High stakes in the bull-pen
It will be a tense affair at the Loftus stadium this Saturday as both the sharks and the Bulls know that only a win will be good enough to keep them in the competition. The two teams are currently level on points in the Super Rugby log but the Blue Bulls are 5th on a superior bonus point accumulation while the Sharks lie 6th, one point ahead of the Australian wild card The Waratahs.
The home side will be playing to stay alive in the competition so that they can defend their Super Rugby title, although there were times during the season when the feat didn't look likely as the champions slumped to five successive losses. But the Pretoria outfit fought back and gained form to prove doubters wrong pulling off victories in tough local derbies and on tour in Australasia. While the Natal outfit kicked off their season on a good foot with three wins out of three and then hit a slump after that, they have played out of their skins to be where they are, coming from the back to snatch two victories and a draw from their last three matches before this.
Sold out as early as on Monday evening, there is another factor that makes this a mouth watering encounter to local spectators. The bulls and Sharks are both the current Super Rugby and ABSA Currie Cup title holders respectively and sparks are expected to fly whenever both these local powerhouses meet. Peter de Villiers on the other hand will be looking at this match with a close eye and even praying to the gods of rugby that there will not be any casualties in the aftermath.
With a possibility of over 20 Springboks on the field at the same time, this is the one match where there will be more Springboks taking part in than any other match of the weekend. With positional competitiveness and world cup places at stake, Peter de Villiers will be looking at this particular match with both relish and dread.
