The Stormers can breath a sigh of relief after star players Damian Willemse and Leolin Zas were passed fit for their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal clash against Cardiff at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3:30pm).
Willemse and Zas were involved in an ugly training ground collision on Wednesday, and Director of Rugby John Dobson admitted that he was worried after the reactions of their medical staff.
But it seems all is well and both have been named to start at fullback and left wing respectively, while the Stormers received further boosts with the return of captain Ruhan Nel and wing Seabelo Senatla from injury.
Nel lines up in the midfield with Dan du Plessis, who also missed their last URC pool match against Cardiff in Wales, with them replacing Wandisile Simelane and Jonathan Roche who both drop out of the starting lineup.
The only other change to the starting side from that match sees Senatla come in on the right wing for Suleiman Hartzenberg, with him also dropping out of the match 23.
Historic
It is a historic occasion for Nel and Du Plessis as they will make their 30th start together as the centre pairing to draw level with De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert as the Stormers’ most-capped midfield combination.
Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu continues to be the Stormers flyhalf general, while Jurie Mathee will provide cover from the bench.
The starting forward pack remains unchanged from the last league match of the season, with powerful props Ntuthuko Mchunu and Neethling Fouche powering the front row with Andre-Hugo Venter, and an exciting loose trio featuring Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon and Paul de Villers.
Props Vernon Matongo and Zachary Porthen come onto the replacements bench, along with utility forward Ruan Ackermann, who makes his return from injury.
Director of Rugby John Dobson said that his team is determined to make the most of home advantage: We enjoy incredible support at the Cape Town Stadium, and we know that this will be another memorable occasion as knock-out rugby returns to Cape Town.
“We have some key players returning, which makes this one of the most experienced Stormers teams that we have ever selected. We have earned this opportunity to play a quarterfinal in front of our fans and we want to make it count.”
Stormers starting XV
Damian Willemse, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel (c), Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Adré Smith, Neethling Fouché, André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu
Bench: JJ Kotzé, Vernon Matongo, Zachary Porthen, Salmaan Moerat, Ruan Ackermann, Marcel Theunissen, Stefan Ungerer, Jurie Matthee.
