Sharks, Bulls go 'four-from-four' to keep winning sequences intact

The Vodacom Bulls, meanwhile, also recorded their fourth win in a row to mark their best-ever start to a Super 14 campaign.

The Sharks' current record winning sequence is six matches, which they achieved at the start of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Their previous best was five victories, achieved in the 2001 season.

The major difference was that most of these wins were achieved at home. In 2009 they will have to win two more tough away matches - against the Reds in Brisbane and the Western Force in Perth - to match their best. Many will fancy their chances after they beat the Blues 35-31 in Auckland on Saturday to achieve back-to-back victories in New Zealand.

Sharks coach John Plumtree said after the Blues match that his side has a desire to succeed.

“We do know how to win," he said after his team's strong second half performance in Auckland. "We won 12 games in a row in the Currie Cup and now four in Super 14, so I would say one of the qualities of this team is finding ways to win."

The Bulls surpassed their best beginning to a campaign of three wins from four in 2006 when they pipped the Vodacom Stormers 14-10 in a tight North/South derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The win keeps them at the top of the log.

The return is also two wins short of their longest winning sequence of six matches achieved in both 2005 and 2007 at the opposite end of the competition.

Like the Sharks they will also have to win in New Zealand and Australia if they aim to stay on the winning track - their next three matches are against the Hurricanes, Highlanders and Crusaders.

Six is the record winning streak for any South African team in Super Rugby history, with the Stormers also achieving that number in their successful 1999 season.

The Cape team's loss in the derby encounter was their third in four starts, which is similar to what they produced in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

The weekend's other two derby matches were also close. The Waratahs got their fourth successive win when they beat the Reds 15-11 to retain the Templeton Cup in Sydney on Friday. The win puts them in second place on the log ahead of the Sharks.

The Highlanders won New Zealand's South Island derby over the Crusaders 6-0. It was their second successive derby win after they beat the 2008 champs 26-14 in Dunedin last season. The defeat was the third in a row for the Crusaders, the first time this has happened in their Super Rugby history.

Things might get tougher for the holders with skipper Richie McCaw (knee) joining Jared Payne (ankle) Leon MacDonald (shoulder), Casey Laulala (shoulder), Sean Maitland (hamstring), Kade Poki (ankle) and Corey Flynn (broken arm) on the injury list.

The Vodacom Cheetahs remain without a win from four starts after slumping to a 12-29 loss against the Hurricanes on Saturday. The return is three losses short of their worst-ever start of seven straight defeats last season.

The Chiefs got their first win of the 2009 campaign when they beat the Western Force 31-13 in Hamilton on Friday.