Bulls' URC home flakiness against SA teams piques Du Toit's interest ahead of playoff

The Bulls may have lost seven United Rugby Championship matches this season, but it's the two defeats at Loftus Versfeld that have piqued Thomas du Toit's interest.

One of those defeats was against the Sharks on 12 February as the Loftus Versfeld fortress wasn't as impregnable as the Bulls thought it could be.

With the Sharks heading up the N3 and N1 for their URC quarter-final clash against the Bulls on Saturday, Du Toit had every reason to be cautiously confident.

The past has shown that what happens at Loftus Versfeld in round-robin matches has no bearing in what happens in playoff games.

Du Toit said the Bulls remain favourites at Loftus despite their iffy form against SA teams at their Sunnyside jaunt.

"It gives a certain level of confidence going there and while altitude makes a difference, we've overcome it before," Du Toit said.

"It does bring confidence to our game, but not overconfidence because it's still very difficult to win at altitude.

"They may be favourites because of the game taking place at Loftus Versfeld and 80 percent of the people there will be Bulls supporters.

"It's a difficult task going to Loftus and it must not be underestimated. However, we do have a bit of confidence going there."

With the Sharks fluffing their lines against Ulster, they had to settle for an away playoff, something that consistently didn't work for them in the Super Rugby playoffs.

They did win one Super Rugby playoff in Cape Town in 2012 against the Stormers, but lost one against the Lions in controversial circumstances five years later.

Du Toit though, was happier to be in SA than be in Europe, but he recognised that winning in Pretoria was far from straight-forward.

"The reality is that this is the next best option for us, with the