Planet Rugby tips the All Blacks to win comfortably — by around 20 points — but argues this is no gimme. The piece identifies the Stormers' scrum as the primary threat: a 91% lineout success rate last season and more scrum penalties won than any URC side. With nine Springboks absent, Dobson's squad still carries genuine bite through Evan Roos, a physically imposing front row, and backs with the ability to create off nothing. The All Blacks have a similar toolkit, just deeper — and that depth is expected to tell in the final quarter. For Rennie, the match is as much an assessment exercise as a warm-up: fringe players like Rieko Ioane, Ethan Blackadder, and the two hookers fighting for the 16 jersey all have Test spots to chase. The standout subplot is the No.10 duel — Barrett, the wily veteran, against 20-year-old Stormers debutant Yaqeen Ahmed, who starred at the Junior World Championship and whom Barrett himself has called 'the future.' Ahmed's composure under pressure will be the key variable in what promises to be the box-office head-to-head of the match.