Glasgow Warriors will welcome the DHL Stormers to Scotstoun for the first time this Sunday at 17h00 (SA Time), as Franco Smith’s men host the defending champions in round 12 of the United Rugby Championship.
With last weekend’s thrilling 32-25 victory over Edinburgh having secured the 1872 Cup for Smith’s men, the Warriors will be looking to extend their winning run to six matches across all competitions when the men from Cape Town arrive in Glasgow’s west end.
Glasgow Warriors have won their last five matches since their 05-40 loss in Leinster in the United Rugby Championship on 26 November 2022. The Warriors have won their last ten matches at Scotstoun in the United Rugby Championship since Leinster beat them there in October 2021.
DHL Stormers have won their last five United Rugby Championship matches since their 24-30 defeat in Cardiff on 22 October. DHL Stormers have faced Scottish opponents on four previous occasions in the Championship, winning three and drawing one.
The two sides have met just once before with the Stormers winning 32-7 in Cape Town last April
Prediction: DHL Stormers by 7.
George Turner comes into the starting XV of the Glasgow Warriors at hooker, packing down between Jamie Bhatti and Lucio Sordoni.
An all-new second-row combination sees JP du Preez make just his second start in Glasgow colours, the big South African pairing up with Lewis Bean in the engine room.
The back row is unchanged, meaning Matt Fagerson and Sione Vailanu line up on the flanks in a trio completed by number eight Jack Dempsey.
Behind the scrum, George Horne starts at scrum-half after contributing 13 points off the bench at BT Murrayfield, joining Tom Jordan – fresh from crossing for his first try for the club – in the half-backs.
Huw Jones comes into the matchday squad to line up at inside centre against his first professional club, linking up with last weekend’s Player of the Match, Sione Tuipulotu, in the midfield.
Kyle Steyn captains the team from the wing, with Sebastian Cancelliere and Ollie Smith completing the starting XV.
Alex Samuel comes into the matchday squad amongst the replacements, the second-rower in line for his first appearance since November’s trip to Leinster.
Fraser Brown rotates to the bench after starting at BT Murrayfield, joining Nathan McBeth and Simon Berghan as the front-row cover for Sunday’s clash.
Euan Ferrie comes into the matchday squad to cover the back-five of the scrum, whilst Cameron Neild retains the number 21 jersey in a six-two split of forwards and backs.
The bench is completed by Ali Price and Domingo Miotti, the former also rotating to the bench after starting last time out.
Speaking following selection, Head Coach Smith told glasgowwarriors.org: “After finishing 2022 strongly, coming up against the defending champions will provide us with a good measure as to where we are in our development.
“The last few weeks have shown the continued development that this group of players has undertaken, and the next job for us is to continue along that path against one of the toughest teams in the league.
“We are striving to compete with the best week in, week out, and we look forward to having the Warrior Nation behind us once again on Sunday afternoon.”
There is a slight shuffle in the DHL Stormers backline for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against Glasgow Warriors.
Given the limited training time, Head Coach John Dobson has opted to make as few changes as possible.
Clayton Blommetjies comes into the starting line-up at fullback, with Damian Willemse alongside Dan du Plessis in midfield and Suleiman Hartzenberg on the wing.
Scrumhalf Imad Khan is set to make his DHL Stormers debut, while wing Angelo Davids and hooker JJ Kotze also come onto the replacements bench in the only other changes to the matchday squad, as Dobson opts for continuity.
The DHL Stormers Head Coach said that the team is looking forward to what should be a completely different challenge to what they have faced in home conditions recently.
“This is going to take a significant adjustment on a number of fronts for our team and this challenge comes at a crucial point in our season.
“We have seen some good growth from a lot of these combinations in recent weeks and would like to see if they can step-up while outside of their comfort zone.
“While we haven’t been here long as it took a while to travel, our focus is on taking the next step as a group in these sorts of conditions,” he said.
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15. Ollie Smith, 14. Sebastian Cancelliere, 13. Sione Tuipulotu, 12. Huw Jones, 11. Kyle Steyn (c), 10. Tom Jordan, 9. George Horne, 8. Jack Dempsey, 7. Sione Vailanu, 6. Matt Fagerson, 5. JP du Preez, 4. Lewis Bean, 3. Lucio Sordoni, 2. George Turner, 1. Jamie Bhatti. Replacements: 16. Fraser Brown, 17. Nathan McBeth, 18. Simon Berghan, 19. Alex Samuel, 20. Euan Ferrie, 21. Cameron Neild, 22. Ali Price, 23. Domingo Miotti.
DHL Stormers: 15. Clayton Blommetjies, 14. Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13. Dan du Plessis, 12. Damian Willemse, 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Manie Libbok, 9. Paul de Wet, 8. Hacjivah Dayimani, 7. Willie Engelbrecht, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Marvin Orie, 4. Ben-Jason Dixon, 3. Neethling Fouche, 2. Joseph Dweba, 1. Steven Kitshoff (c). Replacements: 16. JJ Kotze, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Sazi Sandi, 19. Connor Evans, 20. Junior Pokomela, 21. Marcel Theunissen, 22. Imad Khan, 23. Angelo Davids.
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