Visagie set to tackle his old team-mates
Visagie is a former Western Province and Stormers stalwart and Van Heerden a former Springbok flank, while Jack and Marshall are seasoned All Blacks.
The Saracens squad will be splitting into two for matches in France and South Africa over the weekend.
Kicking off with Friday’s European Challenge Cup match against Mont de Marsan (kick off 6.00pm GMT), Saracens will then play the Stormers at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday 25 January – Kick off 2.00pm GMT.
To meet the tight schedule, the full squad will be split into two smaller groups with an advance party heading to South Africa on Wednesday, and the matchday squad for the Mont de Marsan clash flying out to France on Thursday.
The full squad will then be re-united on Saturday night, when those involved in the Mont de Marsan match arrive in Cape Town from France, via Amsterdam for the match against the Stormers on Sunday, and then a week long camp which will also include a clash with Boland on Wednesday night.
Saracens Director of Rugby Eddie Jones, who will be part of the group going to Mont de Marsan and then arriving in Cape Town the day before the Stormers match, says the schedule is a challenging one and he’s looking forward to both games.
“If you include the match against Viadana, we’re playing four matches, in eleven days, in three different countries and that’s a challenge for everyone,” said Jones.
“We were happy with some parts of our game on Sunday, but we know we still have to focus on getting a good result against Mont de Marsan this Friday and in doing so, securing a home quarter final.”
“We have named a team for the Mont de Marsan match, while the remainder of the squad will head to Cape Town tomorrow to prepare for the match against the Stormers on Sunday.”
Saracens Fixtures:
Fri 23 Jan Mont de Marsan v Saracens in Monte de Marsan Kick off 6.00pm GMT
Sun 25 Jan Stormers v Saracens at Newlands, Cape Town Kick off 2.00pm GMT
Wed 28 Jan Boland v Saracens, Boland Kick off 4.00pm GMT
Saracens team to play Mont de Marsan in France.
15. Alex Goode
14. Noah Cato
13. Kevin Sorrell
12. Andy Farrell/Adam Powell
11. Rodd Penney
10. Gordon Ross
9. Mickey Wilson
8. Don Barrell
7. Andy Saull
6. Dave Seymour
5. Kris Chesney
4. Steve Borthwick (c)
3. Cencus Johnston
2. Fabio Ongaro
1. Matias Aguero
16. Alex Walker
17. Tom Mercey
18. Jordan Mitchell
19. Ben Skirving
20. Andy Farrell/Adam Powell
21. Kameli Ratuvou
22. Edd Thrower
Saracens Squad to play the Stormers in Cape Town
15. Chris Wyles
14. Kameli Ratuvou*
13. Ben Jacobs
12. Brad Barritt
11. Richard Haughton
10. Glen Jackson (vc)
9. Justin Marshall
8. Ben Skirving*
7. Wikus Van Heerden (vc)
6. Chris Jack (c)
5. Tom Ryder
4. Hugh Vyvyan
3. Cobus Visagie
2. Andy Kyriacou
1. Nick Lloyd
Reserves to be named on the day of the match:
Don Barrell*, Matt Cairns*, Kris Chesney*, Andy Farrell*, Cencus Johnston*, Jordan Mitchell*, Rodd Penney*, Gordon Ross*, Dave Seymour*, Hayden Smith*, Kevin Sorrell*, Harry Spencer*, Edd Thrower*, Alex Walker* and Mickey Wilson*
Director of Rugby Eddie Jones will fly into South Africa with the team who play against Mont de Marsan on Friday night.
