With their sights set firmly on the semi-finals, the NSW Waratahs won't be falling into the trap of mistaking the Bulls for a team in disarray heading into Saturday's Super 14 showdown in Pretoria.

The highly-rated Bulls, stacked with world champion Springboks including reigning international player of the year Bryan Habana, have been the flops of the 2008 tournament, winning just three of 10 matches during their meek title defence.

Their cause has not been helped by star lock Bakkies Botha's contract dispute and a hand injury to Fourie du Preez, widely acknowledged as the premier halfback in the game.

Before flying out to South Africa, NSW coach Ewen McKenzie admitted "there's things going on in and around the Bulls with Botha taking the organisation to court and things like that".

Hoping to join George Gregan's French glamour club Toulon, the 45-Test stalwart is fighting for a release from the Bulls in the Labour Court in Johannesburg.

But McKenzie said the Waratahs would be foolish to think the Botha affair would make the Bulls any less difficult to beat.

"We've all got issues," McKenzie said.

"It's just the way it is. I think all the teams are pretty good now at managing their issues away from the field.

"That kind of stuff was being talked about us about six weeks ago, so it doesn't make a huge amount of difference.

"These guys, I think Bakkies especially, he's an experienced Springbok, he's an experienced Bulls player, as soon as he steps on the field he'll be concentrating on the game.

"He won't be concentrating on what's happening off the field."

Bulls captain Wikus van Heerden promised as much, saying his side was professional enough not to allow "off-the-field issues" to distract them from the job at hand.

"It is our work to play rugby and we get paid to do it," van Heerden said.

"Off-the-field issues are not supposed to have an influence and I can say that training-wise we had a very good week."

The Waratahs clearly feel the same way, with coach McKenzie and captain Phil Waugh both upbeat enough to address the finals scenario facing the Waratahs for the first time before departing for the side's make-or-break tour of the republic.

With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the second-placed Waratahs are four points clear of the equal third-placed Sharks and Chiefs, prompting McKenzie and Waugh to predict one win in South Africa - either over the Bulls on Saturday or the Stormers next weekend - would probably clinch a playoff berth.

They think two wins would likely secure a home semi-final.

"I think that would be roughly the mathematics," McKenzie said.

"That might be the theory. The reality is, we've got to win two games in South Africa. That's the difficult task. It's always been a difficult task.

"It doesn't matter which team it is - you go through the history - not many teams win a lot of games over there.

"We've got to approach it in a very serious way, which we have, and see if we can get the job done."

Waugh was cautiously optimistic of getting that job done.

"Obviously the Bulls at home in Pretoria is a tough game and then the Stormers are hitting some form in Cape Town, so it's going to be tough but it's certainly do-able," he said.

Making the Waratahs' task a touch easier was the Bulls' selection overnight of du Preez on the bench, with coach Frans Ludeke preferring to ease his champion scrumhalf back into the fray following his injury-enforced layoff.

Instead, Francois Hougaard will start and oppose the Waratahs' fellow emerging halfback star Luke Burgess.

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