The fourth semifinalist in the Top Eight will in all probability be decided at Outeniqua Park at George where the Eagles and Cheetahs meet in a vital encounter on Friday.

The Kavaliers chances of upsetting Western Province at Newlands are minimal. They are on 16 points, one ahead of the Eagles and two ahead of the Cheetahs. The Kavaliers have a much better chance of securing a bonus point for four or more tries than of winning and all indications are that the winner at George will go through with WP, the Natal Sharks and the Lions.

Both camps will approach this game like a final. But the bad away record of his team this year is a big concern to Cheetahs coach Peet Kleynhans (pictured). He said on Thursday his team is ready for the battle, but they must overcome the away bogey if they want to pull this one off.

"The home ground advantage heavily favours the Eagles. We are battling away from home in this year's competition. We just can't get our game together and I don't know what the reasons are - I tried to work it out, but to no avail. There's just a missing link. On Friday we'll have to be at our best if we want to win," Kleynhans said.

He said his charges are aware of the importance of this game. "We played well against WP, although we made a couple of mistakes. Our aim is in for tomorrow. We do have a healthy respect for the Eagles - we do for any of the teams in the Top Eight.

"This is such a great competition and I must compliment Sarfu on it. Any team can beat another on any given day. They put together a good team effort against the Kavaliers last week and played brilliant rugby. These guys are playing for one another and Frans (Ludeke) did a good job with them this year."

The coach, however, expressed his confidence in his team's ability to clip the Eagles' wings on their own turf.

Ludeke also proclaimed his team's readiness to do battle. "Every player knows what is expected of him. We want each player to focus on his specific task. We, the players and I, don't believe the outcome of a match can be influenced - only the way we play."

Teams for Outeniqua Park:

Eagles: Manie du Toit; Paul Treu, Rickus Lubbe, Rudi Keil, Darryl Coeries; Theo van Rensburg (capt), Craig Turvey; Lodewyk Hattingh, Johan Wasserman, Johan Kapp, Drickus Hancke, Klein-Jan Tromp, Renier van den Bergh, Tommie Webb, Connie Botha. Substitutes: Gustav Rademeyer, Kenneth Fourie, Trevor Hall, Fiela van Zyl, Stephen Aylward, Jerome Muller, Rynhard van As.

Cheetahs: Michael Horak; Wylie Human, JP du Toit, De Wet Oelschig, Ferdie Wesso; MJ Smith, Jimmy Powell; Tokkie Kasselman, Andre Venter, Jaco Coetzee, Braam Els (capt), Joe Beukes, Mat Stander, Andre van Niekerk, Daan Human. Substitutes: Friedrich Lombard, Conrad Barnard, Neil Powell, Hendro Scholtz, Boela du Plooy, Vorster Zeilinga, Germaine Brinkhuis.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan.

Kick-off: 16:00.