The Stormers will attempt to win their third game on the trot at Newlands when they host the Highlanders on Saturday, but the Dunedin-based franchise will have other ideas.

The home team will be expected to win, but the 12th-placed Highlanders will be no pushover and have been somewhat of a bogey team for the Cape side over the years.

Rassie Erasmus' chargers have won just two from 11 encounters against the Highlanders in 10 years of fierce rivalry, with both victories coming at Newlands.

But the Cape side has lost four times at home —l that's a dismal 33 percent return against the men from Dunedin.

The most notable of the Highlanders triumphs came back in 1999 in the semifinal. The build-up to that game was shrouded in controversy, with a newspaper article running on the morning of the game about a possible strike from the Stormers players.

The Stormers denied the strike and subsequently raced to a 11-0 lead before succumbing 18-33 to a slick Highlanders outfit.

The Stormers two wins from 11 paints a worrying picture ahead of Saturday's game. The home team haven't beaten the Highlanders since 2004 — a 16-all draw in 2005 being the closest they've come.

Although history favours the men from the South of New Zealand, it would take a brave man to bet against the rampant Stormers at the moment. But the Super 14 has a nack of springing the odd surprise so don't write off the Highlanders just yet!

Coach Rassie Erasmus is well aware of the threat the Highlanders pose, pointing towards their powerful forward pack as a strength.

"We know its going to be a tough one on Saturday, we expect it to be tough," said Erasmus.

"They [Highlanders] scrummed well against the Bulls last week and have scrummed well against all the top sides.

"They've got a tradition at the Highlanders of being a very strong srummaging team. It's an area they are really proud of. But we are prepared to guts it out if we have to," added Erasmus.

An interesting observation is that the Highlanders won the first three meetings between the sides, before the Stormers won the fourth. Glenn Moore's team then won the following three matches again, before the Stormers won the eighth clash in Cape Town.

The Stormers subsequently haven't won since 2004, so in order to keep the sequence going, they will need to win on Saturday! A good omen perhaps?

But more importantly they will need to win in order to stay in the hunt for Super 14 glory and keep that ever-growing chasing pack of play-off hopefuls at bay.

Looking at the overall home record of the Stormers in Super Rugby history, it is less than impressive.

Since the 1998 season, the Cape-based team have played 62 matches at their beloved Newlands. Surprisingly they have won only 32 of those matches and drawn two. The remaining 28 have resulted in losses for the men in royal blue.

The fact that the Stormers have won just over 50 percent of their home games doesn't seem to deter the faithful fans that flock to Newlands week in and week out. De Villiers and his men have enjoyed some of the best support in the Super 14 over the years, with crowds in excess of 40,000 common practice.

The Stormers march towards the semifinals will ensure that there will be close on 50,000 adoring fans egging them on against their nemesis on Saturday.

Past results:

2007: Highlanders won 35-24, Dunedin
2006: Highlanders won 30-15, Cape Town
2005: 16-all draw, Dunedin
2004: Stormers won 46-25, Cape Town
2003: Highlanders won 41-17, Dunedin
2002: Highlanders 21-20, Cape Town
2001: Highlanders won 24-23, Dunedin
2000: Stormers won 27-13, Cape Town
1999: Highlanders won 33-18, Cape Town (semifinal)
1999: Highlanders won 46-14, Dunedin
1998: Highlanders won 36-15, Cape Town

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