Robbie Fleck’s side returned to the Cape with a splendid and morale-boosting victory over the Rebels in Melbourne and they will be confident of bagging another Aussie scalp in this tenth round fixture which starts at 15h05.
Fleck announced three changes and a positional switch to his starting line-up. In the backline, Josh Stander will be at flyhalf with Dan Kriel at inside centre in place of Jean-Luc du Plessis and Damian de Allende who are both being rested for this match. Up front, Springbok Pieter-Steph du Toit returns to take his place at blindside flank, with Kobus van Dyk moving to No 8 in place of the injured Jaco Coetzee.
Tighthead prop Neethling Fouche, Springbok loose forward Siya Kolisi and utility back JJ Engelbrecht are all amongst the replacements in the only other changes to the match-day 23 that featured in the 41-24 win against the Rebels in Melbourne last week.
Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar has made only one change to his starting side - flank Jahrome Brown get his first start outing for the Canberra side, while Wallabies stalwart David Pocock has been sidelined for the encounter.
What they said:
DHL Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck said they were looking forward to playing at Newlands again. “It is great for us to be in front of our supporters at DHL Newlands again, which is something we want to make the most of. It will be crucial for us to build some momentum in the second half of the season and that starts on Saturday against the Brumbies.”
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Johan du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 JJ Engelbrecht, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Brumbies: 15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Tom Wright, 11 Toni Pulu, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Jahrome Brown, 6 Tom Cusack, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’A, 1 Scott Sio. Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 James Slipper, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Murray Douglas, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 Wharenui Hawera, 23 Andy Muirhead.
Head to head:
Played: 19
DHL Stormers won: 6
Brumbies won: 12
Draws: 1
DHL Stormers points: 401
Brumbies points: 266
Average score: 20-24
Match information:
Date: Saturday, 20 April
SA time: 15h05
Venue: DHL Newlands
Referee: Nic Briant
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson, Federico Anselmi
Television Match Official: Marius Jonker
TV: SuperSport1
The other Round 10 fixtures of the weekend are:
Friday, 19 April
12h00: Sunwolves v Hurricanes, Prince Chichibu Stadium, Tokyo
Saturday, 20 April
09h35: Highlanders v Blues, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
11h45: Waratahs v Rebels, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Byes: Bulls, Jaguares, Crusaders.
