An established star in the form of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and a future star in teenage sensation Markus Muller will share the platform when the DHL Stormers clash with the Glasgow Warriors in their top-of-the-log Vodacom URC match in Cape Town on Saturday.
Springbok flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu will play his 50th game as he continues to build momentum in an impressive career that has already seen him feature as a contender as the starting pivot in many mythical World XVs. Muller, considered one of the best schoolboys seen in a long time when he was playing for Paarl Gimnasium last year, will make his senior debut by playing off the bench.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson has made some interesting selections for a game which has become more crucial for the Cape team to win following their unexpected defeat to Connacht at the DHL Stadium last weekend. Dobson had been looking at three wins from his remaining four games to ensure top spot on the final log, so to meet that target, it will require an unbeaten run through the remaining three games of the season, with this being the last one at home.
As anticipated, Springbok utility back Damian Willemse has moved away from the wing, where he has played the last two games, and back into his more familiar position of fullback in place of Warrick Gelant, who has shown inconsistent form this season. Dobson still isn’t going for a specialist wing though, as his replacement for Willemse - instead it will be Wandisile Simelane who lines up in the No 14 jersey.
Simelane is normally a centre and that is where he has played most of his games for the Stormers this season. However, he did moonlight at fullback in an emergency earlier in the season, so it is probably the attributes that qualify him for that position that have prompted Dobson to move him in as Willemse’s replacement. In other words, he wants someone who can also be a second fullback.
The rest of the backline is as it was at the start of the game against the Stormers, but with Jurie Matthee returning to a bench which now moves to the more conventional five/three split between forwards and backs as opposed to the six/two of last week, there is plenty of room to change the configuration during the game.
When Matthee comes on, Feinberg-Mngomezulu can move to centre, or he could move to fullback, with Willemse then switching to the inside centre position, where he is also a world-class player. Given that Simelane can also move to centre during the game, it is going to be interesting to see where 18-year-old Muller is accommodated when he comes onto the field.
VAN HEERDEN REPLACES SCHICKERLING
The pack sees some changes from last week, with JD Schickerling having been ruled out for the next six months with an injury that could have a big impact on the Stormers’ chances of going all the way in the competition this season. The Stormers game model was built around them having four quality locks, with four being in the match day squad to offer a supersonic bomb squad effect earlier in the season when the Stormers won 10 games in succession, but now they are down to just two fit locks in the form of Adre Smith and Ruben van Heerden.
Van Heerden comes into the side as a direct replacement for Schickerling, with the starting blindside flank Ben-Jason Dixon operating as the second row back-up. Marcel Theunissen will cover Dixon and can also play the other two loose-forward positions, although it is good to see Keke Morabe back in a Stormers match-day squad as a bench player after being out since suffering a serious leg injury against Toulon in an Investec Champions Cup pool game in Gqeberha in December 2024.
Talking of loose-forwards, there is no place in the 23 this week for Deon Fourie, who started against Connacht. Paul de Villiers is back in the No 6 jersey in what looks like the Stormers’ strongest pack save for the injury-related absence of Schickerling.
Neethling Fouche is back as the starting tighthead prop, a direct swop with Zachary Porthen, who moves to the bench, while Andre-Hugo Venter resumes his role as the starting hooker after veteran Scarra Ntubeni was given an opportunity to start what was touted as his last game in Stormers colours after a 15-year one-club career, against Connacht last week.
JJ Kotze returns to the match-day 23 to cover Venter, while Ntuthuko Mchunu continues as the starting loosehead, with Oli Kebble providing cover from the bench. Imad Khan returns for Stefan Ungerer as the backup scrumhalf to Cobus Reinach.
DHL Stormers team: Damian Willemse, Wandisile Simelane, Ruhan Nel (captain), Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Adre Smith, Neethling Fouche, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: JJ Kotze, Oli Kebble, Zachary Porthen, Marcel Theunissen, Keke Morabe, Imad Khan, Jurie Matthee, Markus Muller.