VENUE & TIME: Newlands, Cape Town, Sunday March 14, 4.10am (AEDT).
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 13 – Western Province/Stormers 7, Hurricanes 6.
LAST TIME: April 18, 2009 (Wellington) – Hurricanes 34-11 Stormers.
LAST TIME AT VENUE: April 19, 2008 – Stormers 20-12 Hurricanes.
MATCH ODDS: Luxbet (Thursday): Stormers $1.45, Hurricanes $2.75.
WALKING WOUNDED: Both teams – and most certainly the players concerned - would have been relieved to escape judicial hearings without penalty last weekend. The worse case involved Schalk Burger shoving the referee while involved in a dispute with Jimmy Cowan, while Ma'a Nonu was looked at for a borderline spear tackle but was not cited.
The Hurricanes welcome back Conrad Smith and Tamati Ellison to their backline in what is a very experienced and talented looking side.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Stormers:
Round 1: Beat Lions 26-13
Round 2: Beat Waratahs 27-6
Round 3: Lost to Brumbies 17-19
Round 4: Beat Highlanders 33-0
PAST FIVE Hurricanes:
Round 1: Beat Blues 34-20
Round 2: Beat Force 47-22
Round 3: Beat Lions 33-18
Round 4: Lost to Cheetahs 12-28
After chucking a winnable match against the Brumbies away the Stormers made no mistakes against the Highlanders at Cape Town, cruising to their biggest ever win over the New Zealanders. The match was set up by an impressive forward effort, particularly at set piece, and some excellent finishing through the backs. The Hurricanes went the other way, letting their unbeaten record slip with nary a whimper. It was almost like watching a rerun of the Blues game except the villains had changed jerseys; this time the Hurricanes gave up seven penalty goals and had a couple of guys binned for daft offences. Given that none of the sides the Hurricanes have played this year sit higher than eighth on the ladder, it may be that they've just been beating up on the bottom-feeders but the side should be better than that and a top-four run might need a decent effort here to kick-start it.
WHO'S HOT: With the Stormers getting it right last week, several players went well and a couple were outstanding. Andries Bekker looms large over this match as the forward the Hurricanes have to find some way of controlling while Pieter Louw could have a significant influence in the loose. Dewaldt Duvenhage was sharp at the scrum base last week and Joe Pietersen recovered from his costly late miss a week earlier to post a good day's kicking. The biggest thing for the visitors to overcome is the Stormers' almost water-tight defence; with only 38 points and two tries conceded so far, the Cape lads are by far the toughest to break down in the entire competition. The Hurricanes really didn't look like an unbeaten side – and didn't remain one – after a performance marred by indiscipline and carelessness. Corey Jane and David Smith, last week's try-scorers, have been sharp this year but Ma'a Nonu is currently well off the pace and has picked up yellow cards in each of the last two matches. Up front Rodney So'oialo was his usual rugged self but hardly received the sort of support that wins matches.
WE THINK: This is a difficult match to call, as these sides have a habit of throwing upsets into the mix. The Hurricanes are better than they looked