Porter debuts as Stormers dig deep

Injuries and the clash with the Springbok out of international window test against England has forced DHL Stormers coach John Dobson to dig deep into his resource base for Friday night’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the Scarlets.

There are two locks away with the Boks so Dobson is handing Gary Porter his Stormers debut alongside skipper Ernst van Rhyn in the second row, while Kade Wolhuter returns at flyhalf after a long absence. Wolhuter last played for the Stormers two years ago in a series of derby matches before sustaining a serious injury that ruled him out of rugby for almost a year.

Although one of the national coaching group’s players of national interest (Poni), other players such as Manie Libbok and Sacha Mngomezulu have seen their star rise in the interim, while Damian Willemse is currently the Bok No 10. All three of those players are unavailable for Friday, which is why the promising Wolhuter gets this opportunity to show what he can do.

Someone who could be set to make big strides among the Stormers flyhalves though is Jean-Luc du Plessis, who is back at the franchise and has apparently shown signs of having greatly matured since his return from his overseas sojourn. As a pivot who takes the ball flat in the same way that Libbok does, we could well see him play a bigger than expected role for the Stormers in the coming months, depending on the extent of Mngomezulu’s injury.

There are several players who haven’t played much at this level playing on Friday, including outside centre Cornel Smit, who is another promising young player, and lock Connor Evans, who will play off the bench.

DHL Stormers team: Clayton Blommetjies, Angelo Davids, Cornel Smit, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Kade Wolhuter, Paul de Wet, Hacjivah Dayimani, Marcel Theunissen, Junior Pokomela, Gary Porter, Ernst van Rhyn (captain), Neethling Fouche, Joseph Dweba, Ali Vermaak. Replacements: JJ Kotze, Leon Lyons, Sazi Sandi, Connor Evans, Ben-Jason Dixon, Nama Xaba, Herschel Jantjies, Jean-Luc du Plessis.