Chavhanga back in team

Rossouw has made way for Gus Theron at left wing, while Zimbabwean speedster Tonderai Chavhanga has come in for Paulse on the right.

In other changes to the line-up that went down 24-9 to the Crusaders in spite of a one-man advantage, Rossouw’s younger brother Chris has had to make way for Gaffie du Toit at flyhalf and Bolla Conradie has replaced Neil de Kock at scrumhalf.

“Those are the players that are in form. I was impressed by their performances against the Blues,” Smal said in reference to his decision to bring back Theron and Chavhanga on the wings.

“Gaffie gives us a different dimension to Chris at flyhalf, while this is another opportunity for Bolla.” The main reason for the changes, however, is to give the Stormers a cutting edge on attack.

They will know exactly what they need to do to qualify for the semifinals before kick-off, but the most probable scenario is that they will have to win and get a bonus log point by scoring four tries.

“It’s speed for sure,” Smal said when probed about the reason for his changes out wide. “If you have a game where you must score tries you need maximum pace out wide.”

Following their spectacular 51-23 win over the Blues in Auckland, the Stormers have now lost consecutive games against the Chiefs and Crusaders.

“It’s been a frustrating few weeks,” admitted Smal. “We have to put it behind us now. This is an important game coming up and you can’t dwell for too long on the previous week.”

The team is as follows:
15. Werner Greeff
14. Tonderai Chavhanga
13. Marius Joubert
12. De Wet Barry (V/C)
11. Gus Theron
10. Gaffie Du Toit
9. Bolla Conradie
8. Adri Badenhorst
7. Schalk Burger
6. Hendrik Gerber
5. Selborne Boome (Captain)
4. Quinton Davids
3. Eddie Andrews
2. Pieter Dixon
1. Daan Human

Reserves:
16. David Britz
17. Pat Barnard
18. Willem Stoltz
19. Pierre Uys
20. Neil De Kock
21. Chris Rossouw
22. Breyton Paulse

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