De Wet Barry’s punishing defence has won South Africa a rugby Test against Australia at Newlands, but the Stormers have no doubt that Juan de Jongh will stand his ground against the veteran Springbok in Saturday’s Super 14 clash.

“I have a lot of confidence in the centre pairing. They have played against Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, Stephen Donald and Richard Kahui, and the Blues centre pairing (Luke McAlister and Rene Ranger) and performed well,” said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.

“We’re not going to pitch up and watch how this so-called B-team puts us under pressure. We’re rocking up at Newlands to win and make the semi-finals. That is our motivation.”

Coetzee on Wednesday chose his A-team for the clash with the Bulls’ B-team, with three changes and a positional switch to the side that lost 14-20 to the Sharks in Durban at the weekend.

Bryan Habana returns on the left wing in place of Tim Whitehead, Joe Pietersen is at fullback and Gio Aplon moves to the right wing in place of Sireli Naqelevuki.

“I always look at the opponent before picking a side and expect the Bulls to come with an aerial bombardment,” said Coetzee.

“Joe is our top fullback and available again. It’s also the right thing to have someone who kicks with his left foot on the right wing.

“Bryan, Gio and Joe have been able to handle any opponents’ kicking game in the games they played together. Hopefully that is the case again this week.”

Up front Wicus Blaauw returns in place of JD Moller. Blaauw may struggle with his match fitness a bit, but his return can be of major interest to the Stormers should they advance to the semi-finals.

“We want Wicus to play for as long as possible on Saturday. He has worked very hard and he’s looking in good shape. I’m confident that he will comfortably be able to play for more than 60 minutes,” said Coetzee.

A Bulls team led by Bakkies Botha and with Barry in midfield will certainly not be coming to Newlands to blow kisses. However, it won’t help the Stormers to worry about possible injuries.

“We’re focusing on what we can control,” said Coetzee.