The DHL Stormers have welcomed back three players who aggregate over 100 caps each for Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus and Ruhan Nel’s return to the captaincy is a massive boost for the Cape team.
Outside centre Nel was the man at the helm when the Stormers rollicked off to the front of the pack at the start of the competition and he has been sorely missed since being injured in December, not only for his captaincy style but also for his wherewithal as the organiser of the defence.
One of the 100 cap veterans who comes back into the team for the Pretoria clash is Springbok World Cup winner Damian Willemse, and he will line up inside Nel in what now looks a potent and experienced midfield, although director of rugby John Dobson has stuck with both the promising Jonathan Roche and the attacking talents of Wandisile Simelane on the reserve bench.
The other centurions to return to the starting team are Deon Fourie, who has been out since the early stages of the season with injury, as well as stalwart prop Neethling Fouche. Both have led the Stormers in the past so there will be no lack of leadership ability in the Stormers ranks, particularly as starting lock JD Schickerling captained the side last time out against the Lions.
Fourie starts in the No 6 jersey ahead of the new sensation on the block, Paul de Villiers, in what can be seen as a selection made around the fact that the veteran Springbok, known as Brannas to his teammates, will be playing for the first time in several months and therefore there may be a question mark over his ability to go a full 80 minutes. It is always wiser to start with a coming back than play him off the bench.
One setback for the Stormers is the injury blow that has ruled the star No 8 Evan Roos out of the game, which means that Marcel Theunissen, who has been part of winning Stormers efforts in Pretoria in the past, will start off the back of the scrum. Hacjivah Dayimani and De Villiers bring some star quality to the loose-forward back-up, with Dobson having opted for the traditional 5/3 split between forwards and backs for this game rather than the bomb squad style 6/2.
In another change to the team that lost against the Lions two weeks ago the talented but previously misfiring Suleiman Hartzenberg, who is another player who has excelled in north/south derby games in the past, gets a chance to prove he still has the ability that saw him first selected to play senior rugby when he was still a teenager by wearing the No 14 jersey.
Dobson said that the return of the likes of Nel, Fourie, Willemse and Fouché is a big boost ahead of a crucial game.
“It is fantastic to have these experienced players back in the mix this week. They have all played in many big games like this, and their presence will lift those around them as well,” he said.
“We are also really excited about the impact the players on the replacements bench will make. We know that it will take a huge effort from all 23 to get the result we need this weekend.”
The Stormers won the first round game between the teams at DHL Stadium 13-8 but have been in a bit of a blip since then, with four losses in their last five starts dating back to their first defeat against Harlequins in an Investec Champions Cup game that was played a week after the last north/south derby.
DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Ruhan Nel (captain), Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Stefan Ungerer, Marcel Theunissen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie, JD Schickerling, Adré Smith, Neethling Fouché, André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: JJ Kotzé, Vernon Matongo, Sazi Sandi, Paul de Villiers, Hacjivah Dayimani, Imad Khan, Jonathan Roche, Wandisile Simelane.