Willemse plays fullback as Kitshoff equals record

Springbok Steven Kitshoff will equal a DHL Stormers record when he leads the Cape team in their historic Heineken Champions Cup debut match against Clermont at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday evening.

The loosehead prop will join his teammate Frans Malherbe on 124 caps, thus equaling the record for number of games played by a single player for the franchise. He leads a side that is heading back towards full strength, although they will be missing three key Boks at forward in the form of Malherbe and Marvin Orie (both rested) and Evan Roos (injured).

Damian Willemse is one of the returning Boks this week, and it is interesting to note that he has come into the starting team at fullback, which may be a case of coach John Dobson doffing his cap at the importance of continuity and the good form that Dan du Plessis has been in recently. For inside centre may well be Willemse’s best position.

Another interesting selection is that of Samoan Alapati Leuia, who was recruited by the Stormers to alleviate a perceived crisis in the midfield, on the wing. Dobson saw Leuia play well in that position for his national team during the November international window and made no secret of the fact he’d consider him as a wing for the Champions Cup.

With Orie remaining in Cape Town, the Stormers will give Gary Porter his second cap at this level. Porter was excellent in his debut match against Scarlets two weeks ago and showed then that the Stormers can have confidence in his ability to lead the lineout, an area where the United Rugby Championship champions have been much improved since the international break.

Dobson has gone with a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench, with Paul de Wet’s ability to also play wing making that decision easier. Clayton Blommetjies, who makes way for Willemse in the No 15 jersey, is the only outside back on the bench.

Kitshoff will play his 124th game 11 years after making his debut almost straight out of school, and he says back then he never imagined he’d get this far.

“When I made my debut back in 2011, to be honest, I never really thought I would get this far,” said the Stormers captain, who is playing his last season for the Cape franchise before linking up with Ulster after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“Through a lot of hard work and coaches that have backed me over the years, it has been a massive journey and I am just happy to still be able to play rugby, do my job and represent the Stormers as passionately and as well as I can.”

Kitshoff is pleased to be equalling the record in what he hopes will be a statement performance for his team.

“We are really looking forward to playing in the Champions Cup this weekend. As a team, it was one of our big goals (during last year’s URC), to play in this tournament. We had a big season in the URC last season and for me to reach this milestone in what will hopefully be a statement game, will be massive.”

?DHL Stormers team: Damian Willemse, Alapati Leuia, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Hacjivah Dayimani, Ernst van Rhyn, Deon Fourie, Gary Porter, Salmaan Moerat, Neethling Fouche, Joseph Dweba, Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Sazi Sandi, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marcel Theunissen, Junior Pokomela, Paul de Wet, Clayton Blommetjies.