In Cape Town, the DHL Stormers, who are currently sitting at the foot of the log, will want to make the most of the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd for the first time when they meet Munster on Saturday at 18:00 (SA Time) in a repeat of the 2022/23 grand final.
Spicing up the clash, both teams will be desperate to bounce back after disappointing performances last week where the DHL Stormers went down against Edinburgh, and Munster against Leinster, which will add to their desperation going into this clash.
The DHL Stormers will be aware of the fact that they need to step up their attack, in particular, with 67 points scored to Munsters’ 103 to date – although the hosts do have a game in hand – but they will place a heavy emphasis on their more effective defensive display with only 80 points conceded compared to Munster’s 101, which will certainly boost their confidence.
Interestingly, Munster has won all four of the matches they played against the DHL Stormers in the tournament dating back to 2021, however, the hosts will want to keep their impressive home record of late intact which shows only one defeat in their last nine outings in Cape Town.
There are four changes to the DHL Stormers' starting forward pack. Prop Sti Sithole and hooker Joseph Dweba come back into the starting line-up, while lock Adre Smith will make his first start of the season with JD Schickerling in the No.5 jersey and Ruben van Heerden set to make an impact in the second half in a rotational switch.
Marcel Theunissen will start at openside flank, with loose forwards Dave Ewers and Louw Nel both among the replacements.
The only change to the backline sees Suleiman Hartzenberg back on the right wing, while Springbok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies will make his return from injury on a replacement bench which also features flyhalf Jurie Matthee.
DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “We were disappointed with the way our tour ended last week, so this is a great opportunity to respond with a big performance at home. There are some rotational changes and it is fantastic to welcome Herschel back into the mix. We are back in front of our fans at DHL Stadium and it is vital that we make the most of the support we know we will get here."
Munster made five changes and one positional switch to the side that faced Leinster last week.
Shane Daly, Conor Murray, John Ryan, Tom Ahern and Alex Kendellen all come into the starting XV with Jack O’Donoghue shifting from flanker to no.8.
Daly returns from an elbow injury to start on the left wing with Mike Haley at full-back and Calvin Nash on the right wing.
Murray starts with Jack Crowley in the half-backs on his 197th Munster appearance as Alex Nankivell and Tom Farrell continue their centre partnership.
Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell and Ryan pack down in the front row with Jean Kleyn and captain Tadhg Beirne in the engine room.
Ahern and Kendellen join Jack O’Donoghue in the back row for their first starts of the season. Ahern returned from an ankle injury last week with Kendellen captaining Emerging Ireland on their recent tour to South Africa.
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis (c), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jurie Matthee.
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman. Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Ruadhán Quinn, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Seán O’Brien.
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