Jean de Villiers: Takes over the captaincy from Schalk Burger
Stormers centre Jean de Villiers will captain the Cape Town-based side in Friday's Super Rugby opener against the Bulls in Pretoria.
De Villiers will lead the team into battle in the absence of Schalk Burger (calf muscle injury), whilst there are first-ever Stormers Super Rugby starts for new recruits Jaco Taute, Elton Jantjies and Pat Cilliers.
Twenty-one-year-old centre Damian de Allende, who started in the 2012 Currie Cup Final, will get his first-ever taste of Super Rugby action, whilst, on the bench, Nizaam Carr (knee) and Dewaldt Duvenage (broken leg) make their returns are spending some time on the sidelines last year.
Reserve hooker Martin Bezuidenhout will be hoping for his first official game in a Stormers jersey after featuring in pre-season games against the Cheetahs and Boland, whilst Springbok lock Andries Bekker will play in his 95th Super Rugby match for the Stormers.
Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Don Armand, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gerhard van den Heever, 22 Joe Pietersen.
Date: Friday, February 22
Kick-off: 19:10 local (17:10 GMT)
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Comments
ben7 says...
@JayStarr
I completely agree.
Although i am the other way round from them. I live in NZ and hate the All Blacks and support SA but i am at least a South African, not someone thats never set foot there.
Posted 11:38 19th February 2013
JayStarr says...
@ saintblack: No, that is not what I said. I support many teams other than the Stormers, and not because I have been to their countries (even though I have). But I don't scream for them when they're playing in my own back yard against my home team. There is a difference. Those kind of people who come to Newlands in Crusaders jerseys and go absolutely beserk when they do anything - WAY over the top of what even the real Crusaders fans (from NZ) do - getting in the faces of the Stormers fans with nothing but bitter intentions, just because they are still stuck in the past, makes me SICK. To the point that I don't go to Newlands anymore when teams like the Crusaders play there, because the tension they create is as bad as at a football match in Europe. And that doesn't belong in rugby. And because of these "fans" (instigators) we don't get any All Black matches at Newlands anymore either. The fact that they are more "passionate" about teams from a country they have not even visited than they are about their own home is a joke. The NZ teams love the support, but they ignorantly take it at face value... and in reality there is a lot of hate under the surface that they don't see, and are supporting with their compliance. THAT is what I meant. And I take it you're one of them too, "saintblack". Please...
Posted 08:52 19th February 2013
saintblack says...
oh an starr jantjies is ready.. believe that..
Posted 05:49 19th February 2013
saintblack says...
So now you have to visit a place to support a team.. Nice one jaystarr.. What use is it having the best attacking 10 in SA when you have 2centres that dont pass the ball JDVis a has been, no pace no defence and no pass his the weak link in the team...
Posted 05:46 19th February 2013
JayStarr says...
@ MaoriAsh: Are you one of those Cape Town Maori's who've never been in New Zealand, but scream for the NZ teams when they play at Newlands..?
Posted 17:15 18th February 2013
MaoriAsh says...
Now this is what I'm talking about!!! Now we just wait for Burger, De Jongh and Etzebeth to come back,and we got ourselves a stellar squad!
Posted 14:16 18th February 2013
JayStarr says...
That is a good looking team. I'm just not sure whether Jantjies should start after what he's been through over the last month... and his non-participation in the warm-up games. His last game was for the Lions - and he was uncharacteristically poor in that game. His inclusion in the starting line-up, forming a new combination with Groom and Allende, makes me nervous. I hope he proves me wrong...
Otherwise there is oodles of talent and youthful energy in this team. Hopefully they can click on Saturday and beat the arch enemies in their own back yard !
Posted 14:13 18th February 2013