Powerful centres Damian de Allende and Sonny Bill Williams collide this weekend as the Stormers take on the Chiefs in a heavyweight Super Rugby clash.
Rather than focusing on a clash of giant packs, much attention falls on the duel between the rival inside centres who are putting their stamp on the competition.
Code-hopper Williams has had an immediate impact after his return to rugby, leading the off-loads table with Israel Folau on nine, and second on the list of try assists.
But Williams, 29, will also be keen to make amends for conceding the last-minute penalty which sank the Chiefs 20-17 against the Highlanders in the previous round.
For Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, the plan to cope with Williams is simple: go low, and tackle him out of the game.
“If you go high, Sonny Bill can bounce you off and runs over you,” he told the Iol Sport website.
“It’s the simple thing: if you chop his legs, he will only have one way of offloading — from the ground.”
The Stormers are on a roll, top of the table and unbeaten after four games, although the Chiefs could leapfrog them from third into first place with a win in Cape Town on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).
De Allende has been at the forefront for the Stormers, ranked second on the list of beating defenders so far and with the sixth best record for clean breaks.
While his forte is getting the Stormers moving forward, he is also rated for using his immense power to knock players over.
Coetzee described him as a “physical player” with a good skill set, while Chiefs captain Liam Messam said he is looking forward to seeing the big centres clash.
“De Allende is strong on his feet, big and gets them over the advantage line in an efficient manner. We also have a big inside centre in Sonny Bill, so hopefully they’ll meet each other on the gain line,” Messam told Network24.
In the Stormers’ favour is their defence, where they have conceded the fewest metres and clean breaks this season while the Chiefs, who historically travel well to South Africa, have the best record for generating tries from inside their own half.
But the Chiefs can ill-afford to drop a game with the Wellington Hurricanes, unbeaten in three outings, just a point behind them and playing the winless Auckland Blues.
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