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Cape Town - Cape Town's Newlands Stadium will underline its reputation as the country's biggest crowd-puller for Currie Cup matches when Western Province host the Sharks on Saturday.
The historic venue also attracts the world's biggest Super 14 crowds, with match averages of well over 40 000 spectators in the past two seasons.
Earlier this year, the clash between Province and the Blue Bulls attracted 47 835 spectators, a Newlands record for the league stages of Currie Cup matches.
Indications are that this record will be broken, with few tickets still available on Friday morning.
Province spokesperson Gavin Lewis said it was likely that all tickets would be gone long before kick-off at 17:05 on Saturday.
There is a lot riding on Saturday's result for Province, as they have lost their sparkle as a Currie Cup force. They have failed to reach a Currie Cup final since 2001.
Province officials have been unable to convert the "healthy state" of the game in Cape Town to championship success, either in the Currie Cup or Super rugby domains.
Even so, the crowds continue to flock to Newlands, and Saturday's crowd figure will be significantly boosted by the huge support for the Sharks.
There is a strong Sharks supporters' club a stone's throw from the stadium.
In recent times, the battle between the two coastal rivals has become a war of attrition in which physicality and aggression have been the decisive factors.
In the run-up to the match it was speculated that victory will not be a premier concern for the visiting Sharks, but their coach John Plumtree emphatically put that notion to bed.
"It's crunch time now, he said. "If you look at our match, it's the pick of the games of the weekend and probably has got the most riding on it.
"Having their Boks back will certainly give Western Province lots of confidence.
"(Bryan) Habana, (Jaque) Fourie and Schalk Burger are key men for the Boks and certainly they are key men in the Province side."
Province's coach Allister Coetzee said his charges were looking forward to the challenge.
"I know people want us to talk it (the match) up a bit, but the talking will be done on the field on Saturday.
"We have prepared well. We know exactly what is awaiting us and what we want to achieve.
"The Sharks are a team with a lot of quality and it’s going to be tough -- a 50/50 clash with no inch given either way at the scrums, mauls, collisions and breakdowns.
"Everything will depend on how the teams handle the pressure, discipline and accuracy. We like to exert a lot of pressure on opponents when we keep the ball in hand."
The Province backline is a show-stopper on its own with the inclusion of Gio Aplon, Habana, Juan de Jongh, Fourie and Jean de Villiers occupying the last five positions.
The key to unlocking their striking prowess will be to unleash them with room to manoeuvre, and that is why role of the Province halfback pairing of flyhalf Willem de Waal and scrumhalf Ricky Januarie will be crucial.
De Waal usually stands so deep in the pivot position that the opposition defence has loads of time to organise itself.
Januarie is not the swiftest operator at the base of the scrum and together these two concerns could blunt Province's strike.
The Sharks' pack has established itself as the most aggressive and most physical in the country.
The best Province can hope for is that they at least stand up to the Sharks' onslaught in the set-pieces to ensure that they can sustain their challenge with ball supply from the primary sources.
The Sharks' all-Springbok front row of Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira will almost certainly ensure that they enjoy the upper hand in the tight and just how Province can manage that challenge could alone decide the outcome of the match.
