Battle of the Boks: Morne van den Berg relishing squaring off with Cobus Reinach

The dynamic duo swap the green and gold for their franchise colours this weekend as the undefeated Stormers host the Lions in Cape Town. Reinach has got two Stormers caps under his belt and ran riot last weekend in their entertaining 42-21 Champions Cup win over two-time winners La Rochelle.

Van den Berg featured in four tests this year and has all but cemented his place as the third-choice scrumhalf in the Bok squad, but his stocks are rising fast. Now, the Lions star will be eager to test his mettle against his Bok mentor and teammate.

The duo love scoring tries. Van den Berg has notched up five in just seven matches, while Reinach Reinach has scored an impressive 19 tries in 50 Tests, including two hat-tricks. The double World Cup winner is yet to cross the whitewash for the Stormers, but given his strike rate, don't hold your breath.

Meanwhile, van den Berg remains grounded. Despite the competition for the coveted Springbok No.9 shirt, the Johannesburg native insists he is focused on what's best for the Lions on Saturday.

"I know I will be facing Cobus, but all I'm thinking about is how I can help the team win," he told the media this week.

"I'm not thinking about the Boks, my focus is fully on this weekend's match. I have a lot of respect for Cobus. He's been amazing over the past two years. But this weekend I'm going there to compete and to give it my all against him.

"It's a lot of little things; How he prepares in the week, how he sees the game, when to do something, when not to do something. When to look for space. It's a lot of small stuff that adds to the big things.

"The team definitely comes first. But if you want to test yourself, you want to play against the best. That's what excites me."