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Johannesburg - Victories for the Bulls and Lions could signal the end of a period where the Sharks and Stormers dominated the South African rugby scene.
The top two sides in the South African Super Rugby conference were also the finalists in the last Currie Cup and will on Saturday be up against some very desperate contenders.
First the Sharks travel to Johannesburg where the icy thin Highveld air, will present a challenge in itself.
Kick-off is at 4pm.
Then the Bulls will be looking to bash their way through the Stormers defence at Newlands at 6pm.
In both matches, the visitors will be out to take revenge after losing their respective home fixtures against the very same opponents.
Lions coach John Mitchell best summed up what his men will have to be up for when he said: "Clearly they (The Sharks) will not be coming here to play tidly winks, it should be full-on."
He also made it clear that his men will not finish their season the way they did in the Currie Cup - with a loss.
"We are not in a mindset of finishing the campaign, we are more in a mindset of improving our performance so we will remember what was done to us in Durban early in the competition."
The Sharks will be arriving with a complement of 11 Springboks and a French international while the Lions will be banking on the experience of World Cup winners Butch James and Wikus van Heerden to pull them through.
With a play-off spot well within their reach one of the most important things for the Sharks will be to build momentum ahead of next week’s grand finale against the Bulls at Loftus.
In Cape Town a very large contingent of current World Cup contenders will be involved in a match that will be used as a test simulator.
Fighting to stay in the play-offs, the Bulls have started to hit their straps and are more than capable of breaching the province line.
What should be of even more concern, for the Springbok coaching staff, is that this will be the last time many of the top South African players will be seen locally.
As far as physical contests are concerned, this will be a bruiser and the only softer target should be the least experienced man on the pitch.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke did, however, make the point that a decision making player is only as good as the men he has around him.
"The performances of individuals are usually the result of how the team performs," said Ludeke.
"He has experienced players around him and if the team's structures are good he will play well," Ludeke said of Stormers flyhalf Kurt Coleman.
"We are taking notice of him, but won't focus on him. What matters is that we are accurate in what we want to achieve."
