Williams back for crucial clash

Sonny Bill Williams returns from injury for the Blues against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday morning (NZ time).

Williams missed last week’s win over the Cheetahs with concussion after copping a knee to the head in Sydney the previous week but has been fully cleared to play in South Africa, and will again form a power-packed midfield combination with All Blacks utility George Moala.

The Blues have won their last three matches but cannot drop another game this season and must pick up bonus points along the way if they are to sneak past the Highlanders and into the playoffs as the fourth-place Kiwi team.

Tana Umaga’s men last won in Cape Town in 2009, losing their last two matches there in 2012 and 2015.

The Stormers come off the bye, but before that lost their past four games including three big losses to the Hurricanes, Highlanders and Crusaders in New Zealand.

‘‘We knew this back end of the season was full of challenges with our travel schedule. We have planned for it and we do have a number of players coming back from injury for us,’’ Umaga said.

‘‘The Stormers at Newlands are a formidable challenge for us. We’ve played well for the last month and need to continue to improve every game as we look to produce an 80-minute performance.’’