7 October 2026
Seven Springboks will play their first match for the DHL Stormers this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Scrumhalf Haashim Pead is set to make his DHL Stormers debut off the replacements bench in a match-day squad which includes 11 Springboks in total.
The DHL Stormers will run out in their new black kit – a throwback to the iconic 1999 Men in Black campaign – for kick-off at 16h00 on Saturday. Tickets are available from stormers.co.za.
There are three changes to the backline, with Damian Willemse at fullback and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu linking up with Cobus Reinach at halfback. Pead and Wandisile Simelane are the two backs among the replacements.
In the front row, Wilco Louw is set to earn his first DHL Stormers cap since 2020, while Deon Fourie provides hooker cover and will sit alongside props Neethling Fouché and Vernon Matongo on the bench.
Lock Adré Smith comes into the starting line-up for the first time this season, while in the loose trio Paul de Villiers makes his return, which sees Siya Kolisi move to blindside flank. Evan Roos and Riley Norton feature on a replacements bench that is certain to add plenty of momentum in the second half.
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Riley Norton, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Wandisile Simelane.