Stormers captain Ruhan Nel is back in the midfield for their URC quarter-final clash against Cardiff in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.
Image: BackpagePix
The Stormers made three changes to their starting team for the United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final against Cardiff on Saturday in Cape Town.
Captain Ruhan Nel returns at outside centre, and he partners Dan du Plessis in the midfield. This will mark their 30th start together, drawing level with Stormers legends De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert as the most-capped centre combination.
Seabelo Senatla is the other change at wing, with Damian Willemse, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and left wing Leolin Zas declared fit for the clash after doubts earlier in the week.
Fullback Willemse and Zas were in a training ground collision on Wednesday, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the sniffles. They all trained during the captain’s run on Friday morning as the Cape side continued their build-up to the high-stakes clash.
Young props Vernon Matongo and Zachary Porthen will slot into the replacement bench. There is also a return for utility forward Ruan Ackermann, who has recovered from a neck injury, as he forms part of a six-two split.
John Dobson, director of rugby, stated that his team is determined to leverage their home advantage.
“We enjoy incredible support at DHL Stadium, and we know that this will be another memorable occasion as knock-out rugby returns to Cape Town. We have some key players returning, which makes this one of the most experienced Stormers teams that we have ever selected.
“We have earned this opportunity to play a quarter-final in front of our fans, and we want to make it count,” he said.
Stormers XV
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 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 Jurie Matthee.