CAPE TOWN – While the Stormers have their foot in the door, they will first have to deal with a very competent Sharks outfit in  tomorrow’s semifinal before  a final next weekend against either the Chiefs or the Crusaders  becomes a reality.
 
“The key is not to think about the next step,” warned De Villiers, who has been lauded for his captaining abilities for both the Capetonians and the national team.
 
“The key is to concentrate on what we need to do this weekend, the process of getting a good result and focusing on the mini-victories within the big battle.”
 
Last year the Stormers let themselves down as their season ended in  anti-climax when they were annihilated by the Crusaders in the semifinal at Newlands. In 2010 they beat the Waratahs 25-6 in the semifinals, but then came up short against a rampant Bulls side in the historic Soweto final.
 
“I think you will make a massive mistake if you start thinking about next week   because obviously, if you don't pitch up this week, there is no next week,” De Villiers added.
 
n Sharks No 8 Ryan Kankowski, in the form of his life,  said the Durbanites have always believed in themselves and their abilities to make it count in the competition.
 
“The guys have been gelling which is good at this time of the competition,” he said. “We came back from the June break in the tournament and we had enough time to get settled.” 
 
Winning six of their last seven games, the Sharks unexpectedly let themselves down by losing by 10 points to the Lions just after they had beaten the Stormers prior to the June Test window.
 
“It seems that we like making things tough for ourselves,” Kankowski  said. “We only seem to play when there’s a knife against our throat; we put ourselves under a bit of pressure but we came out on top. We just need to keep building on that.”
 
While the scrums and  breakdowns have been singled out as the two biggest areas in tomorrow’s game, Kankowski, who makes the calls, said the lineouts could be an equally big focus area.
 
And in the Stormers  locks – Andries Bekker at 2.08m, and the 2.04m Eben Etzebeth – it’s commonly believed the Stormers have a big edge. But Kankowski said they have a few plans of their own.
 
“They have the tallest lineout,” he said.  “Eben and Andries are both brilliant lineout options, but we will watch their games, come up with a few plans and hopefully it all comes off on the weekend.”