Marcell Coetzee, returning Bulls stars ready to reclaim 'fortress Loftus' when they face Sharks

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee believes his side will be "battle hardened" for Saturday’s vital United Rugby Championship (URC) derby against the Sharks, despite the stop-start nature of the current calendar.

The Bulls return to competitive action on Saturday against the Durban side after almost a month off due to the ongoing Six Nations tournament. They last featured on January 31, producing arguably their best performance of the season when they demolished the Lions 52-17 at Ellis Park.

The Sharks returned to action against the Lions this past Saturday, and, while they were on the wrong side of a 34-22 defeat in Johannesburg, they managed to get some competitive minutes in the legs at altitude.

The Bulls, on the other hand, had a warm-up match against Boland in hot conditions in Wellington last Friday. However, Coetzee said the outing was good enough to get some valuable time on the past while ensuring they are 100% prepared for the physical intensity of a local derby.

"It was very beneficial," Coetzee said on Tuesday of the hit-out in the Winelands. “Boland really made it tough for us on the day; they gave us a hit-out. That is a side that is really going to be a factor heading into the SA Cup.

“It was really important for us just to get battle hardened before the weekend, especially with the Sharks having played the Lions. We just wanted to cover all our bases and be 100 percent prepared going into this game.”

The Bulls’ cause has been bolstered by the return of several key players from the treatment room. Experienced campaigners, centre Jan Serfontein and lock Nicholas Janse van Rensburg, have returned to the fold and featured briefly in the Boland game.

"We are always happy when somebody that was injured and doing rehab comes back," the skipper noted. "With Jan and Nicholas, they just bring a wealth of experience from playing overseas. They have served this union with distinction in the past, so it’s great to have those guys around you again."

While the Bulls got the better of the Sharks in the URC quarter-finals last season, they went down to the Durban side home and away in the league phase. The Bulls were also defeated by the Sharks in Durban in December. After that tough period, the Bulls have managed to win their last three matches in all competitions, but those victories all came away from home.

The Bulls have been uncharacteristically poor at Loftus Versfeld lately, losing their last three matches in all competitions at the stadium. It is a trend they are desperate to reverse as the run-in for the URC playoffs heats up.

"It’s our big challenge. We want to get the spectators excited again to come to Loftus by playing a good brand of rugby and imposing our DNA," Coetzee said. "If you look at the past, last season the Sharks and the Stormers also beat us here. It’s definitely a factor we have identified—to see how we can be better at building and handling the pressure and exerting our dominance.

“The big thing is the excitement. In the group, there is an excitement to play this weekend. It’s a derby game against the Sharks… it doesn’t get any bigger. That will ultimately drive us.”