The DHL Stormers have been bolstered by the return of Deon Fourie and Leolin Zas for their clash against the Vodacom Bulls at DHL Stadium on Saturday (15h30). Close to 40 000 tickets had been sold on Friday morning, and tickets are still available only through Ticketpro. CLICK HERE to book.
Ruhan Nel, Angelo Davids, Herschel Jantjies, Joseph Dweba and Frans Malherbe also return to the starting line-up, having featured off the replacements bench in the final league match of the season against Benetton a fortnight ago. The only new faces among the replacements are lock Gary Porter and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Vodacom Bulls have named an unchanged starting team for their trip to Cape Town, with the only changes on the bench, where Simphiwe Matanzima (prop), Nizaam Carr (loose forward) and Lionel Mapoe (centre) come in for Dylan Smith, WJ Steenkamp and Cornal Hendricks respectively.
Injuries have forced Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell's hand with Siya Kolisi and Curwin Bosch ruled out for their clash against Leinster in Dublin (18h00).
Lukhanyo Am takes over the captaincy while James Venter will start on the side of the scrum in Kolisi’s absence. At the back, Boeta Chamberlain moves from fullback to flyhalf, with Aphelele Fassi starting at fullback.
In other changes, Corne Rahl will start at lock in place of Jeandre Labuschagne, who moves to the bench, and Marnus Potgieter replaces Werner Kok on the wing.
The teams are:
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Lionel Mapoe.
Cell C Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Jeandre Labuschagne, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Nevaldo Fleurs, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.