Stormers winger Seabelo Senatla and inside centre Dan du Plessis will make their long-awaited return from injury on Sunday against the Dragons in Cape Town.
The duo will slot into a rejigged backline for the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash that features Springbok star Damian Willemse at fullback in place of Warrick Gelant, while rookie scrumhalf Imad Khan takes over from Stefan Ungerer.
Khan will form an exciting halfback partnership with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as the Stormers look to continue their upward trajectory at the DHL Stadium (3pm kick-off).
Up front, Evan Roos returns from the injury that kept him out of action last week. Consequently, Marcel Theunissen shifts to the flank after a strong game against the Bulls, with Bok loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon set to make an impact in the second half. Veteran fetcher Deon Fourie retains the No 6 jersey after making a successful comeback from a long-term injury in the 32-19 victory at Loftus Versfeld.
There are two changes to the starting front row, with loosehead prop Vernon Matongo and JJ Kotzé drafted into the starting line-up this week. They provided a massive impact in the second half in Pretoria and will look to turn in another big scrummaging performance, as well as contributing with their ball-carrying on the attack.
Stormers’ director of rugby John Dobson said it is vital for his team to back up their win in Pretoria with a strong display at home.
“We are back at DHL Stadium this week and want to make that count. Last week’s performance was very encouraging, but we need to build on that and keep moving forward.
“We have some quality players coming back into the mix and we are excited to see how some of the combinations go in what should be a tough game against a good Dragons side,” he said.
Stormers XV
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo; Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
