Bulls v Sharks: Every log point earned now is crucial

The Bulls will be looking to get one over the Sharks after their hard-to-swallow loss in Durban in December, while the Sharks wish to close the gap on their Pretoria rivals on the United Rugby Championship (URC) points table come their match at Loftus on Saturday.

The Bulls and Sharks sit third and fourth on the URC table respectively, though they both have a game in hand over Glasgow and Leinster above them.

The Sharks are still six points off the Bulls so a bonus-point win would still not be enough to catch them. Still, every point counts as teams approach the final third of the tournament.

A win could however take them to the top of the South African shield should the Lions beat the Stormers.

Bulls and Sharks name strong sides

Much has been said about how the Bulls dominated the scrums against the Stormers last week and the Lions the week before, while the Durban side named an all-Springbok front row and countered that they will be looking for a “complete performance” against the Bulls.

Bulls director of rugby Jake White named an unchanged backline but Cameron Hanekom, Cobus Wiese and Marcell Coetzee all sit out this week.

The relatively less experienced Reinhardt Ludwig and Vincent Tshituka act as captains while Ruan Nortje and Coetzee sit out for the Bulls and Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth miss out for the Sharks.

Bulls director of rugby Jake White said he was tempted to make Nizaam Carr captain again after he led the side in their loss to Castres Olympique, but he wasn’t sure how the combinations would look when Coetzee returns.

“I know for a fact Reinhardt will be around for the rest of the season based on the fact that he can play lock and loose forward,” White said.

“He’s got the respect of the players. He’ll be helped by Nizaam, Willie [le Roux] and Harold Vorster and others. I am very comfortable that he knows what we want to get out of tomorrow.”

Sharks prop Trevor Nyakane said it had been good to see younger players such as Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Hooker and Corne Rahl step up for the injury-depleted Sharks.

“The progress they are making is amazing and the energy they inject into the older guys is infectious,” the Springbok veteran said.

Both teams are in good form

The Bulls are on a three-game winning streak, having beaten the Stormers 33–32 and the Lions 35–22 in the URC after their 48–7 thumping of Stade Francais in the Champions Cup.

The Sharks have only had one game since their own three-game losing streak. But this was an impressive 42–22 bonus-point win to Cardiff – a team that sits one place below them at fifth on the URC log – in Wales.

The Sharks won the first derby against the Bulls 20–17 at Kings Park Stadium on 21 December.

Head-to-head, each side has won two of their last five games against each other. They also drew 40–40 in the Currie Cup in September last year.