Bulls know it won't get any easier against Bok-laden Sharks at King Park

The Bulls are under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task that awaits them in Saturday's URC derby at King's Park.

Fresh from having to contend with the Stormers in their Cape Town fortress, the Pretoria outfit will now have to try and bounce back against a resurgent Sharks side and all of their returning Springboks.

Bulls assistant coach Chris Rossouw knows it's another difficult assignment, but after taking the positives from a competitive first half in Cape Town last weekend, they are confident they can deliver come Saturday.

"We all know that any away game that you win is a bonus. I am open to correction but it's only two or three out of 10 games that are won by the away side. Being in South Africa, any local derby that you play is a big game," said Rossouw.

"Both of these teams, the Stormers and Sharks, are good. In a lot of ways they have the same defensive system and play a good kicking game and have some great players. The Sharks are on the up. We are really looking forward to this challenge.

"Against the Stormers, we had about seven minutes when we lost concentration but there were a lot of positives. Our scrum, especially, was unbelievable. We had a good lineout platform to play from."

Rossouw knows the Sharks are in desperate need of points following a poor start to the season, and expects them to come fully loaded on Saturday.

"The Sharks will go full blast. Every Springbok they have available will play. There is no doubt in my mind. We also know that the guys who aren't Springboks are still experienced."

Rossouw was also again asked about the Bulls' controversial selection policy, which saw them opt to rest a number of first-choice players for their two-week tour of Europe and their debut matches in the Champions Cup.

Judged at least by the result against the Stormers last weekend, when their big guns returned after two weeks on the sidelines, it doesn't appear to have been a particularly successful tactic.

"I don't think we could have done it any other way," said the coach.

"Of course, if you don't play the week before it's not always a positive because you want the guys to be game ready. It's not ideal either way.

"Out of experience from travelling with the team, it is extremely taxing on a two-metre forward to have him sit in economy class and then expect him to run full out two or three days later. It's something that all South African teams, not just us, will have to work out.

"Whatever we lost by not playing them the week before, we have gained in the long run in terms of player welfare. The schedule is hectic.

"We have spoken about it. Ideally, we would have loved to get the first team in Exeter to get them game ready, but coming back and travelling four days out of seven in the week, I don't think any team would be able to sustain that before a derby."