Bulls mentor White expects struggling Sharks to bare teeth in grudge encounter

A disjointed and off-colour Sharks side isn’t one that Bulls director of rugby Jake White is underestimating ahead of Saturday's United Rugby Championship encounter at Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane.

The Bulls have shaken off their 30-26 loss to the Stormers three weeks ago with contrasting, but successful back-to-back outings against the Lions.

The Sharks have regressed a bit after their 47-37 win against the Lions with a draw and a loss against the Stormers.

White said the Sharks have been the one side that's consistently asked questions of them since he arrived at the Bulls.

"The Sharks have been the team that has pushed us the hardest in the past two years," White said.

"They have got to two Currie Cup finals against us and they also beat us in Durban, so I suppose I expect the same from them.

"We're expecting a team that's going to be fired up. They have a lot of incumbent Springboks in key positions.

"They're definitely the form and the strongest team when it comes to selection on paper, so it's going to be a great challenge and I expect nothing less from the Sharks."

With the South African derby leg of the URC coming to an end, White is cautious of the end result and how he wants his side to remain a tough prospect at their Sunnyside haunt.

"It is a final and we can't afford to lose at home. We lost to the Stormers here and we can't afford to lose another home game," White said.

"They lost on the weekend, so I think the same may apply to them. The two teams will be having a full go at each other."

An area that'll come under intense scrutiny when the sides meet will be the scrum. It's a facet both sides have been inconsistent at, with good weeks and bad weeks following each other.

White hopes they'll get more reward from the