Ruhan Nel is back in the DHL Stormers team for the first time this year as the Cape franchise heads to Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Wednesday for a hastily arranged warm-up match for the looming Vodacom United Rugby Championship season.
The decision to shift the first round of derbies that were scheduled for this weekend put the Stormers’ planning for the new season badly out, and coach and director of rugby John Dobson had to put in quite a bit of effort to organise a match against the Airlink Pumas.
He had intended for the last Currie Cup game to be the final warm-up fixture but that plan floundered when the gap between then and the start of the URC went from being two weeks to three weeks.
Dobson has called up 26 players for the trip and, as usual for warm-up games, there will be rotational substitutions.
It is unclear whether former Blitzbok Nel will start or play off the bench, but he has been out of rugby since he was injured playing against the Sharks in Cape Town shortly before New Year.
Dan du Plessis, Jean-Luc du Plessis and Wandesile Simelane are the other centres in the squad, although Jean-Luc can of course also play flyhalf.
Jurie Matthee looks the likely starting flyhalf in Nelspruit but Springbok Damian Willemse told the attendees at a Stormers launch function at the DHL Stadium on Monday night that he was fit and available to play in the first URC fixture against the Ospreys in Swansea on 28 September.
Dobson has hinted that he will use Willemse at flyhalf in the absence of his two other players with Springbok flyhalf experience, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok.
The game will also see the welcome return after a fairly lengthy injury layoff of No 8 Keke Morabe, who may have a role to play for the Stormers in the time that Evan Roos will be away from the field recovering from his recent shoulder operation.
An extended 26-man squad will feature in a training match against the Airlink Pumas at Nelspruit Rugby Club on Wednesday as we conclude our pre-season.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) September 17, 2024
📢 Squad https://t.co/sAVZg8rZbs#iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/KDralJNmPR
A LITTLE LIGHT AT PROP
Roos is expected to be back on the field at the end of the year.
With Hacjivah Dayimani having left for France, Roos injured, Deon Fourie only expected back from his injury later in the year and Ben-Jason Dixon with the Boks, loose-forward has become an area of focus for Dobson.
Dave Ewers, formerly of Ulster and Exeter Chiefs, will be travelling with the group to Mbombela and could carry a lot of responsibility into the new season, at least until Dixon and Roos return to the fray.
Hendre Stassen, who would have been one of the players to benefit from playing in the Currie Cup, can also play loose forward as well as lock and he is a player that Dobson rates highly for his potential.
Talking of lock, JD Schickerling, who made his return to the Western Province jersey after a few years away in Japan in the last Currie Cup game, will now get reacquainted with the Stormers jersey.
An area the Stormers look a little light on currently is prop, where there have been several injuries, particularly at loosehead.
Fortunately though the evergreen veteran Brok Harris has availed himself to play on and delay his permanent switch to the coaching dugout.
An interesting addition to the prop resources for Mbombela is the Junior Bok captain Zachary Porthen.
Leon Lyons has also put aside his Griquas jersey for now to return to Stormers colours.
DHL STORMERS SQUAD FOR WARMUP MATCH
Backs
Angelo Davids, Dan du Plessis, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Jurie Matthee, Leolin Zas, Luke Burger, Paul de Wet, Ruhan Nel, Sako Makata, Stefan Ungerer, Wandesile Simelane.
Forwards
Andre-Hugo Venter, Adre Smith, Brok Harris, Dave Ewers, Hendre Stassen, JD Schickerling, Joseph Dweba, Keke Morabe, Leon Lyons, Marcel Theunissen, Neethling Fouche, Ruben van Heerden, Sibusiso Sangweni, Willie Engelbrecht, Zachary Porthen.