Vodacom Bulls captain Elrigh Louw said the Sharks have developed a lot since 2023 and that Saturday will be a big test for the men from Pretoria.
"This year the Sharks are really gelling as a team, last season it was a bit up and down, and things weren’t going their way, but then they went and won the Challenge Cup and this year it looks like things are great for them at the moment."
“The Sharks are a group of very skilful and talented players, from No. 1 to 15, they love the game when it gets loose, they are going to want turnovers. We expect lots of kicking and contestable kicks from their No 9, and for them to target the set piece with the great players they have in the pack.”
The Bulls' next six games in the United Rugby Championship are local derbies with two Investec Champions Cup matches in between. Louw said although the local derbies will be important to their final standings in the URC they will take these derbies game by game.
"There's a lot of pressure on South African derbies and you are never going to a match to lose. We want to win. We want to bounce back from last weekend, and like I just said, we want to have a good performance for ourselves as a team and as a union."
"It is important mentally, and psychologically to get a win before you get off and before we start the new year. We are taking this game seriously. I don't think there's a lot of motivation needed in a South African derby."
"We will take the derbies game for game and week for week, but yeah, I think it is important to get good results in local derbies because you're not travelling. You just travel one or two hours maximum."
"We will definitely have an eye on winning the derbies"