The DHL Stormers team to play the Vodacom Bulls in Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship north/south derby at Loftus features four changes from the team that lost 30-23 to the Emirates Lions last time out.
Two of the changes come at the back, with fit again wing Leolin Zas returning for Angelo Davids on the left, while Stefan Ungerer is back as the starting scrumhalf, which is the position he occupied when the Stormers lost by a solitary point to the Bulls in Cape Town three weeks ago.
Ungerer replaces Springbok Herschel Jantjies, who drops out of the match day squad completely this week to allow Paul de Wet to retain the place on the bench that he occupied in the Lions game.
The changes at forward see Neethling Fouche come in as the starting tighthead prop for Springbok first choice in that position, Frans Malherbe, who moves to the bench, where he will be alongside the other most capped Stormers player, Brok Harris. Joseph Dweba returns as the starting hooker after missing the Lions game.
Fouche and Ali Vermaak both missed the first Bulls game after sustaining injuries from a training accident late in the buildup week and the Stormers will be hoping it will inspire a better start to the scrumming battle than in the Cape Town derby, which the Bulls scrum unit won hands down.
Given how much the Bulls dominated the Stormers at the DHL Stadium at scrum time and yet were fortunate to scrape to a win that came courtesy of the Stormers missing a late match winning conversion attempt, the visitors will see a scrum improvement as a key step towards reversing the last result of a north/south derby.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson has returned to a six/two split between forwards and backs after going five/three the last time his team played against the Bulls.
Young Jonathan Roche is the only outside back on the bench but of course the presence of De Wet, who can cover wing, on the bench makes such a mix easier.
This being a State of Origin round in the URC, the players on the team list have their schools listed alongside their names and as far as possible they will be wearing their school socks in the fixture.
As would be expected, old boys of the Paarl and Stellenbosch schools feature prominently, although Bloemfontein’s Grey College does feature three representatives in the match day 23 in the form of Fouche and the two reserves, Andre-Hugo Venter and Marcel Theunissen.
Here is your DHL Stormers team for the @Vodacom #URC Origin Round match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 28, 2025
📢 Team announcement https://t.co/q3YyCDaEpU#BULvSTO #iamastormer #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/w04DCbhdv6
DHL Stormers team: Warrick Gelant (Outeniqua), Ben Loader (Wellington - UK), Wandisile Simelane (Jeppe), Dan du Plessis (Paul Roos), Leolin Zas (Hermanus), Jurie Matthee (Paarl Gimnasium), Stefan Ungerer (Maritzburg College), Evan Roos (Paarl Boys), Ben-Jason Dixon (Paul Roos), Deon Fourie (Pietersburg), Ruben van Heerden (Affies), Salmaan Moerat (Paarl Boys), Neethling Fouche (Grey College), Joseph Dweba (HTS Louis Botha), Ali Vermaak (Hentie Cilliers).
Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter (Grey College), Brok Harris (Bastion), Frans Malherbe (Paarl Boys), Gary Porter (Michaelhouse), Marcel Theunissen (Grey College), Willie Engelbrecht (Die Wilgers), Paul de Wet (Paarl Boys), Jonathan Roche (Bishops).