Three Australian sides and the most successful team of all time stand in the way of the four South African franchises in action in Vodacom Super Rugby, as a number of players celebrate personal milestones this weekend.

First up, in Christchurch, the Cell C Sharks will have their work cut out for them against the in-form Crusaders on Saturday morning in what will be a special occasion for the Durbanites’ two Springbok props, Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis.

Later on Saturday, the DHL Stormers and the Toyota Cheetahs have home games against the Force and Brumbies respectively, and in Cape Town veteran flyhalf Peter Grant will lead his team out.

On Sunday morning, the Lions will aim for their first ever win over the Waratahs when they take on the team from New South Wales in Sydney in their third tour game.

Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who has been anchoring the Cell C Sharks’ scrum since for seven years, will be the first this weekend to reach 100 when the KwaZulu-Natalians take on the Crusaders in Christchurch. He made his debut in Durban on 9 February 2007, when he replaced John Smit late in the match against the Waratahs.

What makes Mtawarira’s 100th Vodacom Super Rugby cap special, is that he will “share” it with fellow Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis, who will play in his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match for the Cell C Sharks.

Du Plessis though also played 26 times for the Toyota Cheetahs earlier in his career. This weekend he will become the second-most experienced Vodacom Super Rugby player from South Africa as he passes former team-mates John Smit and AJ Venter, who both played 125 times at this level.

Following hot on Mtawarira’s heels, DHL Stormers inside back Peter Grant will run out for his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match at DHL Newlands when they host the Force on Saturday afternoon.

Grant made his debut at this level in the opening round in 2006, on 11 February, against the Lions (then still called the Cats) in Johannesburg. He is eighth on the list of all-time Vodacom Super Rugby points’ scorers, with 852 points, and the second South African behind Morné Steyn (1,431 points).

Dan Carter of the Crusaders tops this list with 1,547 Vodacom Super Rugby points, with Steyn second and Stirling Mortlock (Brumbies and Rebels) third on 1,036. They are the only players with more than 1,000 points in the competition. Grant needs six points to move past Stephen Donald into the seventh position on the list.

Victor Matfield, whose Vodacom Bulls have a bye this weekend, captained the team from Pretoria for the 79th time last weekend, which has put him equal with Nathan Sharpe’s record for the most times as captain of one team.

Matfield needs three more appearances as skipper to overtake Sharpe as most experienced Vodacom Super Rugby captain ever.

The full list of South African Vodacom Super Rugby centurions:

• 135: Victor Matfield (Cats 8, Bulls 127)
• 125: AJ Venter (Cats 19, Sharks 96, Stormers 10), John Smit (Sharks), Jannie du Plessis (Cheetahs 26, Sharks 99)
• 123: Morné Steyn (Bulls)
• 122: Stefan Terblanche (Sharks)
• 118: Bryan Habana (Bulls 61, Stormers 57)
• 116: Danie Rossouw (Bulls)
• 114: Jacques Botes (Sharks)
• 113: Pedrie Wannenburg (Bulls), Adi Jacobs (Bulls 21, Cats 4, Sharks 88), Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)
• 112: Fourie du Preez (Bulls), Odwa Ndungane (Bulls 10, Sharks 102)
• 110: Wynand Olivier (Bulls)
• 108: Ollie le Roux (Natal 24, Sharks 60, Cats 3, Cheetahs 21), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs 61, Sharks 47)
• 105: Akona Ndungane (Bulls), JP Pietersen (Sharks), Jean de Villiers (Stormers)
• 104: Andries Bekker (Stormers), Jano Vermaak (Cats 11, Lions 62, Bulls 31), Werner Kruger (Bulls)
• 103: Pierre Spies (Bulls)
• 102: Albert van den Berg (Cats 7, Sharks 95), Keegan Daniel (Sharks)
• 101: Adriaan Strauss (Bulls 8, Cheetahs 93)
• 100: Bakkies Botha (Bulls)
• *99: Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Peter Grant (Stormers)

Crusaders vs Cell C Sharks:

The Cell C Sharks have a tough assignment in Christchurch on Saturday morning when they face the in-form Crusaders, who has not lost to a team from South Africa at home in a very long time.

To add insult to injury, the Crusaders are also the one team from New Zealand who the Cell C Sharks always struggle against. In all their years of playing each other, the franchise from Durban has only beaten the Crusaders three times out of 17 matches.

Compared to winning ratios of 13 from 17 against the Blues, nine from 16 against the Highlanders, eight from 16 against the Chiefs and seven from 17 against the Chiefs, it’s clear that the Crusaders are the KwaZulu-Natalians’ Kiwi nemesis.

Coupled with the fact that they have won their last five matches and have not lost to a team from South Africa in New Zealand since 2001, the Cell C Sharks face an uphill battle this weekend.

But their Director of Rugby, Jake White, remained upbeat this week when asked about their upcoming encounter.

“I think that records are there to be broken,” said White.

“To be fair, the Crusaders have lost two games at home this season, so it’s not impossible (to beat them in Christchurch), but we need to make sure we’re up for it.

“The Crusaders are an All Black-laden side and they’re a team that always hit their straps around this time of year. So it is a difficult time to play them at a time in the season when they are on a high.

“In saying that, it’s not mission impossible, we have to believe we have a chance and we’ve got to make sure we give it a crack.”

Rugby-Talk Prediction: With the Sharks having lost against the Brumbies last week and the Brumbies being pummelled by the Crusaders the week before, the Crusaders at home must surely be favourites to win. The Crusaders are hitting a serious bit of form, whereas the Sharks are on a downward curve, therefore I predict that the Crusaders should win by 7 – 14.

