Preview: Stormers v Chiefs

There should be plenty of fireworks when the Stormers and Chiefs do battle at Newlands on Saturday in the last Super Rugby quarter-final.

Both sides have played scintillating rugby at times this season and head into this clash in a rich vein of form after delivering impressive performances in recent weeks.

Home ground advantage and a 34-26 victory when these sides met in Round 7 will give the Stormers plenty of confidence as they head into this clash, but it must not be forgotten that the Chiefs earned a comprehensive 60-21 win when these teams met in last season’s quarter-finals at the same venue.

Another worrying factor for the Stormers is that they have only one Finals Series win to their name in Super Rugby history despite playing in eight such fixtures.

As proven in last year's quarter-final, the Chiefs are still dangerous when they are not in action at home in Hamilton. This year, they have won five and drawn one of their seven fixtures away from home – their only road loss came when they travelled to Cape Town in Round 7.

After that defeat, Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie is more wary of his opponents and expects a tough assignment this weekend.

"We're pretty sure what we're going to face," he said.

"They'll be physical and they'll back themselves. They've beaten us already this year and they'll take confidence from that."

Stormers boss Robbie Fleck believes his side's impressive home form will be crucial but knows the Chiefs will present a formidable challenge.

“We are a tough side to beat at home, we know what is expected of us and what the challenges are that the Chiefs are going to bring," he said.

“It is always a challenge playing against a team that has linespeed on defence, but if you can get in behind them then you are in the game.

“We need to be smart in the way we plan our attack and utilise our ball-carriers to get that momentum and into that space.”

The last time the teams met: The Stormers claimed a 34-26 victory in a thrilling encounter at Newlands in Round 7. Both sides deserve plenty of credit for making it an entertaining spectacle and the home side eventually outscored the Chiefs four tries to three with Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Siya Kolisi, Robert Du Preez and SP Marais all dotting down. Toni Pulu scored a brace of tries for the Chiefs and James Lowe also crossed the whitewash.

Players to watch: If the Stormers want to win this encounter much will depend on the performance of their young fly-half, Damian Willemse. Aged just 19, this is by far the biggest game of his fledgling career and there will be a huge responsibility on his shoulders as his side's chief playmaker and goalkicker. Willemse has shown flashes of brilliance in recent weeks and must deliver a complete performance in what should be a pressure cooker enviroment.

One player who will be determined to get stuck into the Stormers is the Chiefs' All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick after he delivered an underwhelming effort when these sides met at the same venue earlier this year. When on song, Retallick is arguably the best second-row in the world with his athleticism as a ball carrier, high workrate and lineout prowess particularly impressive. He will have to tick all those boxes this weekend if the Chiefs want to get the better of their hosts.

Team news: Full-back SP Marais and flank Rynhardt Elstadt return to the Stormers’ starting line-up. The experienced duo return from injury. In the only change to the backline, Marais returns at full-back with Dillyn Leyds moving to the wing and Seabelo Senatla set to provide impact off the replacements bench. Elstadt was a late withdrawal last week due to a wrist injury, but is fit to take his place on the side of the scrum for the quarter-final, with Sikhumbuzo Notshe among the replacements. There are just two other changes to the matchday squad, with fit-again props Oli Kebble and Wilco Louw both included on the replacements bench.

Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie has named a powerful matchday squad for this fixture. In all, there are three changes to last week’s run-on side which beat the Brumbies in Hamilton with co-captain Sam Cane taking over from Lachlan Boshier on the openside flank while Brodie Retallick and Stephen Donald replace Michael Allardice and Charlie Ngatai at lock and inside centre respectively. In the forwards, Kane Hames, Nathan Harris and Nepo Laulala form a formidable front row, with the hard-working duo of Retallick and Mitchell Brown partnering in the second row. Liam Messam, Cane and Michael Leitch form a highly experienced loose forward trio. In the backs, experienced scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow will start in jersey nine with co-captain Aaron Cruden to steer the ship at fly-half. In the midfield centurion Donald teams up with Anton Lienert-Brown who starts at outside centre. James Lowe, Solomon Alaimalo and Damian McKenzie complete an exciting back-line in jerseys 11, 14 and 15 respectively.

Form: The Stormers finished off their regular season campaign with an impressive 40-33 triumph over the Bulls in Pretoria. Prior to that, they registered victories against the Sunwolves at Newlands (52-15) and the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein (4-34). Their last defeat came just before the break for the June internationals when the Sharks beat them 22-10 in Durban.

The Chiefs' most recent result was a 28-10 win over the Brumbies in Hamilton last weekend and before that, they claimed a hard-fough 17-14 victory against the Hurricanes in Welllington on June 9. Prior to that, they also beat the Waratahs in Hamilton (46-31) and drew with the Blues (16-16) in Round 14.

Prediction: This is going to be a humdinger and don't be surprised if it goes down to the wire. The Stormers have come on in leaps and bounds since last year's disastrous performance and will just edge it. Stormers by four points!

Previous results:

2017: Stormers won 34-26 in Cape Town
2016: Chiefs won 60-21 in Cape Town
2015: Chiefs won 28-19 in Cape Town
2014: Chiefs won 36-20 in Hamilton
2013: Stormers won 36-34 in Cape Town
2011: Chiefs won 30-23 in Hamilton
2010: Stormers won 49-15 in Hamilton
2009: Chiefs won 28-14 in Cape Town
2008: Stormers won 35-26 in Hamilton
2007: Stormers won 21-16 in Cape Town

The teams:

Stormers: 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg 
Replacements: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Seabelo Senatla, 23 Juan de Jongh

Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Solomon Alaimalo, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Stephen Donald, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (cc), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Sam Cane (cc), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Kane Hames 
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Dominic Bird, 20 Lachlan Boshier, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams, 23 Shaun Stevenson

Date: Saturday, July 22
Venue: Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Quinton Immelman
TMO: Johan Greeff