Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu OUT: Injury-ravaged Stormers resist controversial Springboks selection call for Leinster semi-final
Stormers stars Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse.
John Dobson has named his Stormers matchday 23 for the United Rugby Championship semi-final against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.
The Stormers will be without three starters from the quarter-final victory over Cardiff in Cape Town with fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, winger Seabelo Senatla and lock Ruben van Heerden all ruled out through injury.
Stormers forced into changes
Dobson has turned to Wandisile Simelane to fill Senatla’s void on the right wing, resisting the urge to select Springboks star Damian Willemse in the position. The double World Cup winner was controversially selected on the wing in three consecutive matches earlier this year but has been named at full-back for this weekend instead, while Leolin Zas is on the left wing.
The centre combination remains unchanged with Ruhan Nel captaining the side from outside centre with Dan du Plessis retained in the number 12 jumper. The duo will become the most-capped Stormers centre pairing as they make their 31st start together, to go past De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert.
Jurie Matthee steps into the starting number 10 jumper in the absence of Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with Imad Khan named as the starting scrum-half yet again as Cobus Reinach is also sidelined.
Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Paul de Villiers are the starting back-rowers while Connor Evans fills Van Heerden’s void in the second-row, partnering Adré Smith. Ntuthuko Mchunu is at loosehead, Andre Hugo Venter at hooker, and Neethling Fouché completes the side as the starting tighthead.
There is just one change on the replacements bench, with Warrick Gelant coming into the matchday squad to provide backline cover with Matthee starting at fly-half. That means that Dobson has stuck with a 6-2 split as he has done for much of the season.
“This will be a big challenge for everyone involved against a team with a great pedigree and formidable home record, but these are the occasions we live for, and I have no doubt that our team will put in a worthy performance,” the Stormers boss said.
“We lost a few players last week, but those coming in have all played important roles in this campaign and are ready to give their all on Saturday.
“We have earned the chance to play for a place in the Grand Final, and it will come down to a big 80 minutes. This team will not leave anything out there as we aim to do our fans proud.”
Leinster v Stormers teams
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Garry Ringrose
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Wandisile Simelane, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Warrick Gelant
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17.30 IRE & UK / 18.30 ITA & SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 29th league game)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (SRU), Adam Jones (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
How to watch: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
READ MORE: United Rugby Championship semi-finals: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, TV coverage and more
