Bakkies Botha (Gallo Images)

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Johannesburg - After being sent off on many occasions for his unforgiving approach to the game, Bulls lock Bakkies Botha now has his sights set on a special send-off in what should be his last match in Pretoria before joining French club Toulon next season.

Botha, who will earn his 100th Super Rugby cap, will lead the most experienced South African side out against the Sharks on Saturday and, like most of the Bulls' outgoing legends, he will be eager to make some lasting memories.

Looking back at his illustrious career, Botha said there were a few matches that stood out above the rest.

"One of the highlights must be our first win against the Hurricanes in Napier, but at this stage the next special game is the one we will be playing this weekend," Botha said.

"All we need to do as a team is to get out there and give 100 percent and then it will be another special weekend."

After making an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, the defending champions have fought back and racked up six consecutive wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Their early poor showing resulted in a decrease of traditionally loyal fans attending their home matches, so it comes as no surprise that skipper Victor Matfield is now pleased that things are back to normal.

"It was a pity that after the tour the guys weren't here at the stadium and didn't have the belief in us, but we are happy to get the belief back in six games," Matfield said.

"I think they will definitely be behind us so it will be great to go out there and hopefully do something special."

The Sharks, unlike their hosts, will enter the contest knowing that a repeat of their last two performances will not suffice against a side that should pose a bigger threat come the knockout stages of the competition.

To the Sharks' relief, loose-forwards Willem Alberts and Jean Deysel were included in the team, while in an interesting move, Frederic Michalak was given a start at flyhalf ahead of Patrick Lambie who has hardly put a foot wrong all season.

The demotion of Springbok captain John Smit to the bench should also count in the visitors' favour as the Bok skipper has yet to produce the form this season that is expected of him at this level.

Continuity in team selection and home ground advantage should make the Bulls favourites to win the match although they would be foolish to think that the Sharks will hand them a playoff place on a platter.

Meanwhile, the Stormers have an exceptionally tough nut to crack when they take on the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee had the luxury of including star flyhalf Peter Grant in the team, but will also be mindful of the fact that their hosts have had two weeks to prepare for the match.

The Cheetahs are coming off a bye and need only one win to better their record of victories in a Super Rugby season, so they should be up for the battle.

The visitors, however, know that a win is their ticket to booking their second successive Super Rugby semifinal at home.

While Grant is back, there is concern that Stormers scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenhage may not feature in the match because of a quad muscle strain sustained in last week's game against the Bulls.

"I am positive that he will be fit come Saturday," Coetzee said earlier this week.

In the last week of the first round in the 2010 competition, the Stormers -- to the outrage of Australian fans -- were handed victory on a silver platter by the Bulls who sent down a B-team after already securing the top spot on the log.

The Cheetahs will not be that generous and their final match of the series should be a cracker.