The DHL Stormers will have their sights set on the big prize of booking places in the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship final when they take the field in what is expected to be a thrilling semi-final against Ulster on Saturday at 15h00 in Cape Town.
There were important lessons to take from their clash with Ulster earlier in the season, which went down to the last minute at DHL Stadium as the DHL Stormers held on to win. The win was marred by the "legality" of the try that secured the win for the home team and one sensed that "revenge" might be part of the motivational strategy of the visitors.
The DHL Stormers will enter the match high on confidence after a rewarding week off the field in which they found themselves as the most well-represented team in the Vodacom URC Dream Team with five players in the mix – Evan Roos (No 8), Damian Willemse (centre), Leolin Zas, Seabelo Senatla (both wings) and Warrick Gelant (fullback).
Their first-choice flyhalf Manie Libbok was also named as the competition’s top points scorer (161), while Zas’ 11 tries placed him at the top of the try scorer’s list, and experienced loose forward Deon Fourie won the most turnovers (25) in the round-robin stages, and Roos was on Thursday named as the Next-Gen Star of the Season.
This semi-final is expected to be a tightly contested match that will once again be decided by the bounce of the ball or a last-minute call by the referee.
There is just one change to the DHL Stormers team that defeated Edinburgh in the quarterfinal last week, with Damian Willemse making his return from injury to take his place at inside centre.
Seabelo Senatla will play his 50th game for the DHL Stormers, debuting in 2014 and has also had a glittering Sevens career, scoring a record 230 tries for the BlitzBoks.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson paid tribute to Senatla. “Seabelo is an incredibly gifted athlete who would have reached this milestone long ago if he wasn’t also one of the greatest Sevens players of all time. He deserves all the plaudits that come his way, he is a true professional and a big part of our success this season.
Dobson said that having Willemse back for the semifinal is a huge boost. “Damian is another phenomenal player and credit must go to him and the medical staff for getting him ready for this game. He is a world-class performer who would make a difference to any team,” he said.
The DHL Stormers coach added that the team want to make the most of what should be a great occasion at DHL Stadium on Saturday and hopefully make it 10 consecutive victories in the competition to book their place in the final next week.
“We are so glad that we get to play our semifinal in front of our Faithful supporters, it will be a special day and we want to enjoy all of it.
“The team is raring to go out there and play the game we love the way we love to play it,” he said.
The Ulster men go into this clash unchanged from the side that defeated Munster in the Quarter-Finals last week. The front row sees Andrew Warwick and Tom O’Toole packing down either side of Rob Herring. Iain Henderson will skipper the side at second row and will pair with Alan O’Connor. Nick Timoney, who was named in the 2021-22 URC Dream Team earlier this week, will line out at openside flanker with Marcus Rea named at blindside and Duane Vermeulen completes the pack at Number Eight.
John Cooney, who made his 100th appearance for Ulster last weekend, is selected at scrum-half to partner Billy Burns at out-half. James Hume, who was also selected in URC’s Dream Team is named to partner Stuart McCloskey in midfield. Stewart Moore, Ethan McIlroy and Rob Baloucoune complete the starting back three.
Providing forward reinforcements from the bench are John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Gareth Milasinovich, Kieran Treadwell and Matty Rea. Nathan Doak, Ian Madigan and Ben Moxham will offer backline cover.
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15. Warrick Gelant, 14. Seabelo Senatla, 13. Ruhan Nel, 12. Damian Willemse, 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Manie Libbok, 9. Herschel Jantjies, 8. Evan Roos, 7. Hacjivah Dayimani, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Marvin Orie, 4. Salmaan Moerat, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. JJ Kotze, 1. Steven Kitshoff (c). Replacements: 16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Neethling Fouche, 19. Adre Smith, 20. Ernst van Rhyn, 21. Nama Xaba, 22. Godlen Masimla, 23. Sacha Mngomezulu.
Ulster: 15. Stewart Moore, 14. Rob Baloucoune, 13. James Hume, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 11. Ethan McIlroy, 10. Billy Burns, 9. John Cooney; 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Nick Timoney, 6. Marcus Rea, 5. Iain Henderson (c), 4. Alan O’Connor, 3. Tom O’Toole, 2. Rob Herring, 1. Andrew Warwick. Replacements: 16. John Andrew, 17. Eric O’Sullivan, 18. Gareth Milasinovich, 19. Kieran Treadwell, 20. Matty Rea, 21. Nathan Doak, 22. Ian Madigan, 23. Ben Moxham.