Springbok Deon Fourie will lead the DHL Stormers into action in their penultimate Vodacom URC league encounter against Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium in Ulster on Friday night.
The man known as ‘Brannas’ to his teammates takes over the captaincy due to an injury to centre Ruhan Nel, who has become the recognised regular leader this season due to the continued absence of club captain Salmaan Moerat. The Bok lock is heading back to fitness and might be involved in next week’s clash with Cardiff but is not in the match 23 this week.
Nel’s injury was not specified in the team announcement press release but he will be replaced by Dan du Plessis at outside centre, with the experienced centre shifting from the inside position he played in against Glasgow Warriors last time out. However, while the team sheet has him playing in the No 13 jersey, it may be for the team announcement purposes only as he will be paired with Damian Willemse and in the past Du Plessis and Willemse have swapped positions during the game depending on the situation.
Willemse moves to the midfield after starting at fullback in the big win over Glasgow that has put the Stormers on track to challenge for top position on the final log. Warrick Gelant is back in the last line of defence, with Wandisile Simelane continuing on the right wing. With Willemse having played three successive games on the wing before the Glasgow game, there is a lot of interchangeability among the outside backs and Ulster might be forgiven if they don’t quite know what to expect from the Cape team.
The other injured backline player from the Glasgow game is Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, who is replaced by Imad Khan. Khan played off the bench against Glasgow which means there is now place for Stefan Ungerer, always a good horses halfback selection for games played in overseas conditions, to come back into the match day 23 as backup scrumhalf.
If the Ulster management are guessing over how the Stormers might align at the back, there could be even more reason for them to be confused when it comes to the visiting pack, as Paul de Villiers, normally an openside flank, appears on the team sheet in the No 16 jersey that is normally assigned to the reserve hooker.
It is likely that Fourie will move to hooker when, or if, Andre-Hugo Venter finishes his shift, or De Villiers and Fourie could find themselves accommodated together elsewhere in the pack if Venter goes for the entire 80 minutes. Director of rugby John Dobson said recently he was looking forward to having the two ball-scavenging flankers De Villiers and Fourie together on the field at the same time and it looks like he is taking that opportunity in this game.
Fourie replaces De Villiers in the No 6 jersey after sitting out the Glasgow game while another change to the starting pack sees Sazi Sandi coming in for Neethling Fouche, a move which may be injury related.
Dobson has gone for a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench after going five/three against Glasgow, with the group being loaded with players who have played loose-forward if you consider that Fourie is joined by Hacjivah Dayimani and Keke Morabe in the Stormers’ version of the bomb squad, while the second row back-up Conor Evans has played blindside flank on occasion for the Stormers in the past. The starting blindside flank Ben-Jason Dixon can also be used as a lock.
With Markus Muller injured Jurie Matthee is the only outside back on the bench, where he will back up Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and perhaps continue the trend of taking up flyhalf later in the game with Feinberg-Mngomezulu shifting to centre.
This game will see Evan Roos draw level with Springbok and Stormers legend Duane Vermeulen on he number of appearances as a Stormers No 8. He starts his 73rd game for the Stormers at the back of the scrum.
“We have been forced to make a few changes, but we are excited about what this team can do and we know it will take the best of us to get the win,” said Dobson.
“As we get closer to the play-offs, the stakes get higher each week, and this is a crucial match in the context of our season,” he added.
DHL Stormers team: Warrick Gelant, Wandisile Simelane, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie (captain), Ruben van Heerden, Adré Smith, Sazi Sandi, André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: Paul de Villiers, Oli Kebble, Zachary Porthen, Connor Evans, Hacjivah Dayimani, Keke Morabe, Stefan Ungerer, Jurie Matthee.