Preview: Blues v Stormers

After a solid start in 2011, the Stormers' season hangs in the balance when they face the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.

After a solid start in 2011, the Stormers' season hangs in the balance when they face the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.

They may be in third place on the overall standings, but after losing just one game in nine outings, the Stormers now face a hat-trick of defeats as the play-offs race hots up.

Just three weeks ago, last year's finalists were cruising and looked certain of that all-important top spot in the South African Conference or even a top-two finish overall. But how two weeks can make a difference.

Now, with just five more rounds of the regular season left, the Stormers are out of their comfort zone and – amazingly – face a real battle to stay in contention for a top-six finish.

With three games left on tour and two tough derby games upon their return home, the Stormers – on 44 points – lead the Sharks in the South African Conference by a single point. Should the Sharks beat the Bulls this weekend, and the Stormers lose, their coastal rivals go top in the SA Conference.

If the Crusaders and Waratahs win their respective games (against the Chiefs and Lions respectively), the Stormers will then drop down to sixth on the overall log – the lowest they've been all season.

And with the Highlanders and Bulls back in business, the sixth wild card spot will be anyone's for the taking over the next five weekends.

Losing three vital cogs in their backline, doesn't help the Stormers cause either. With Peter Grant as well as Bok centre pair Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie ruled out, the visitors are in a real spot of bother in Friday's match against the top New Zealand team.

The Stormers are also facing a Blues' backlash after the former tournament leaders lost their number one spot to the Reds last weekend in Brisbane. A bonus-point win for Pat Lam's men will put them back on even terms with the Reds, who sit out this weekend with a bye.

The Reds will, however, retain top spot on points difference even if the Blues bag a full house of points against their South African counterparts.

Interestingly enough, the Stormers do boast a handy record against the Blues – winning three of their eight games in Auckland, including a 33-21 win last year.

“The boys have been talking about how we let that game slip and how we could help ourselves this weekend,” said returning Blues flank Jerome Kaino.

“Thinking back to that game we let them get three tries in that first half and it was quite similar to the Reds game at the weekend and we can't afford to let them get ahead because [against] a class side like the Stormers it is going to be hard to get back in.”

Prediction: We just can't see the Stormers pulling this crucial win out of the fire. Blues to win by nine.

The teams:

Blues: 15 Lachie Munro, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sherwin Stowers, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Tom McCartney.
Replacements: 16 Pauliasi Manu, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Chris Lowrey, 19 Sean Polwart, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Winston Stanley, 22 Rene Ranger.

Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (c), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Steven Kitshoff, 19 Anton Van Zyl, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Danie Poolman, 22 Nick Koster.

Date: Friday, May 20
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:35 (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

By Dave Morris