Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse BACK for Stormers ahead of Bulls showdown
Damian Willemse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Suleiman Hartzenberg all start for the Stormers.
Springboks stars Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse will return to action this weekend after they were named in the Stormers starting XV to face the Bulls.
The Capetonians have been boosted by the return from injury of the duo for the United Rugby Championship (URC) meeting with the Bulls at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
A capacity crowd will pack the stands at the venue as Willemse makes his 100th start in a Stormers jersey in their first fixture of 2026 and will run out at number 12.
Star 10 and 12 combo
He will be joined in midfield by Wandisile Simelane, outside Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who links up with fellow Springbok Cobus Reinach at half-back. The only other change to the backline sees Suleiman Hartzenberg come into the starting team on the right wing, having featured off the replacements bench in the win against the Lions.
In the forward pack, Ali Vermaak starts at loosehead prop, while there’s also a change up in the second-row as JD Schickerling joins captain Salmaan Moerat at lock.
The only tweak to the loose trio sees Ruan Ackermann start at openside flank as Paul de Villiers joins Adré Smith, Ruben van Heerden, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Sazi Sandi and Lukhanyo Vokozela in the group of forwards that will finish the game.
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Director of rugby John Dobson said that his team is looking forward to what should be a special occasion at DHL Stadium.
“This is one of the biggest club rugby matches in the world and will be played in front of a sold-out DHL Stadium. It should be an incredible experience for everyone there,” he said.
“We know that we will need to be at our absolute best throughout the game to come away with the result, so it is a challenge that every player and management member is looking forward to.”
The Stormers currently sit atop the URC standings after racking up an impressive return of seven wins from seven games, with the struggling Bulls occupying 12th spot.
Stormers team
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 Ruben van Heerden, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Jurie Matthee
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 16.00 IRE & UK / 17.00 ITA / 18.00 SA
Referee: Griffin Colby (SARU, 10th league game)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC TV
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