Crunch time for Chiefs in Cape Town

They’ve played arguably the best rugby of the competition, had the tenacity to win in five different countries and the fortitude to overcome a ton of injuries, but all of that will count for diddly squat if the Chiefs don’t get the business done at Newlands this weekend.

Five months after a ball was kicked in anger, Super Rugby’s quarterfinals are here, and now it’s about who can hold their nerve at crunch time. Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has previously referenced the fact that noone remembers things like how many injuries a team had, but just the season’s result that gets scribbled into the annals.

The convoluted competition format has the Chiefs making the unenviable journey to Cape Town, to face a Stormers side which carries an air of mystique such is the fact they haven’t faced a New Zealand side this year – something even their coach Robbie Fleck lamented this week.

Last-minute homework by the Chiefs’ coaching staff took up most of the long plane trip, as they got up to speed for what the hosts will bring to the winner-takes-all contest.

A dynamic Springbok locking duo of Pieter-steph du Toit and Eben Ezebeth, along with veteran Schalk Burger, will be imposing, even if the Stormers’ set pieces aren’t amongst the competition’s best operating ones, while in the midfield sits dangerous Bok Damian de Allende, alongside Scotland international Huw Jones.

But the Chiefs go into this one as the better team, and just need to go out and play as they have been.

It was no disgrace being undone in Dunedin by the Highlanders, and the Chiefs know they can be more polished, as they aim to get past week one of the playoffs for the first time since their back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

‘‘We’ve stumbled at this stage in the last two years, and we’re certainly well aware of that,’’ Rennie said. ‘‘To be honest, I think we’re in a better state, we’ve got better momentum.

‘‘What we’re hoping is that the tough footy we’ve had to play week-in, week-out will help.’’

You get the feeling if the Chiefs can play at that sort of pace then the Stormers will be well on the back foot. An earlier forecast of

rain has now improved, and the visitors will like that, as a reinstated Brad Weber looks to set things alight, with Sam Mcnicol sure to be fizzing on the flank in his first start in almost three months.

‘‘We’ll be pretty positive, play what’s in front of us,’’ Rennie said. ‘‘It doesn’t mean we won’t be kicking, but we want to get a real good balance to our game.

‘‘We’ve prepared well, we know we’re going to have to defend really well, they carry strong, they latch on and force you to make a lot of tackles. So it’s going to be a pretty abrasive game I think.

‘‘We’ve talked a lot about understanding that you lift in intensity when you go into playoff footy.’’

If Sam Cane can produce anything like his herculean effort from last weekend the Chiefs will be away laughing, while the old head of Stephen Donald at 12 should keep things in check. Rennie said Donald was nervous about the prospect, but that was the same against the Crusaders and Wales – and we all know what happened there.

The Stormers – who have relied on penalty kicks more than any other side this season (2.6 per game) – have lost to the Chiefs in their past two meetings (one home, one away) and have won just one of their seven playoff games, including none of their last four.