Two late tries by the Free Staters paved the way for a last-minute 31-30 victory, and Van Straaten was still clearly still hurt by their defeat on Wednesday, saying: “It was the worst weekend of my life.

“We worked so hard to win that game and we were controlling the match and winning the battle, and then in the dying minutes we lost composure and gave it away.

“We are determined to go to Bloemfontein and turn that result around this week.”

The former Springbok flyhalf emphasised the importance of good discipline and bringing brute physicality to the clash to keep alive these hopes.

“For us it is still work as usual,” said Van Straaten. “We need to go out and perform to the best of our abilities without getting pulled into too many incidents. Our job is to focus on the game. It will be very physical but within the rules.”

He added: “Cards have been an Achilles heel for us, and we’ve been getting on the wrong side of the referee, so discipline has been a big focus for us this year.

“High tackles are getting less and less, and we need to maintain that improvement.

“It is also crucial that we don’t give away soft penalties that will allow them to get into our half.”

Despite this, Van Straaten expected a similarly tense clash to last week, and said: “The niggles will carry over, it is a South African derby after all.

“We handled it well to a certain extent last week. But again, we have to go out there with the mind-set that we must win the physical battle without doing anything stupid that will make winning harder.”