +160 | 59 |
| 3 |  Leinster | 17 | 11 | 6 | +91 | 58 |
| 4 |  Bulls | 17 | 11 | 6 | +134 | 54 |
| 5 |  Cardiff | 18 | 11 | 7 | −19 | 54 |
| 6 |  Lions | 17 | 10 | 6 | +66 | 53 |
| 7 |  Connacht | 18 | 10 | 8 | +47 | 53 |
| 8 |  Munster | 17 | 10 | 7 | +13 | 51 |
| 9 |  Ulster | 18 | 9 | 8 | +74 | 50 |
| 10 | Sharks | 17 | 7 | 9 | +4 | 41 |
| 11 |  Ospreys | 17 | 7 | 8 | −24 | 39 |
| 12 |  Edinburgh | 18 | 7 | 11 | −77 | 38 |
| 13 |  Benetton | 17 | 6 | 9 | −140 | 33 |
| 14 |  Scarlets | 17 | 4 | 12 | −99 | 25 |
| 15 |  Dragons | 17 | 3 | 11 | −131 | 25 |
| 16 | Zebre Parma | 17 | 2 | 15 | −240 | 15 |
Sharks
W2, L3Two thumping home wins (45–0 over Munster, 46–7 over Benetton) bookended by two narrow defeats on the European leg of the tour — 21–17 at Ospreys and 33–28 at Edinburgh. The pattern is unmistakable: this Sharks side is two completely different teams home and away. At Kings Park they have averaged 37 points per game in 2026 and conceded 7.3; on the road they have shipped late tries in tight finishes. Zebre arrive in Durban as a fixture custom-built for the home version of John Plumtree's side.
Zebre Parma
W0, L5Five losses in five and just shipped 54 at Loftus last weekend — a tour leg that started with hope of an upset against the Dragons and has unravelled into a full collapse. The two single-point defeats (Edinburgh, Dragons at home) are the cruel margin between competitive and broken; the back-to-back hammerings either side of them tell the truer story. Massimo Brunello rolls into Durban with a thin squad on the second leg of a South African swing, having scored 96 and conceded 168 across the five-game stretch.
Head-to-Head Record
4 – 0 – 1
Sharks wins · Draws · Zebre wins (last 5 URC meetings)
Sharks (4)Sharks lead the URC head-to-head 4–1, with the only Zebre win a 12–10 grind in Parma in November 2023. The two most recent meetings have been tight — 35–34 at Kings Park in March 2025 and 42–37 in Parma in September 2022 — but the Durban venue record is emphatic: three wins from three, with 47–3, 38–6 and 35–34 on the board. Zebre have never won in South Africa against the Sharks.
Recent Results
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | URC | Sharks 35–34 Zebre |
| Apr 2024 | URC | Sharks 47–3 Zebre |
| Nov 2023 | URC | Zebre 12–10 Sharks |
| Sep 2022 | URC | Zebre 37–42 Sharks |
| Mar 2022 | URC | Sharks 38–6 Zebre |
Average score in the last 6 meetings: Sharks 34 – Zebre 18 across five URC meetings. At Kings Park specifically, Sharks have averaged 40–14 across three home games — a 26-point average margin that bakes in the one-score thriller last March.
Extended Form
Sharks7W, 1D, 9L (URC season)
URC wins this season — Stormers 30–19 (A), Stormers 36–24 (H), Munster 45–0 (H), Cardiff 21–15 (H), Scarlets 29–19 (H), Bulls 21–12 (H, Dec), Benetton 46–7 (H). Draw — Dragons 17–17 (A). Defeats — Glasgow 35–19 (A), Leinster 31–5 (A), Ulster 26–34 (H), Connacht 44–17 (A), Lions 23–22 (A, Jan), Lions 34–22 (A, Feb), Bulls 41–12 (A), Ospreys 21–17 (A), Edinburgh 33–28 (A).
Six of seven URC wins have come at Kings Park — the home record is the spine of this season. The 45–0 demolition of Munster and the 46–7 destruction of Benetton (last weekend) are the kind of statement performances that say this group is capable of more than 10th place suggests. The away record, however, is dire: one win in nine on the road in the URC. Zebre away has historically been a banker — until last March's 35–34 squeaker — but this is in Durban, where the Sharks have not slipped.
Zebre Parma2W, 15L (URC season)
URC wins — Lions 22–20 (Oct, H), Edinburgh 31–28 (Sep, H). Defeats include Bulls 54–19 (A), Dragons 18–19 (H), Edinburgh 31–30 (A), Ulster 12–28 (H), Scarlets 36–17 (A), Munster 21–7 (A), Connacht 31–15 (H), Glasgow 47–10 (A), Benetton 23–37 (H), Benetton 21–15 (A), Cardiff 29–14 (H), Leinster 50–26 (A), Stormers 31–13 (H), Ospreys 24–0 (A).
Two wins from seventeen, both at home in September/October. Zebre have not won an away URC fixture in this entire season, and the −240 points difference is the worst in the league by 109. The single-point heartbreak at Edinburgh and against the Dragons at home are reminders that the talent is not zero — but on the second leg of an SA tour, off a 54-point hiding at Loftus, this team has nothing left.
Sharks XV
Sharks XV not yet announced. John Plumtree is expected to roll out a near full-strength side for the home season finale — Springbok front-row of Ntuthuko Mchunu, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth at lock, with Siya Kolisi captaining the back row alongside Phepsi Buthelezi. Expect Grant Williams and Jaden Hendrikse at halfback, and a back-three of Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok and Ethan Hooker with the pace to expose Zebre's defensive line.
Zebre Parma XV
Zebre XV not yet announced. Massimo Brunello faces a near-impossible selection puzzle on the second leg of a South African tour with a thin squad. Expect Geronimo Prisciantelli or Jacopo Trulla at fly-half, captain Giovanni Pettinelli leading the back row, and senior heads like Andrea Zambonin and Luca Krumov in the engine room. Several Italian internationals may rest with the summer tour incoming.
Key Matchups
There is no positional matchup where Zebre carry an edge — a clean sweep on paper, even against a Sharks side that has rotated heavily through the European leg. The Springbok-laden front-row against a Zebre scrum that conceded multiple penalties at Loftus a week ago is the platform-setter; Mbonambi and Koch will look to win penalties inside ten minutes. Out wide, Aphelele Fassi has the gas to punish anything loose from a Zebre back-three that has conceded 240 points more than it has scored. The only path for the visitors involves Garbisi pinning Sharks deep and forcing turnover ball — and even that has not worked once on the road this season.
Match Forecast
Every dimension on the scorecard tilts toward the Sharks, and seven of seven sit at +3 or above. The 46–7 demolition of Benetton last weekend is the template — a Kings Park crowd, a Springbok-spine pack, and an attack that has averaged 37 points per home game in 2026 against a Zebre side that just shipped 54 at Loftus and has not won an away URC fixture this season. The H2H baseline is brutal: 3-from-3 at Kings Park averaging 40–14. There is no plausible route to a Zebre win.
The variables are how big and whether the bonus point arrives before the hour. Sharks have history of switching off in the third quarter when results are decided — last March's 35–34 nail-biter against this same Zebre side at this same venue is the cautionary tale. Expect a fast start, four tries banked by the 55th minute, and an easing-off that lets Zebre score a consolation try or two. Anything less than a 30-point margin would be a quiet underperformance.
Sharks four-try bonus by the hour and 45-plus on the scoreboard — Zebre's tour ends as it began, outclassed and out of fuel.