Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer sent out a strong warning to the Sharks that his side have not yet come close to being the physical force they can be on the rugby field.
In fact, the Bulls are likely to be far more physical on Saturday during their Super 14 opener in Durban than in their warm-up games and players will not be instructed to hold back.
After constant jibes from the Sharks camp this week about being bullied by the Bulls last year, the Bulls coach has had enough, especially as the Sharks have virtually the entire Springbok pack at their disposal this weekend.
The Bulls were similarly baited by Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe who last year called them "dirty" and claimed they were the most ill-disciplined team in the competition. Van der Merwe had to later backtrack when it was pointed out that the Stormers had in fact committed more transgressions than the Bulls. Rather embarrassingly the finformation he had received was wrong
The Sharks have alleged that Victor Matfield punched BJ Botha during the corresponding Super 14 match between the two teams last year and followed it up with talk they weren't going to be bullied this time around.
But Meyer warned on Wednesday that no amount of talk before the game would intimadate his side.
"The Sharks pack should never be bullied - they have six incumbent Test players in their pack," Meyer said, suggesting perhaps that the ploy was to take the focus off the Sharks own robust demeanour.
"I haven't been surprised by it. I always say the highest trees catch the most wind," Meyer said. "We are a physical side but we always play within the laws of the game. There are a number of perceptions out there and they are wrong. We did not have a single yellow card in the competition in 2005 and only one last year.
"I think we have a good reputation with the overseas referees. It is just strange that we have so few yellow cards in the Super 14 and then more in the Currie Cup, but you work it out. We won't be intimidated by talk before the game and I am certainly not going to tell my guys to hold back."
"In contrast, I feel we've not been happy with the physicality of the side in our warm up matches and we've worked hard to make a difference in that department. Every year we hear how the Bulls' pack bullies sides, but we play good, clean, clinical rugby within the rules."
"This weekend we want to concentrate on doing what we need to do to win and we want to score tries. Bonus points are going to be very important in this year's competition and that will be our goal."
Captain Victor Matfield echoed his coach's views, saying discipline would be vital this weekend.
"We have put a lot of emphasis on discipline and we know the refs will be strict because they all want to go to the World Cup," he said.