The Brumbies will be seeking a clean sweep of their tour of South Africa when they head to Newlands to face the Stormers on Saturday.
Currently the only unbeaten side left in the competition, the tournament leaders will send a strong message to their future opposition and prove any remaining doubters that they're genuine title contenders with another victory this weekend.
So far, the Brumbies have played four won four and all have been convincing wins, with Jake White's troops scoring plenty of tries along the way whilst conceding very little in the process as seen when they overwhelmed the Sharks in Durban last week.
Indeed, there's no denying that they are the form side in their conference - if not the tournament - at the moment.
So the Stormers will have a battle on their hands as they attempt to hand the Brumbies their first defeat of the Super Rugby season.
The Stormers - back from a bye - go into the match with a fair amount of self-assurance after they shaded the defending champion Chiefs in Cape Town two weeks ago, snapping a two-match losing streak with a close-shave two-point victory.
The hosts showed an all-round improvement, but the Brumbies are expected to offer a vastly different test, and they will be hugely challenged in their attempt to secure back-to-back wins at Newlands.
The last time the Brumbies played in Cape Town was 2010 when they managed to knock the Stormers over by just two points, winning by 19-17.
Since going down in 1998, the Brumbies have lost just one game in Cape Town while the 2006 fixture was a 15-all draw.
Prediction: An open game will see the Brumbies gallop towards another win, but if the Stormers can keep it tight they just might be able to stop the unbeaten Aussies in the tracks. Brumbies by five!
The teams:
Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage , 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Don Armand, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Damian de Allende, Jaco Taute.
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Fotu Auelua, 7 George Smith, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Peter Kimlin, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Siliva Siliva, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Scott Fardy, 19 Colby Faingaa, 20 Nic White/Mark Swanepoel, 21 Robbie Coleman, 22 Clyde Rathbone.
Date: Saturday, March 23
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZ)
Comments
MaoriAsh says...
I think Jantjies will find his feet,and when he does,we'll all eat our words!
Posted 12:11 23rd March 2013
Zimboy says...
Jantjies needs to be on the bench ....with Peter Grant starting and Joe Pietersen taking the kicks? A Highschool coach could make these decisions?
Posted 21:21 22nd March 2013
rolf says...
this will largely depend on Jantijes, If he does find his game and boot eventually, stormers do have a decent chance of winning.
if he chokes again, i think the game and his fate are sealed.
hope not.
Posted 20:00 22nd March 2013
carpelone says...
The Brumbies are good, but so the Stormers. Stormers to lift a gear and sneak it, just.
Posted 15:51 22nd March 2013