Duo set for Stormers debut against Bulls

Centre Ruhan Nel and prop Corne Fourie are both set to make their Stormers debut in the Super Rugby clash with the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

Nel starts in midfield alongside Damian de Allende and loosehead prop Fourie finds himself on the replacements bench for the opening round encounter at Loftus Versfeld.

At the back Dillyn Leyds links up with wings SP Marais and JJ Engelbrecht, with Jano Vermaak and Damian Willemse forming the half-back pairing.

Up front hooker Bongi Mbonambi will be alongside props Ali Vermaak and Wilco Louw, while Salmaan Moerat and JD Schickerling are the starting lock duo.

Sikhumbuzo Notshe is at the back of the scrum, with 2018 SA Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi on the flanks.

“Our preparations have gone well, so we are really excited to see what this combination will be able to do this weekend,” said head coach Robbie Fleck.

“We would obviously like to make a strong start to the season and will look to deliver in some of the areas we have been focused on in pre-season in order to do that.”

Stormers: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 SP Marais, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Kobus van Dyk, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Dan du Plessis

Date: Saturday, February 16
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Egon Seconds (South Africa)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)