Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers believes that victory, rather than a bonus point, should be the main focal point ahead of the Super 14 match against the Brumbies at Newlands on Saturday.

There has been much talk of bonus points in the crunch stages of the tournament, but De Villiers has indicated that it could be dangerous to assume that his team will be in a position to shoot for bonus points before the match has run its course.

Every game now is of course of cardinal importance, and the congestion in the top half of the points table means that a single loss could be fatal to a team's semifinal hopes.

According to the official Stormers website, De Villiers said that team would not be under a lot of pressure to clinch a bonus point on Saturday.

They failed to get a bonus point against the Highlanders last Saturday, and this has left them crucially one point short of a top four spot for the time being.

"What we focus on is just winning our games. That's what we did last week and even if we didn't get the bonus point we were happy," said the skipper.

"If we can get the win this week again we will be happy. If we get the bonus point that is a bonus. We will obviously go out and play our game and stick to our structures.

"If we do that well and execute that well than hopefully we can get a bonus point as well."

De Villiers reiterated his stance on the bonus point scenario, stressing that it was important to focus on winning the game first and foremost.

"Yes, but we still first of all we have to win our games. After we've done that a bonus point comes into play. As long as we win our games we should be good."

The big centre said that he and the team were trying to keep their thoughts on the short term, and were not looking too far ahead, in contrast to Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher's statements that Saturday's losers were basically out of the competition.

"I don't know, maybe for them it really is a crunch game. You don't want to think too much about semifinals like we've been saying for a while now, but it comes closer and closer and become more of a reality.

"If we start thinking about that and putting all our energy into that we won't make it. That is why all the energy is going into preparing for the game, doing our structures and executing it.

"If we can do that right the semifinal will take care of itself. Maybe we learnt a lesson last weekend by trying to hard to get the bonus point.

"Like we said after the game it was good to be able to learn from that mistake and still win, so hopefully we wont make the same mistake and stay focused on the task."

De Villiers also rated his opposite number, veteran Brumbies centre Stirling Mortlock, very highly and expected a big battle in midfield.

"I expect a lot from him. With Mortlock back they have a lot of experience.

"He is a very experienced campaigner and I'm sure they would rely a lot on him to give them go-forward ball and it is our task to stop him."

Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus was of the opinion that the Brumbies' unpredictable style is something which is difficult to plan for, and that he was very wary of the threat the Brumbies youngsters posed.

"This is a totally different Brumbies team. They have a few players in the side who have never played at Newlands before," commented the coach.

"Last year it was Larkham, Gregan, Mortlock and those boys coming out here, so it's a different team. They don't play the same Brumbies style of rugby.

"If they dish that up I think we will be able to handle it, but they are very unpredictable. They were more predictable in previous years, so it's going to be a tough challenge.

"Typically with a few youngsters in their team they take changes. With the type of flyhalf they have and a new young wing and George Smith's brother at centre and young loose-forwards they actually are a young team.

"They are explosive and take chances. They are not thinking about the risks involved, which is good for them. I'm not making that a negative side of them - it's actually very tough to prepare to play against a team like that."

Former Cats wing Wylie Human will make his debut at number 14 for the Stormers on Saturday. Interestingly Human is a former team-mate of coach Rassie Erasmus at the Free State Cheetahs, and Erasmus thus knows intimately what Human brings to the table for the Stormers.

"This is the most experienced combination we could have picked. Wylie is an experienced campaigner, one of the most experienced backline players on the field.

"He is a very good kicker, which I think will also be a big part of the game on Saturday. He has a lot of experience and does his basics well. He is no Tondie (Chavhanga), but he can finish too."

The coach said the Brumbies are a difficult team with a good coach. "They are starting to peak at the right time in the tournament.

"They are a good side with good players and it will be a difficult match."