- Rookie Bulls prop Mornay Smith is undaunted by having to face Steven Kitshoff in Saturday's north-south derby.
- Shrewdly, the 23-year-old tighthead - who's become an understated stalwart - has done as much homework against his esteemed direct opponent without overthinking things.
- Because, as he points out, every prop has some trick up his sleeve that one can't plan for.
On Saturday evening, Mornay Smith will have to front up against one of the best looseheads in world rugby.
To add to the perceived pressure, the 23-year-old Bulls tighthead hasn't played against Steven Kitshoff before, so it would be perfectly understandable if he suffered from some insomnia this week contemplating a first taste of "The Spicy Plum's" scrumming prowess.
Instead, the only thing that's kept him awake is thinking of ways to subdue an opponent with a big reputation.
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Abner van Reenen, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Cornel Smit, 23 Edwill van der Merwe
Bulls
15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 James Verity-Amm
"I don’t think I've had any sleepless nights but it's a big challenge to face him. I’ve never scrummed against Steven and I’ve done a lot of homework on him,” said Smith.
"It will really be a big challenge to measure yourself against a player who is No 1 in his position at the moment. It's a massive thing to test yourself against a player like that."
Such a measured response isn't really surprising.
Perhaps considered a bit "unfashionable" given his background of matriculating at Hoërskool Eldoraigne, Smith did beat a steady path towards senior rugby by being selected for the SA Schools 'A' side in 2016 and becoming a stalwart in the Bulls' junior ranks.
However, while many observers and supporters were - perhaps understandably - focused on the return of Marcel van der Merwe to provide quality back-up to Trevor Nyakane or the fanfare of the gifted Jan-Hendrik Wessels making Pretoria his new home, the compact, 1.81m and 109kg Smith un-fussily has established himself as a go-to guy for Jake White.
The front rower has even managed to conduct his analysis on his esteemed direct opponent with the right perspective, working diligently without overthinking things.
"I will first have to see what he brings. It's the first time I'll be playing against the Stormers at senior level, the previous times I was either injured or not chosen," said Smith.
"He's the No 1 loosehead at the moment. Let’s see what he gives and if I can counter that."
A player of Kitshoff's calibre will, in all likelihood anyway, have a few tricks up his sleeve.
"Every prop has his own way of doing things. It really goes mostly about what the opposition brings to the scrum and then you have to counter that," said Smith.
"You have to read what your opponent is giving you, counter whatever picture he's showing you. If he only wants to scrum straight, I’ll have to work with what I have."
In the end, this north-south derby is about Smith gaining valuable experience.
"The more experienced you are, the more pictures you see of what you need to scrum against. At the moment I’m trying to get as much experience as possible to help me work on my own mistakes," he said.
"It is never easy, they have a lot of experience and I'm a young prop. It is, however, a nice experience to play against teams like the Stormers because you can always learn from them."
Kick-off at the Cape Town Stadium is at 18:15.