The Springbok squad for their tour of the UK will be announced after Saturday’s Currie Cup final between the Free State Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein (4pm).
Coach Allister Coetzee will name two squads – one for the match against the Barbarians and one for the rest of the tour.
In Bloemfontein, though, a number of players will be looking to make a final impression in the hope of booking their ticket on Coetzee’s flight.
And here we look at some of those battles that might have a telling impact on the final:
Wing battle
Sergeal Petersen has to be close to a Springbok call-up, while his opposite number on Saturday, the Blue Bulls’ Jamba Ulengo, is the tournament's leading try-scorer with seven.
On the other side of the pitch, Travis Ismael will cross swords with Raymond Rhule – yet another mouthwatering duel.
With both teams looking to give the ball some width, the quartet might just have a final say on who gets their hands on the cup.
Midfield
Cheetahs captain Francois Venter and Nico Lee have been central to their team’s unbeaten run to date. Venter, especially, is knocking hard on the Bok door. They will square up against Dries Swanepoel and the impressive Burger Odendaal of the Bulls.
The inside centre battle of Odendaal and Nico Lee will be especially interesting to watch, with both men possibly looking at inclusion for the match against the Barbarians on November 5.
Breakdown battle
Roelof Smit has been one of the shining lights in this year’s Currie Cup, having made the most turnovers in the competition with 20.
On the opposite end of the pitch, Paul Schoeman is not that big on the ground, being more of a big-hitting, hard working flanker.
And how these two will cancel out each other will have a big impact on the game.
Front row
Ox Nche is one of the nominees for the Currie Cup Player of the Year award. He’s been brilliant as a ball-playing prop and if he wants to impress the national coach and also help the Cheetahs finish the campaign as unbeaten champs, he will have to get the better of Jacobie Adriaanse – which will be a tough battle.
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