Evan Roos has returned from injury to take up the No 8 jersey in a significant boost for the DHL Stormers as they head to Durban for Saturday’s return Vodacom URC derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
The return of the influential loose-forward is one of seven changes to the team that started in the 31-19 loss to the Sharks in the Cape Town derby last weekend. The positional switch is at the back, with Damian Willemse vacating the midfield to take up position at fullback, where he plays most of his games for the Springboks.
Willemse’s switch means that Warrick Gelant, who has been struggling for form for quite a while now, moves to the bench, while the highly promising Jonathan Roche comes in to partner Wandisile Simelane in the midfield. At right wing Dylan Maart returns for Suleiman Hartzenberg, who has been struggling for form since his return from injury.
Those are the only changes at the back, with the others all coming at forward, with Adre Smith joining Roos in adding some of the grunt that may have been missing from the Stormers’ forward performance at the DHL Stadium.
Smith is usually a key member of the Stormers’ ‘bomb squad’ but it is interesting to note that Stormers director of rugby has opted against a six/two split between forwards and backs this week. Perhaps that is down to Salmaan Moerat being unavailable due to injury, thus robbing the Stormers of the essential component of a ‘bomb squad’, meaning a complete second pack with two quality locks.
The man Smith is joined in the starting second row by Ruben van Heerden, who will no doubt be motivated to play well at his former home ground, with JD Schickerling moving to the bench, where he is now the only lock. Connor Evans started last week and his failure to really get going in in the game might have played a role in the decision to ditch the 6/2 split, which has been an essential part of the Stormers’ success so far this season, when it became obvious Moerat would be absent.
The other change to the starting pack is the return of Oli Kebble, who is returning to the city of his birth and also the venue where his father Guy achieved some of his most heady moments in a career that saw him being part of Natal’s first ever Currie Cup triumph in their centenary year (1990) as well as Springbok selection.
Kebble replaces a former Shark in Ntuthuko Mchunu at loosehead, with Mchunu moving to the bench. It is an indication of the forward depth available to the Stormers that Mchunu displaces the excellent Vernon Matongo, who last week showed dominance when he came on but was unfortunate to be the victim of some debatable refereeing calls at the scrums.
A further indication of the Stormers’ front row depth is the return of the Springbok capped Zachary Porthen to the match day squad for the explosive scrummager Sazi Sandi.
With the Stormers going 5/3 on the bench it means that skipper Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is covered by Jurie Matthee, who might be suited to the Stormers’ game plan if they go more conservative in this game because of the humidity, and Stefan Ungerer’s return as backup scrumhalf for Imad Kahn probably follows the same thinking.
Matthee was outstanding with Feinberg-Mngomezulu standing alongside him at inside centre in a game in Durban two seasons ago and there is enough versatility in the Stormers match day squad to countenance several possible different changes to the backline configuration during the game. Willemse of course could move back to inside centre, with Gelant coming on to fill the last line of defence.
Dobson said that his team will be going all-out to take an away win into the upcoming break.
“Playing back-to-back derbies against the same opposition is a fairly unique situation, and we are desperate to put in a more convincing performance than we managed at home last week,” he said.
“We have been boosted by the return from injury of some key players, and you can be sure that all 23 will be going out there to show what it means to play in our jersey for our fans.”
To get the win they are chasing the Stormers will have to make some big improvements on last week, most notably their lineout performance, while they should also be looking to be more controlled and less frenetic and forced in their approach. A better start to the one that has become customary, with the Stormers often going behind early, might help take care of the latter.
DHL Stormers team: Damian Willemse, Dylan Maart, Wandisile Simelane, Jonathan Roche, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (captain), Cobus Reinach, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Adré Smith, Neethling Fouché, André-Hugo Venter, Oli Kebble.
Replacements: JJ Kotzé, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, JD Schickerling, Marcel Theunissen, Stefan Ungerer, Jurie Matthee, Warrick Gelant.