Saturday’s Super Rugby quarterfinal between the Stormers and the Chiefs at Newlands has been billed as a battle between the home team’s backs and the visitors’ forwards – but it’s not that simple. The Chiefs’ pack has stood up to the best the Australian Conference could throw at it while the Stormers backs have grown as the competition has developed.Centre Damian de Allende is close to his 2015 form while wing Leolin Zas and outside centre Huw Jones give the franchise great pace.Jaco Taute at fullback does not have the same electricity as the Olympics-bound Cheslin Kolbe‚ but he adds solidity and good awareness. Ultimately‚ the outcome will be deciding by the forwards - especially as rain is forecast for the match.The Chiefs don’t need to dominate; they just need to come close to matching the Stormers pack because they have such firepower in the backs.The home team’s only chance of victory hinges on complete domination from their eight.Chiefs vice captain Aaron Cruden shrugged off suggestions that his pack were in for a tough time against the Stormers‚ but he did concede that taming the home side’s forwards would be key to victory. “Our forward pack has been underrated at times‚” Cruden said.“There have been a few games when the backs haven’t fired and the forwards have carried us. They are aware of the challenge the Stormers pack are going to pose‚ but often they step their game up in those circumstances.“It’s finals football now so it’s about making the most of your opportunities.“South African teams do play in a way that takes us out of our comfort zone at times. NZ teams are renowned for playing up-tempo‚ high-skilled rugby while SA teams like to play at the right end of the field and go from set-piece to set-piece because they have dynamic athletes.“So for us it’s about finding the balance of identifying when it’s good to run from deep in our half.”Stormers captain Schalk Burger‚ who is playing his last game at Newlands at the weekend unless both the Lions and the Hurricanes lose and the Stormers win‚ knows his pack can put the New Zealanders under pressure.The Stormers lead the tournament in lineouts stolen with 38‚ compared to the Chiefs' 14.The Stormers scrum too has been as solid as Robben Island‚ so there is a platform to build on. “You can’t solely win a game through the set-piece‚ but you could lose a game if it’s not good enough‚” Burger said.“If the set-piece functions well‚ as a captain‚ it makes it quite easy to make decisions because you can back certain facets of the game.“That’s one area where we think we might be able to put the Chiefs under pressure – maybe an area of dominance for us. Every week’s different‚ but even when we lost a few of our own lineouts (against the Kings) we put their lineout under immense pressure.“Our pack has been functioning well‚ especially since the June break‚ so let’s hope that we can do that.” - TMG Digital..