Halfback shakeup for Stormers
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has made four changes to his unbeaten team, ahead of their Super Rugby Round Five encounter with the Chiefs at Newlands on Saturday.
The most significant changes are at halfback – where Kurt Coleman and Louis Schreuder replace Demetri Catrakilis and Nic Groom respectively.
Fit-again Stormers wing Kobus van Wyk will slot straight back into the starting XV.
The powerful runner has shaken off the calf muscle injury that delayed his start to the 2015 season and wins back the No.14 jersey from Johnny Kotze, who drops out of the squad this week.
Kotze, after an excellent start to his debut season at this level, is resting a slightly troublesome AC Joint, meaning that Van Wyk's return to full fitness, after training at 100 percent with the team these past two weeks, is a timeous one.
At lock Jean Kleyn comes in at No.4 for injured Springbok Eben Etzebeth, who is also being 'rested' as part of the South African Super Rugby franchises' agreement with the Springboks.
Kleyn, of course, came off the bench last Saturday as the Stormers made it four from four with a deserved 29-13 victory over the Sharks.
Regular No.5 lock Ruan Botha, over his minor concussion, returns to the matchday squad this week
via the bench, where he is joined by experienced loose forward Schalk Burger, who is set to win his 99th cap for the Stormers.
Whilst Burger is on the verge of his 100th appearance for the Stormers, following in the footsteps of Andries Bekker and Jean de Villiers before him, 23-year-old loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff will make his 50th appearance this Saturday.
"Having a guy like Kobus – our first-choice right-wing since last year's Super Rugby competition – back is indeed perfect timing for us, with Johnny in need of a rest [with his AC Joint] after making a good start to his first season at this level," Coetzee said.
"I have spoken before about increasing our squad capacity and Johnny's performances in our first four games are proof of this, whilst Louis and Kurt have both made an impact off the bench this season and them starting this week, after great work from Nic and Demetri up until now, is also important in our long-term [season] planning."
The Stormers have a bye next weekend, after five games in a row, before they head abroad for a tough four-match tour of Australasia.
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Demetri Catrakilis, 23 Huw Jones.
Date: Saturday, March 14
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT; 02.00 Sunday, March 15 NZ time)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
