Stormers field Bok-laden line-up for Connacht challenge
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Stormers Director of Rugby named 10 Springboks in his starting line-up to face Connacht in Round 15 of the United Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The URC encounter with the Irish side kicks off at 13.45 SAST on Saturday, with the Stormers XXIII in action against the Bulls XV directly afterwards.
The double-header at DHL Stadium will also see the club and their fans pay tribute to legendary team manager Chippie Solomon, following his sudden passing last week.
The Stormers are currently in second position on the Vodacom standings and could secure their place in the play-offs should results go their way this weekend.
The club also require 45,000 fans across their last two home games to break the league’s record for attendance in the regular season.
Up front hooker Scarra Ntubeni is joined by props Zachary Porthen and Ntuthuko Mchunu in an all-Bok front row.
Ntubeni will retire at the end of the season after 15 years as a Stormer.
JD Schickerling and Adré Smith continue as the lock pairing, with a fit-again Ruben van Heerden featuring on the replacements bench.
The loose forwards are also all Springboks, with Evan Roos joined by flanks Deon Fourie and Ben-Jason Dixon.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will start at flyhalf this weekend and link up with scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, in the only change to the backline that did duty in the narrow loss to Toulon in the Champions Cup Round of 16 match a fortnight ago.
There is also plenty of quality on the replacements bench as Van Heerden is joined by forwards André-Hugo Venter, Oli Kebble, Neethling Fouché, Marcel Theunissen and Paul de Villiers, while Stefan Ungerer and Wandisile Simelane will provide backline cover in a six-two forward-heavy split.
Dobson said that it will be a significant game for various reasons.
“Everyone at the club would like to celebrate Chippie’s life and make this a special occasion to pay our respects to someone who meant so much to us, but we will not let that distract us from the task on the field.
“This is a crucial game in the context of our season, and we face a strong Connacht team that will be playing to keep their play-off hopes alive.
“It will require a focused and clinical performance from us as we aim to take a step closer to securing home advantage in the knock-out phase of the season,” he said.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Damian Willemse, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
Date: Saturday, April 18
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 13.45 SAST (12.45 IST; 11.45 GMT)
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa), Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Fillipo Russo (Italy)
