Sharks coach Jake White is confident his side can win all of their tour matches © Getty Images

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Bouncing back from their upset loss to the Highlanders will be the Sharks' goal when they open their Australasian tour against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday. They will follow up with games against the Brumbies, Crusaders and Blues and coach Jake White has targeted four wins out of four.

"This [loss] means that the game against the Rebels now becomes huge. We bounced back well from the loss to the Bulls, and we will need to do the same in Melbourne," White told South African reporters.

While some of his players had a goal of three wins out of the four, White has higher aspirations.

"If I don't believe we can do that, then I'm wasting my time," he said.

It is a tough tour and has the potential to shape how South African teams fare in their quest for a play-offs place. The Sharks have been easily the best of the South African franchises and are still head of the points table.

"I read somewhere that we have never beaten the Crusaders in Canterbury. The nice thing about that is it's going to happen. So why can't it be this year?" he asked. "We prepare to win every game, but it's all relative. If we have a full-strength team, and are playing well, I think we can beat anyone. Once you go into a tour thinking, 'If we win here, and lose that one', you end up losing everything."

White expects that his exposure to trans-Tasman rugby during his tenure as coach of the Brumbies will aid his team.

"I have no doubt that the insight I have, not only in terms of the players and coaches, but also of the psyche of the way they prepare for games, is going to help us a massive amount on this tour," he said.

While hooker Bismarck du Plessis was a late withdrawal from the Sharks for the Highlanders game, he is making the tour and said he was looking forward to it because the Sharks had always been good on tour.

"We get to bond as a team, away from home, and we have a lot of fun, too," he said.