Positional switch for World Cup winner while fellow Springbok returns as Stormers ring the changes for Sharks rematch
Stormers number eight Evan Roos (inset) and utility back Damian Willemse.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson has rung the changes to his starting line-up for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) derby with the Sharks in Durban.
After suffering a 30-19 defeat in the corresponding fixture in Cape Town last weekend, there are seven alterations to the run-on side with the big news being the return of Springboks number eight Evan Roos and double Rugby World Cup winner Damian Willemse being shifted from inside centre to full-back.
Willemse replaces Warrick Gelant in the number 15 jersey while Jonathan Roche comes into the matchday squad at inside centre and Dylan Maart returns on the right wing at the expense of Suleiman Hartzenberg as the three backline alterations.
That means Gelant, Stefan Ungerer and Jurie Matthee are the backs who are set to make an impact from the replacements bench in the second half.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu continues as captain
The rest of the backline sees Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu captaining the side from fly-half, and he continues his half-back partnership with veteran scrum-half Cobus Reinach, while Wandisile Simelane and Leolin Zas line up at outside centre and on the left wing respectively.
Meanwhile, amongst the forwards, Roos takes over from Marcel Theunissen at the base of the scrum while Ruben van Heerden and a fit-again Adré Smith come in for JD Schickerling and Connor Evans in the second-row and Oli Kebble replaces Ntuthuko Mchunu at loosehead prop.
Theunissen, Schickerling, Mchunu, JJ Kotze and Zachary Porthern are the forward replacements who will be expected to bring some energy off the bench.
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Dobson said his charges will be highly motivated to bounce back from last weekend’s URC reversal against their coastal rivals and to take an away victory into the upcoming break.
“Playing back-to-back derbies against the same opposition is a fairly unique situation and we are desperate to put in a more convincing performance than we managed at home last week,” he said.
“We have been boosted by the return from injury of some key players, and you can be sure that all 23 will be going out there to show what it means to play in our jersey for our fans.”
Stormers team to face the Sharks
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (c), 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Warrick Gelant
Date: Saturday, January 31
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Jonathan Lottering (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby
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