16/04/2008 22:03

Stephen Nell

Cape Town - Midfield fireworks can be expected when Springboks and All Blacks come face to face in the Super 14 rugby match between the Stormers and the Hurricanes here on Saturday.

Springboks Jean de Villiers and Gcobani Bobo will take on New Zealand's Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith in the clash at Newlands.

Stormers captain, De Villiers feels Nonu and Smith complement each other well.

"Nonu is an aggressive ball-carrier. He is fast and has a good sidestep. Smith, on the other hand, is a hard worker who will try to fool you rather than use force.

"It's a big challenge for us. I'm looking forward to it," the Springbok centre said on Wednesday.

De Villiers was, once again, in good form when the Stormers beat the Cheetahs 34-22 last week. He was sharp on attack and created a try for fullback Conrad Jantjes.

"I'm actually sorry I passed that ball," he joked. "Maybe I should have tried selling a dummy. In the end the conversion had to be taken from a more difficult position."

How many opportunities the centres will have on attack on Saturday will probably depend on the weather. Chances of rain are 60%, which may mean most of the rugby will involve the forwards and the inside backs.

'Slows you down'

The home team could also use powerful Fijian wing Sireli Naqelevuki to probe the channels nearest to the packs.

"When the ball is wet, one tends to feel for it when you have to catch it. You have to concentrate and it slows you down.

The ground is in good condition but it could be slippery."

The Stormers have earned a bonus point in four of their five most recent matches for scoring at least four tries but De Villiers feels solid defence could make the difference this week.

"It's always a great challenge against the Hurricanes. They have good centres and Nonu's form is fantastic. But we have a defence system in place. It may boil down to who defends best," De Villiers said.

"The Hurricanes have classy individuals. The problem lies in the individual brilliance they can produce. We've had several challenges of this kind; every time against New Zealand teams."

The Stormers defended well when they lost 0-22 to the Crusaders, and also against the Blues, when they went down 14-17.

They were good on the attack when they beat the Chiefs 35-16, with the loose forwards dominating at breakdown points.

This week, Schalk Burger, Luke Watson and Francois Louw have a tougher assignment - to outplay Jerry Collins, Chris Masoe and Rodney So'oialo.