Teams:

Date: Saturday 17 May
Kick-Off: 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ ime, 07:35 GMT)
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Mike Lash (New Zealand)
TMO: Chris Watt (New Zealand)

DHL Stormers vs Western Force:

It’s been more than four years since the Force’s last Vodacom Super Rugby victory over the DHL Stormers, a winning run the team from Cape Town would like to build on when they host the Western Australians at DHL Newlands on Saturday afternoon.

Injuries have ravaged the DHL Stormers’ campaign this year and Springbok captain Jean de Villiers still heads a long list of players not available because of various injuries.

Furthermore, the Force are enjoying probably their best-ever season and will be a dangerous opponent at DHL Newlands on Saturday, where they will be looking for their first win since February 2007.

Last weekend’s win over the Toyota Cheetahs was the first for the Force in South Africa since 2010. They’ve only once returned back to Perth unbeaten in the Republic and that was in 2007, so the Force will have something big to play for.

DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said: “We’re aware of the threat posed by the Force. They’re a well-organised team and will test us across the board.

“We’re happy to have Michael Rhodes and Kobus van Wyk back this week, whilst it’s a special moment for Peter Grant who will wear the No.10 jersey in his 100th match for the DHL Stormers.

“Peter and Brok Harris – who will play his 200th match for the union – have been loyal servants and they deserve to be in the limelight this week. Hopefully we can make it a special day for both of them come Saturday.”

Marcel Brache, who played one match at this level for the DHL Stormers and 44 for Western Province, returns to Cape Town on the wing for the Force this weekend.

Rugby-Talk Prediction: Although the Stormers have gotten a few players back from injury, they still disappoint in 2014 whereas the Western Force has had a fairy tale season so far. The Force is already on a win on tour in SA (Cheetahs last week) but one cannot help but hope and feel the Stormers luck has to turn sometime… what the heck, I predict a Force win, by 5 – 12 points.

Teams:

Date: Saturday 17 May
Kick-Off: 17:05 SA Time (23:05 AWST, 15:05 GMT)
Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Toyota Cheetahs vs Brumbies:

The Toyota Cheetahs will be looking to start strongly and keep it up for the full 80 minutes when they host the Brumbies at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening.

No team in Vodacom Super Rugby have scored more tries in the first 20 minutes of their matches than the Toyota Cheetahs’ 10. However, they tend to also concede more tries than all the other teams late in the match (16 on average in the last quarter) and will have to make a step up in this department.

With two wins from three against the Brumbies in Bloem, the Toyota Cheetahs have shown they have what it takes to beat the team from Canberra in South Africa, who have arrived in the Republic as Australian Conference leaders on the back of a victory in their top-of-the-table clash against the Cell C Sharks last weekend.

“The Brumbies are a quality side, they showed that against the Sharks last weekend,” said Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské.

“They don’t have many weaknesses. Their pack is solid and their set-piece play is really good, while they play with lots of continuity, manage to get quick ball at the breakdown and have a good defence.”

“The Brumbies count amongst the front runners in the competition, but having said that, we will always give ourselves a chance in Bloemfontein and we know we can win here, even though it won’t be easy.”

“We need to cut out the soft moments, such as the two tries the Force scored against us when we had the ball. If you want to win at this level, you simply have to concentrate for the full 80 minutes.”

Rugby-Talk Prediction: Can one predict for one of the bottom-feeders against one of the frontrunners? The Cheetahs play such a beautiful game, but often it is still a losing game too, with their defences leaking like a seive! I predict a Brumbies win, away from home and on tour, by 6 – 14 points.

Teams:

Date: Saturday 17 May
Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time (03:10 AEST, 17:10 GMT)
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Francois de Bruin (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

Waratahs vs Lions:

The Lions will have to produce their best performance ever against the Waratahs if they are going to win this Vodacom Super Rugby tour match in Sydney on Sunday morning.

As a franchise, ever since the split of the Cats after the 2005 season, the Lions have never beaten the Waratahs – in South Africa or abroad.

Only once, when the Cats won by 28-21 at Ellis Park way back in 2001, have the team based in Johannesburg beaten the New South Welshmen.

As a result, the history between these two sides is very one-sided. The average score in matches between them dating back to 2006 is a comfortable 40-13 in the Waratahs’ favour, who have scored four or more tries on all but one occasion against the Lions (this happened in Joburg in 2007).

The Lions, who will in all likelihood try and put the home team under pressure at scrum time, will have to be mindful of the Waratahs when they get into their attacking groove.

The Sydneysiders have averaged more offloads (13.1) and passes (162) per game than any other side this year and they very seldom kick, with the lowest number on average per game of all teams (17.2) in the competition.

Rugby-Talk Prediction: The Waratahs have dropped a notch or 2 in recent Rounds, but the Lions season has also taken a turn for the worse after a solid start in the season. On tour I cannot see the Lions beating the Waratahs in their back yard. I predict that the Waratahs will win rather comfortably, by 8 – 16 points.

Teams:

Date: Sunday 18 May
Kick-Off: 08:05 SA Time (16:05 AEST, 06:05 GMT)
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Other fixtures:

Hurricanes vs Highlanders – Wellington

Friday 16 May: 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT)

Rugby-Talk Prediction: The Hurricanes with their star-laden backline or the Highlanders with the stronger pack… I would have to go for the home team, Hurricanes to win by 5 – 12 points.

Reds vs Melbourne Rebels – Brisbane

Saturday 17 May: 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT)

Rugby-Talk Prediction: The Reds are scraping the barrel and they seem to be looking for opportunities to even dig deeper than that. The Rebels on the other hand have not been bad compared to previous seasons, so it’s a difficult pick to pick against the home side in this case, but I predict that the Rebels will edge this away from home by 3 – 8 points.

Byes: Vodacom Bulls, Chiefs, Blues