Winger Canan Moodie says the Vodacom Bulls have unfinished business against the Sharks at Loftus on Saturday.

The Bulls imploded against an injury-hit Sharks team at Kings Park in the Vodacom URC last December, relinquishing a 17-10 lead after 50 minutes to lose 20-17.

The pre-match favourites made a plethora of errors and poor decisions on the day, with coach Jake White admitting “we shot ourselves in the foot”.

Nearly two months later, the teams will meet again in Pretoria, with the Bulls occupying third spot on the URC log and the Sharks fourth.

“That December loss hurt us quite a bit,” Moodie said on Tuesday. “We obviously went there to try to get a win and we let it slip. We all remember that and will be reminded by the coaches [this week] about that game.

“We feel like we owe them one, and what better place to do it at than Loftus. Every time they’ve come here [in the recent past], we’ve got a good win. So we need to keep that hurt from December and just make sure we don’t let it slip this time.”

In the corresponding fixture last season, the Bulls scored six tries in a 44-10 victory that helped them finish second on the log, while the Sharks ended a nightmare URC season in 14th.

However, Moodie expects a much more competitive clash on Saturday.

“They’ve got world-class players and are fourth on the log having won some big games, including that December game against us which we felt we could win.

“They are just going to get stronger and stronger as a team. They have had injuries, but those guys are coming back and it’s world-class players who play at the highest level of the game, so that experience is invaluable. When those guys get back, they’ll just get better.”

STATE OF THE URC: Highveld to host big SA derbies

Moodie said Saturday’s match was also important from an SA Shield perspective. The Stormers are currently top with 13 points from four derbies played, followed by Shield holders the Bulls (11 points) and Sharks (nine) who have both played in three derbies. The Lions, who host the Stormers on Saturday, are last with no points from their two derbies.

“You want to make use of your home games, so it’s very important for us to get it right this weekend. We really played well in Cape Town this past weekend and got five points, which helped us a lot in the SA Shield. All these SA derby matches are very important.”

BOETA: I have BMT

Photo: Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix