Sharks hooker Marais says Currie Cup schedule has worked in their favour

Not many teams underpin their log leadership on wins on the road but that's what the Sharks have been doing this season.

Sharks hooker Franco Marais knows all about that as he's been part of the travelling success.

The Sharks lost their first game of the season on the road to the Cheetahs and that's been their sole disappointment.

They've seen off all contenders on the road and not every team gets to boast about winning in Pretoria‚ Cape Town‚ Kimberley and Mbombela in the space of one campaign.

That explains why the Sharks top the Currie Cup log with 39 points and are just a win away from securing a home semi-final.

They have the relatively easy task of finishing off their campaign at home even though beating the Blue Bulls on Saturday at King's Park will be easier said than done.

Marais said the schedule has worked in their favour but they're not looking ahead of themselves.

“It's great to come home again and that's what the squad has been looking forward to‚" Marais said.

"We know it's going to be nice to have three home games but we'd love to make it five home games (home semi-final and home final) before the end of the year.

“I'm not quite tuned up in regards with the statistics.

"We may be close to securing a home semi-final but that's the coach's worry.

"We just have to play every game and make sure we perform every time we get onto the field.

"We want to win every game and we don't want to lose momentum.

"We're not going to look at the log and think we only need two points to get a home semi-final. We're back here in Durban and we owe our fans a good performance.”

The Blue Bulls have the misfortune of Saturday's 3pm kickoff‚ which allows the other semi-final contenders to plan accordingly for any scenario that could prevail.

John Mitchell's side are sixth on the log on 20 points‚ five behind the second and third-placed Free State Cheetahs and Golden Lions and two behind fourth and fifth-placed Western Province and Pumas.

Marais said Mitchell's side cannot be written off‚ especially with the fact they are starting to look in decent shape despite their log position.

“The Bulls have quite an expansive game plan at the moment.

"They run the ball from kickoffs and they run the ball from everywhere.

"It's going to be a fun challenge but the Bulls will always stick to their forward game plan with their strong‚ dominant forwards.

"They're going to want to be dominant and physical.

"However‚ the back will have a different challenge as compared to when they normally play the Bulls‚” Marais said. - TimesLIVE