With Warrick Gelant being given another week to get him up to speed as comes back from an off-season injury, DHL Stormers coach John Dobson has opted to start first choice Springbok fullback Damian Willemse to start in that position against the Ospreys.
The Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener in Swansea will be Willemse’s first game since he was injured with a few games left of last season, and no doubt Bok coach Rassie Erasmus will be watching his return closely as he weighs up his options for the end of season tour to Scotland, England and Wales.
It was thought that Dobson might start with Willemse at flyhalf, where the Stormers are without two Boks in Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok. However, once it was learned that Gelant, the usual first choice Stormers No 15, wasn’t going to be part of the match 23 it became obvious that Willemse would line up in the last line of defence.
Jurie Matthee will wear the No 10 jersey as he continues to grow his experience at this level of rugby, and in many ways even though Dobson is missing some key players the strength of the combination he has been able to call up underlines how successful he has been in his stated quest to improve the Stormers’ depth.
JD Schickerling makes his return to Stormers colours in what will be his first ever URC game, and his second row partnership with Ruben van Heerden should become a formidable one, with regular skipper from last season and current alternate Bok captain Salmaan Moerat and Adre Smith, who plays off the bench, adding further depth in that area.
With Andre-Hugo Venter having been capped for the Boks in the off-season, the Stormers now have two international hookers, while the experienced former Ulster and Exeter Chiefs back row forward Dave Ewers adds strength to the flank resources. Another new Springbok, Ben-Jason Dixon, will play off the bench against the Ospreys, while the promising Keke Morabe is the man entrusted with the responsibility of slotting in for the injured Evan Roos at No 8. Another player the Stormers have lost in that position is Hacjivah Dayimani, who is now playing in France.
DHL Stormers team: Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis (captain), Leolin Zas, Jurie Matthee, Paul de Wet, Keke Morabe, David Ewers, Marcel Theunissen, Ruben van Heerden, JD Schickerling, Neethling Fouche, Joseph Dweba, Sti Sithole. Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Leon Lyons, Brok Harris, Adre Smith, Ben-Jason Dixon, Stefan Ungerer, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Angelo Davids.