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From the ‘centres of attention’ to Manie Libbok v Marcus Smith – Five key matchup’s when the Stormers take on Harlequins

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It’s going to be a blockbuster European Champions Cup playoff rugby match between the Stormers and Harlequins in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon (kickoff 16:00).

Both teams will rely heavily on their internationals to get a foothold in the game and whoever gets the upper hand first in the DHL Stadium, will be favourites to clinch the game for a quarter-final spot. IOL Sport’s Leighton Koopman takes a look at five key matchups

The spicy plum vs the Afrikaans farmer boy

Will the plum be ripe for picking or will the farmer boy toil in the sunny fields? That’s the big question that will be answered on Saturday.

The two Springboks, Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff and Wilco Louw (Harlequins) will go head-to-head in the scrums with Kitshoff looking to unsettle the anchor of the Harlequins scrum. Louw has been solid for his English club side in this regard and will look to continue stabilising his side’s set piece.

Kitshoff on the other hand is known for getting under his opponents and that’s exactly what he’s planning to do with Louw.

ALSO READ: Fierce scrum battles, exciting flyhalves, making history – What to expect when Stormers take on Harlequins

Apart from the scrummaging battle, both love to carry the ball up in contact and it will be a tough ask to stop them when they do go on the run.

Propped up for the scrummaging battle

On the other side of the scrum, another two internationals will be looking to get the upper hand over one another when Bok Frans Malherbe faces England’s Joe Marler.

These two are more familiar in terms of facing each other, being on opposite sides at test level as well. So they’ve had a taste of each other before and this Champions Cup match will most probably not be the last time they oppose each other.

Marler is known for his chirping during the game as part of his arsenal to unsettle his opponents, with Malherbe being the one quietly doing his thing around the park.

The Springbok is experienced enough not to let Marler get under his skin when it comes to this, and he’ll be all too happy to let his scrummaging and tackling do the talking on the field.

Magnificent Manie meets Maverick Marcus

Although supporters love a tough forwards battle with all the big collisions and power struggles, the entertaining part of a rugby match is when the ball is flung around with precision on the attack.

That’s where Manie Libbok and Marcus Smith will be key for their teams.

Similar in playing style, the Springbok and English flyhalves will be the ones to pull the strings for their teams on the attack. And with so many strike players outside of them, they’ll have a big task to get their backline going.

ALSO READ: Milestones aplenty for Stormers players in Champions Cup knockout clash against Harlequins

But, the kicking game of both needs to be on point, whether it’s at poles or out of hand. The territory game will be of utmost importance and it’s their responsibility to get their teams in good positions on the field.

The centres of attention

Although the Stormers said they won’t focus too much on the bulldozing Andre Esterhuizen, his battle with the inform Dan du Plessis in the midfield will be a spicy one.

While Esterhuizen uses his brute strength to get his team over the gain line on the attack, Du Plessis is an elusive runner that snakes through defenders almost at will.

But it’s on defence where he’s matured a lot and that abrasive defending against Esterhuizen will be vital. Du Plessis will also have to assist Libbok in the flyhalf channel when Esterhuizen attacks it.

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Esterhuizen, though, will have to do the same on defence when Du Plessis decides to run at Smith. Smith is not known for his defense, so the Harlequins inside centre might have a long day looking after Du Plessis.

Ranking to be at the top

Out of all the players opposing each, Stormers lock Marvin Orie and his direct opponent at Harlequins Irne Herbst probably know each other better than any other players on the park.

Throughout their junior years at the Junior Springboks and Bulls, they were teammates.

Two guys who had a love of terrorising their opponent’s lineouts and driving mauls when they got the chance. They worked pretty well in tandem.

But now they are on opposite sides of the fence and will surely look to terrorise each other for as long as they are on the field.

Orie seems to have found his mojo at the Stormers and is running their lineout with great success. Herbst on the other hand is doing the same at Harlequins.

The one who’s successful in disrupting the other’s lineout and driving maul will most probably give their team the upper hand in the clash.

They both love to work off the ball in general play as well, which will be vital in their team’s cause for a place in the quarter-final next week.

@LeightonK

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