The DHL Stormers will welcome the Emirates Lions to DHL Stadium in the second local VURC of the weekend this afternoon @ 17h00. The DHL Stormers had the best return from their early-season tour to the Northern Hemisphere, bagging seven log points after a win and a draw, while the men from Johannesburg sit on six points after their first-round victory in Italy.
The DHL Stormers are viewing this match as a new challenge, albeit against well-known opposition. But the coaching changes in the Emirates Lions set-up, most notably the inclusion of former Springbok centre Jaque Fourie as defence coach, has the DHL Stormers coaching staff preparing for something different from the Johannesburg men.
"They've got Jaque Fourie doing the defence, so it's a little different from my point of view in terms of preparing for them. They have made a few adjustments that we've picked up since we last played them. It's different opposition to the overseas teams, but we are more focusing on ourselves and where we are. We will take into account what they will present on the day, but 90% of our prep is about how we can be better," said DHL Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman.
Lock Marvin Orie and wing Seabelo Senatla will make their first appearances of the season for the DHL Stormers. Orie starts in the second row alongside captain Salmaan Moerat, with the rest of the forward pack unchanged from the combination that started the 24-10 victory against the Dragons in Newport last month.
Senatla and Sergeal Petersen start on the wings, with Warrick Gekant at fullback and Dan du Plessis and Ruhan Nel linking up in midfield.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that his team is determined to be at their best in their first home game of the campaign, which will have a limited crowd of 2000 spectators in the stands according to government COVID-19 protocols.
“It has been quite some time since we played in front of our faithful fans, so this will be a special occasion for the team and we want to put up a worthy performance.
“It is great to have some of our best players back in the mix and preparations have gone really well, so hopefully that translates onto the pitch on Saturday.
“We were pleased with the progress we made as a team on our tour and we want to build on that and deliver a rousing performance at home,” he said.
The Emirates Lions will travel to Cape Town with the same starting team that would have faced Cardiff last weekend. The Only change was made on the bench, where Jannie du Plessis replaces Ruan Dreyer.
Ivan van Rooyen and his team would have taken notice of the DHL Stormers’ good defensive record on tour, but the Emirates Lions will have an “insider” in their midst on Saturday with Edwill van der Merwe having joined Jozi’s Pride a month ago.
Emirates Lions captain Burger Odendaal said his team had been training to face international opposition, and a match away from home still somewhat ticks that box for them. "Any opportunity to play is great for the team and even better for rugby as a whole. It is obviously going to be a tough match and it's never easy going to play in Cape Town."
Coach Ivan van Rooyen said “We’re quite pleased that an arrangement was made by SA Rugby and the URC for local games to be played this weekend after last week’s uncertainty,” said Van Rooyen. “Despite a change in opposition, we have prepared well and made the mental shift ahead of the match down in Cape Town on Saturday.”
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Brok Harris. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Rikus Pretorius, 23 Tim Swiel.
Emirates Lions: 15. EW Viljoen 14. Edwill van der Merwe 13. Wandisile Simelane 12. Burger Odendaal (c) 11. Rabz Maxwane 10. Fred Zeilinga 9. Andre Warner 8. Francke Horn 7. Vincent Tshituka 6. Jaco Kriel 5. Reinhard Nothnagel 4. Ruben Schoeman 3. Carlu Sadie 2. Jaco Visagie 1. Sti Sithole. Replacements: 16. Pieter Jacobus Botha 17. Morgan Naude 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Willem Alberts 20. Ruhan Straeuli 21. Morne van den Berg 22. Matt More 23. Tiaan Swanepoel.