Cape Town - The Stormers and Sharks are set for a vital rematch in Cape Town on Saturday where the visiting team probably has more on the line in terms of their fight for a playoff spot in the United Rugby Championship.
The home side, meanwhile, will be the one with the least pressure and a victory will all but seal the South African Shield for the second year in a row.
IOL Sport's Leighton Koopman looks at five key things Stormers coach John Dobson and his assistants will focus on ahead of Saturday.
Scrum battle to set the tone for Stormers
In their previous meeting in Durban, the pack of forwards of the Sharks struggled to make a meaningful impact against a rampant Stormers scrum.
With a front row of Neethling Fouche, Joseph Dweba and Brok Harris, the Sharks scrum only knew one route and that was backward. Later when the replacements came on, the Durban team still struggled to cope.
Dobson and his assistants will have to work out closely who they will start with to try and establish that domination. Dobson changed up his front-rankers against the Bulls, with the returning Scarra Ntubeni at hooker.
Still, the scrum was good in the north-south derby.
Dweba though is known for his scrumming prowess and will be licking his lips to “pop” the Sharks hookers as he did in Durban.
Free-for-all in the rolling maul
After the Sharks' terrible maul defence this past weekend against Ulster, the Stormers will be licking their lips to get their rolling maul going.
They are normally a brilliant mauling team, but for some odd reason, the Cape side haven't been that dominant in this area this season. They tend to get their drive going well, but the conversion rate is not what they are known for.
With the backend of the season fast approaching, this can be the perfect time to get their rolling maul going to pick up some steam heading into the playoffs.
The hookers have been accurate with their throw-ins, which gives the perfect platform for those rolling mauls.
Will Libbok run (and steal) the show at flyhalf again?
There'll be a renewed focus from the Sharks on Manie Libbok should he start in the No 10 jersey on Saturday, after he delivered an inspiring performance last time out in Durban.
The Springbok flyhalf has been racking up the playing minutes this season and his coaches have hinted at him taking a break. But he has been in fine form and the axel around which the Stormers attack revolves.
If he is not there, the defending champions are not so potent on the attack.
With the playoffs approaching Dobson on the other hand would want his star player to be fresh for the challenges that lay ahead, so it's going to be a fine balance between letting him get stuck in and keeping Libbok in cotton wool to have him fresh for the business end of the season.
Ulster hot on the heels of the Stormers for second place
With his players racking up the minutes this season, Dobson will also have to make a couple of tough calls with the URC standings in mind.
Ulster in third place are only five points behind the Stormers after their away win over the Sharks this past weekend. This means another win for the Irish side, and if the Stormers lose, could see them leapfrog the URC champions.
This will probably be the biggest concern for Dobson & Co ahead of their final four matches.
Can they afford to lose another match looking at the overall log or should they go for broke even when they will be touring overseas to log-leaders Leinster next month?
A couple of tough selection decisions await but luckily for Dobson a break after the Sharks match, should give him some time to plot and plan for the trip to Ireland and beyond.
ALSO READ: France end Scotland's Six Nations grand slam dream
Fringe players to get a last chance to put their hands up
The Boks for both the Stormers and Sharks will miss out on the derby, so it's a perfect last opportunity for the fringe players to get a good game under the belt to strengthen their case ahead of the playoffs.
The Stormers’ fringe players haven't let their team down when they’ve stepped in for the Boks.
Think of utility back Suleiman Hartzenberg, loose forwards Junior Pokomela and Marcel Theunissen, Gary Porter at lock and Sazi Sandi at tight head prop. When they’ve been called upon for the last month or so, they have grabbed their chances in those matches.
With the Boks returning next Friday, some of these players might not see a match-day squad for a while, so it will be equally important for them to remind Dobson and his assistants not to forget about them.
IOL Sport