DHL Stormers change-up for Joburg
There are eight changes to the DHL Stormers starting line-up for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship encounter with the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Three of the changes are in the backline and five in the forward pack for the South African derby which kicks off at 16h00 on Saturday at Emirates Airline Park.
In the backline Angelo Davids, Sacha Feinerg-Mngomezulu and Paul de Wet all make starts, with Dan du Plessis moving to outside centre.
In the forward pack Evan Roos is at the back of the scrum, with Junior Pokomela and Hacjivah Dayimani on the flanks.
Marvin Orie is joined in the second row by captain Ernst van Rhyn while up front props Neethling Fouche and Brok Harris come into the starting line-up.
Props Ali Vermaak and Sazi Sandi and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies are among the replacements expected to make an impact in the second half.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that considering there are five Springbok players unavailable, he is pleased with the strength of the squad travelling to Johannesburg.
“We have managed to build some good depth already this season and we are really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do up there.
“We were obviously disappointed with the result last week and while training time has been limited this week, we can’t wait to see how some of these combinations go,” he said.
DHL Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Emirates Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Zander du Plessis.
