Pretoria - Rookie flyhalf Derick Hougaard will be the target in Western Province's sights at Loftus on Saturday afternoon where the Currie Cup champions take aim and fire at perceived frailties in the Bulls fortress.
Within minutes of the opening exchanges the 19-year-old pivot, who only made his Currie Cup debut this year, can expect a gruelling initiation to the greatest rivalry in SA rugby history. Ultimately, Hougaard's ability to cope under pressure will dictate the tone of the match.
If Hougaard can be intimidated early on and shaken into losing his rhythm, half of WP's battle to resurrect their ailing Currie Cup campaign will be won.
The treatment Hougaard can expect should revive memories of another flyhalf prodigy, Naas Botha, at Loftus in 1977. On that occasion WP No 8 Morne du Plessis hit the Bulls match-winner like a freight train, forcing his exit from the field with a collarbone injury.
"That was a great tackle," said Botha on Friday, still with vivid memories of the incident. "But I always say it was the tackle that won us the Currie Cup as WP were penalised and Pierre Edwards kicked the penalty."
The match was won 17-15 by Northern Transvaal - a result which qualified them for the final against Free State.
In a similar vein, Saturday's clash is also one of Currie Cup survival in the race for the playoffs and Botha had a warning for WP that overly robust tactics could backfire.
"In today's professional era you can't afford to risk a tackle like that as there will be a card in there somewhere, either a red or a yellow," said Botha.
"But a clever flyhalf hardly ever gets tackled anyway. I had (former Springbok and WP flanker) Rob Louw on my back for 10 years and I can tell you I loved seeing him bouncing off the turf at Loftus," said Botha describing the effect of a slick sidestep any good flyhalf uses to dodge flying flankers, not to mention hospital beds.
The record Springbok points scorer, a man who was instrumental in bringing the Cape-bred Hougaard to Loftus, said he has every confidence that the Bulls pivot, a schoolboy only last year, had the psychological profile to withstand the onslaught.
"He's a natural. A lovely little flyhalf," said Botha.
Nevertheless, in their defeat by Free State last Saturday, it was noticed that Hougaard slipped a few tackles in a channel guaranteed to sustain heavy traffic on Saturday. Province are certain to test Hougaard's weakness by launching powerful crash ball runners like De Wet Barry and Quinton Davids in his direction.
The importance of the match cannot be over-emphasised. Both teams are feeling the heat in fourth and fifth places respectively on the top eight log with the Bulls just one point ahead of WP.
With every prospect that Free State, the Sharks and the Lions will qualify for the playoffs in one or other sequence on the log, the Bulls and WP will be left to fight it out for the fourth and final semifinal spot. This illustrates the tension of Saturday's match, which neither team can afford to lose.
The Bulls do have the comfort of easier games to come against the Falcons and Griquas, matches they are expected to win as opposed to WP who host the Pumas on Friday before closing with a tough fixture against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Effectively this means that the Bulls can lose on Saturday, but still sneak in the back door with maximum points from their remaining games - provided WP are beaten by the Lions. Bonus points, however, will then weigh heavily in separating the two sides.
With stakes at such a premium, a 40 000 crowd is expected at Loftus on Saturday. Bulls officials are even hopeful that steady sales on Saturday morning will stimulate the biggest Currie Cup audience of the season - surpassing the 42 000 at Ellis Park two weeks ago for the Lions-Sharks clash.
Blue Bulls: Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Wylie Human, Tiaan Joubert, Dries Scholtz, Derick Hougaard, Joost van der Westhuizen (capt), Anton Leonard, Johan Wasserman, Pedrie Wannenberg, Geo Cronje, Bakkies Botha, Wessel Roux, Danie Coetzee, Richard Bands. Bench: Gary Botha, Sias Wagner, Danie Vermeulen, Matt Frank, Norman Jordaan, Frikkie Welsh, Johan Roets.
WP: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Gus Theron, Chris Rossouw, Neil de Kock, Bob Skinstad (capt), Adri Badenhorst, Pietie Ferreira, Hottie Louw, Quinton Davids, Morne van der Merwe, Martin van Schalkwyk, Daan Human. Bench: Tjoepie van den Heever, Eddie Andrews, Drikus Hancke, Johan de Kock, Bolla Conradie, Werner Greeff, Egon Seconds.
Kick-off: 5pm (live on M-Net)
Referee: Mark Lawrence