Blue Bulls coach John Mitchell says the league stage of the Currie Cup will count for nothing during the playoffs.

The Bulls will travel to Durban to face the Sharks in Saturday’s semi-final at Kings Park.

The Sharks finished top of the log with 10 wins from 12 matches, while the Bulls won just six games and earned 15 fewer log points to sneak into the playoffs.

That doesn’t concern Mitchell, though.

‘At the end of the day, what happened in the round-robin [stage of the tournament] is irrelevant. You start again, and that’s the great thing about playoff matches,’ he said after his side’s 52-32 win against the Pumas at Loftus on Friday.

‘I’ll be using all my experience of that situation to ensure we’re as well prepared as we can be,’ added Mitchell, who coached the Golden Lions to the Currie Cup title in 2011. ‘We’ll give it a good crack.’

REPORT: Bulls beat Pumas to stay alive

Mitchell said the Bulls had improved as their campaign progressed, but that there was still work to do.

‘When you look at the overall performance [against the Pumas], I thought it was very good in parts. We’ve been building for a few weeks now and clearly we’re confident in what we do.

‘The guys are challenging themselves and wanting to get better, but they’re still not happy with where they are defensively, which is a good sign.’

Putting 52 points past the Pumas was particularly satisfying for the Bulls, considering they had suffered a 51-15 defeat in Nelspruit on 25 August. At that stage, after four consecutive losses, a semi-final place appeared unlikely.

‘We got blown away by the Pumas [that night], but the important thing was just to stick to our processes,’ said Mitchell.

‘I have to commend the players and staff – they’ve been through a lot of change, which is not easy for people. It destabilises until the trust is built and there’s an understanding around the mentality and approach, and how they fit into it.’

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix