Bok starting halfbacks return as Stormers change for Gqeberha

The DHL Stormers are back home this weekend, well sort of, when they host Stade Rochelais in Gqeberha in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday and coach John Dobson has given an indication of the depth he has available to him with the changes he has made.

Considering that although Warrick Gelant was down as a starter last week but ended up being a withdrawal because of illness, the return of the regular fullback means that in all there are six changes to the team that started the opening Investec Champions Cup game against Bayonne in France last weekend.

Well, you could make it eight changes if you factor in what looks like two positional switches at centre. Jonathan Roche came in as a late replacement to wear the No 13 jersey in that game for Wandisile Simelane, who moved to fullback in Gelant’s place. Ruhan Nel played inside centre. However, in this game they are both wearing jerseys they are more familiar with as Nel slots back into the No 13 and Roche takes up inside centre.

The headline returnees are the Springbok halfback duo of flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, with the latter making his first start and also playing in his first home ground for his new team after moving from France in the off-season.

Damian Willemse was the other top Bok to return to the selection mix this week but Dobson has elected to go conservative on a slight hamstring niggle and has left him out with the view to returning him to the team when the Vodacom URC resumes next week with a home derby against the Lions.

That is why Roche is wearing the No 12 in this game and as there is still no Suleiman Hartzenberg, either in the starting team or on the bench, even though he is back in training, means that the Griquas wing Dylan Maart, who has done well in his first two games, continues on the right wing.

So that makes just Reinach and Gelant as backline players who did not start in Bayonne, with Reinach coming in for the exciting young Imad Khan, who will join Simelane in backing up from the bench. Dobson has again gone for a six/two split between forwards and backs on the replacement bench, but he doesn’t quite have the same nuclear style bomb squad as last week as this time he doesn’t have two locks.

Our team for the Investec Champions Cup match against Stade Rochelais in Gqeberha on Saturday.

📢 Team announcement https://t.co/AwQYvSaNMb
🎟️ https://t.co/3aJrMeqsuY#STOvSR #inittogether pic.twitter.com/MatmwzUH31 — DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 10, 2025

Presumably Adre Smith is unavailable because of the red card he copped last week, so he does not feature on the bench, with Connor Evans, who moves to the replacement group for JD Schickerling, who comes back into the starting second row as a partner for skipper Salmaan Moerat, the only lock among the reserves. Marcel Theunissen returns to the match 23 as a replacement loose-forward, with Ruan Ackermann joining him there to allow Evan Roos to return to the starting No 8 position.

Andre-Hugo Venter is back as the starting hooker after a few good games from JJ Kotze underlined the depth there is in that position. Kotze will cover hooker off the bench, with Oli Kebble back to reprise the excellent role he played as an impact substitute against Munster in Limerick two weeks ago.

Ntuthuko Mchunu was impressive on his Stormers debut last week and now gets a chance to play his first home game, albeit not at the Stormers’ spiritual home of Cape Town (DHL) Stadium. Mchunu is one of nine capped Boks in the starting team.

“It was great to win away from home, but we have to back that up now and we know that it will take a big effort against a highly physical Stade Rochelais team,” said Dobson.

“We always get such fantastic support in Gqeberha, so we are all looking forward to what should be a big match with test match intensity at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium,” he added.

Please note that the DHL Stormers matchday squad will be officially announced by EPCR at 14h00 on Friday. As per competition rules, changes may be made up until that time.

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Dylan Maart, Ruhan Nel, Jonathan Roche, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, JD Schickerling, Salmaan Moerat (captain), Neethling Fouché, André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu.


Replacements: JJ Kotzé, Oli Kebble, Sazi Sandi, Connor Evans, Ruan Ackermann, Marcel Theunissen, Imad Khan, Wandisile Simelane.