Stormers director of rugby John Dobson has named his team for the Investec Champions Cup opener against Bristol Bears.
Dobson has stuck with largely the same team that beat the Sharks 39-22 in the United Rugby Championship coastal derby match last weekend.
However, he has made crucial changes to his front-row, which now excludes Springboks powerhouse Wilco Louw.
Tweaks to the starting XV
The Stormers backline remains unchanged for the clash with the Bears, with Damian Willemse at full-back while Seabelo Senatla and Leolin Zas start on the wings. Captain Ruhan Nel partners Jonathan Roche in the midfield while the Springbok half-back combination of Cobus Reinach and last weekend’s man of the match, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, are at scrum-half and fly-half respectively.
There are changes in the pack with Evan Roos set for his first appearance of the season as he returns from a hamstring injury and replaces Hacjivah Dayimani in the number eight jersey. Dayimani is ruled out due to concussion, while the rest of the loose trio is unchanged, with Siya Kolisi in the seven jersey and Paul de Villiers at six.
JD Schickerling and Adré Smith are the starting locks once again, but Dobson has changed the entire front-row. Tighthead Sazi Sandi, hooker JJ Kotzé, and loosehead Vernon Matongo now all start, with André-Hugo Venter and Ntuthuko Mchunu moving to the bench. Louw, who started at tighthead against the Sharks, is dropped entirely, with Zachary Porthen taking a place amongst the reserves.
Dobson hinted the destructive Bok prop would miss this clash after his team’s win over the Sharks while promising not to tinker with his starting line-up too much.
“We chose what we thought was the best team for a local derby we lost last season, and then we try to keep around 80-90% every week,” he told reporters.
“Bristol under Pat Lam are a high-movement, high-mobile team, so maybe not Wilco’s day at the office and I’ll choose what is our best team to beat them. We made a lot of changes this week. Luckily, it worked out [but] we’re not going to push that day and night switch.”
Connor Evans, Riley Norton, and Deon Fourie are the other three forwards on the Stormers bench with Dobson persisting with a 6-2 split with Haashim Pead and Warrick Gelant being the two backline replacements.
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The team selection, which includes six Springboks in the starting XV and a further five on the bench, is a statement of intent from the Stormers, who aim to start their Champions Cup campaign strongly.
“We saw last season how important collecting points in the pool phase is in the Investec Champions Cup, which makes your home matches crucial,” Dobson said.
“We have kept a fair amount of continuity in selection as we look to build on some of the momentum from last week’s win. While it is disappointing to lose Hacjivah to concussion, we are able to call on Evan, who is raring to go, along with the new front row.”
The Stormers team announcement did include the following caveat: “Please note that the DHL Stormers match day squad will be officially announced by EPCR at 14h00 on Friday. As per competition rules, changes may be made up until that time.”
Stormers team v Bristol Bears
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant
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Venue: DHL Stadium
Date: Saturday, October 17
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 BST)
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (Fra), Flavien Hourquet (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
Broadcasters: SuperSport, Premier Sports, beIN SPORTS, FloRugby, epcrugby.tv
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