Tactical kicking is forecast to be the key to deciding Saturday's Super 14 final between the defending champion, the Bulls and the challengers, the Stormers in Soweto.
Knockout rugby is likely to predominate over attractive football of the kind that both sides have played in the earlier stages of the championship if Stormers coach Allister Coetzee's predictions prove correct.
He told keo.co.za that last year's Currie Cup semi-final in which the two sides met was the closest pointer to the likely style of play in the game.
"They [the Bulls] kick further than any other team in the Super 14, and obviously with the thin air on the high veldt, the ball is going to fly higher and further. They have an intimidating kicking game, but if you can't handle it, you're dead," he said.
"The Bulls know that to attack successfully you have to play in the opposition half. They have a very good set-piece and some strong ball carriers, but you don't see them counter-attacking from their own 22 very often. They look to play down in the opposition 22, and it's from here where they score their tries."
Coetzee said the Crusaders had been rattled in the semi-final at the weekend, something the Stormers could not afford to happen.
"The Crusaders put themselves under pressure by going into the rucks without numbers, and they tried to create too much from within their own half. From there, the Bulls put them under pressure and even players like Dan Carter ended up knocking on," Coetzee said.
While the Bulls had the clearly superior kicking ability through Morne Steyn at first five-eighths, and halfback Fourie du Preez and fullback Zane Kirchner, the Stormers believed they could counter through fullback Joe Pietersen, three-quarter Gio Aplon and the inside back pairing of halfback Dewald Duvenage and first five-eighths Peter Grant.
"What we've got to do is pitch up physically as that will ensure we are free to enforce our kicking strategy. You have to stop the Bulls' momentum.
"We stopped the Waratahs last week and won the battle at the gain [advantage] line. From there, the Waratahs weren't able to execute their kicking game effectively.
"The Bulls have a completely different kicking game to the Waratahs. The Bulls will kick long or high, while the Waratahs go for those chips and grubbers. The shortcoming of the Waratahs strategy is a lot depends on the bounce of the ball," he said.
"It's no secret how the Bulls will play, so we've got to stick to our systems and prevent them from getting on the front foot," he said.