Adriaan Fondse, Steven Sykes, Gerhard Mostert or Flip van der Merwe?

That is the big question the Springbok coach will have to answer in 2012 when he considers who will succeed Bakkies Botha in South Africa’s No 4 jersey.

Fondse gets his chance against Botha and Van der Merwe when the Bulls and Stormers clash in their Super 14 game at Newlands on Saturday.

According to Fondse, who was Botha’s understudy at the Blue Bulls earlier in his career, the Stormers have “something to prove” following their surprise defeat to the Sharks at the weekend.

“We let ourselves down. It’s not going to be difficult to motivate ourselves,” he said.

The Stormers’ forwards were on the receiving end of a drubbing for the first time this season last Saturday, but the biggest motivation is the home semi-final that awaits the Capetonians if they can beat the Bulls.

For Fondse it’s a huge match, even if the Bulls’ stars won’t be in action.

“Any north-south game is big, irrespective of who is in the team. Those guys are coming here to try and win and will get stuck in,” he said.

“We’ll have to play good rugby and not just go through the motions. To beat any Bulls side, you have to start at the pack.”

For the Stormers it remains a source of pride that not one of them have been sin-binned yet this year and that is why discipline will again be crucial in this robust clash.

Apart from that game discipline with regards to accurate execution will also be of paramount importance.

The Stormers disappointed against the Sharks in that regard.

“The Sharks were very physical, but we just made too many mistakes,” said Fondse.

“We nearly had to make a record amount of tackles and that takes its toll on your body. The big thing is to keep possession a lot better.”

Fondse’s lock partner Andries Bekker will be a key man for the Stormers as they seek to dominate the lineouts in Victor Matfield’s absence at the Bulls.

According to the statistics that Fika supply to the Stormers, Bekker has won 62 of his 71 lineout balls for a success rate of 87%. He also took 8 balls off opponents on the 34 occasions that he contested for a contesting success rate of 23%.

Matfield’s success ratio in the lineouts is 55 from 61 (90%) and he pinched possession 8 times in 27 attempts (30%).

The statistics show that Bekker is well on his way to ultimately succeeding Matfield.

The question is who Botha’s successor will be.

“Adriaan still has to improve his physicality. That is where Bakkies is phenomenal,” said Stormers forwards coach Matt Proudfoot.

“What I like about Adriaan is his attitude. He does not talk a lot or complain. He just gets on with the job and that is what you want from a forward.

“There are a few guys that can put up their hands for the Boks’ No 4 jersey. I was impressed with Steven Sykes’ physicality last week and Gerhard Mostert can also be a factor if he’s fit.

“I’d like to see Adriaan get through a proper pre-season without injury. He will then definitely be among the contenders.”