DHL Stormers still in hunt for top two spot

After being crowned South African Conference winners last weekend, the DHL Stormers can still qualify in the top two for the Vodacom Super Rugby Finals Series, but they will need a couple of results to go their way.

The Capetonians will finish the regular season with a highly-anticipated derby against the Cell C Sharks in Durban on Saturday June 13, by which time they will know if they still have a chance to make it to second position.
The other match featuring South African teams in Round 18 is earlier on Saturday afternoon, when the Vodacom Bulls host the Toyota Cheetahs in Pretoria. The Emirates Lions have a bye this weekend.

After Saturday, four of the South African teams will have concluded their participation in Vodacom Super Rugby for the season, while the DHL Stormers will be getting ready to fly the Republic’s flag in the Finals Series in the coming weeks.

The South African Conference winners are currently third on the overall standings on 45 points, two adrift of the Waratahs and the Brumbies, one of which can still end up in second spot.or the DHL Stormers to take that coveted spot on the log, behind the Hurricanes, the two Aussie teams have to lose their matches earlier on Saturday, and Allister Coetzee’s team will have to beat the Cell C Sharks.

If either the Waratahs or Brumbies beat the Reds or Crusaders respectively, the match in Durban effectively becomes a dead rubber in terms of final log standings.

Vodacom Bulls vs Toyota Cheetahs

The Vodacom Bulls have made three changes to their starting line-up, all of them in the pack as the backline remains unchanged for this match.

Arno Botha, Grant Hattingh, Adriaan Strauss and Morné Mellett take over at flank (from Lappies Labuschange), lock (from Victor Matfield), hooker (from Callie Visagie) and loosehead prop (from Dean Greyling) respectively.
There are three more changes on the bench, where Callie Visagie (hooker), Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) and Roelof Smit (flank) have been included.

The Toyota Cheetahs will travel to Pretoria with a new-look back trio, with Willie le Roux (fullback) and Clayton Blommetjies (wing) taking over from Coenie van Wyk and Cornal Hendricks respectively. Sergeal Petersen moves from right to left wing.

In the pack, Henco Venter (flank) moves up from the bench, replacing Tienie Burger, while Oupa Mohoje (loose forward) is back from injury and will start on the bench.

Van Wyk and Mohoje will be joined on the bench by scrumhalf Renier Botha, who replaces Shaun Venter and will make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut if he gets a run.

The teams are:
Vodacom Bulls: Jesse Kriel, Francois Hougaard, JJ Engelbrecht, Burger Odendaal, Travis Ismaiel, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Rudy Paige, Pierre Spies (captain), Jacques du Plessis, Arno Botha, Grant Hattingh, Flip van der Merwe, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Morné Mellett. Replacements: Callie Visagie, Trevor Nyakane, Werner Kruger, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Roelof Smit, Tian Schoeman, Bjorn Basson, Jurgen Visser.
Toyota Cheetahs: Willie le Roux, Clayton Blommetjies, Francois Venter, Rayno Benjamin, Sergeal Petersen, Niel Marais, Sarel Pretorius, Niell Jordaan, Henco Venter, Boom Prinsloo, Francois Uys (captain), Carl Wegner, Maks van Dyk, Torsten van Jaarsveld, BG Uys. Replacements: Elandré Huggett, Danie Mienie, Ewald van der Westhuizen, Steven Sykes, Gerhard Olivier, Oupa Mohoje, Renier Botha, Coenie van Wyk.

Cell C Sharks vs DHL Stormers

The Cell C Sharks’ backline is unchanged, but there are three changes to the pack and two on the bench.
Etienne Oosthuizen moves from flank to lock for this match, taking over from Mouritz Botha, while Springbok flanks Marcell Coetzee and Willem Alberts are back on the sides of the scrum.

Khaya Majola (flank), who made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut two weekends ago against the Rebels, moves to the bench for Jean Deysel, where he is joined by Dale Chadwick (prop), who takes over from Matt Stevens.
The DHL Stormers have made wholesale changes to their team for this clash in Durban – a total of 14 in the starting team, where the only player from last week to retain his place is No 8 Nizaam Carr, who also takes over the captaincy.

There are two starters from last weekend on the bench on Saturday – Siya Kolisi (flank) and Seabelo Senatla (wing), while the entire bench from their draw against the Emirates Lions will start this weekend.

Robert du Preez (fullback), Jan de Klerk (lock) and Godlen Masimla (scrumhalf) have never played at Vodacom Super Rugby level before, while Michael Willemse (hooker) and Sikhumbuzo Notshe (flank) will be making their run-on debuts for the DHL Stormers.

The teams are:
Cell C Sharks: Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Andre Esterhuizen, S’bura Sithole, Lionel Cronje, Stefan Ungerer, Renaldo Bothma, Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Marco Wentzel (captain), Etienne Oosthuizen, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Franco Marais, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Khaya Majola, Conrad Hoffmann, Fred Zeilinga, Heimar Williams.
DHL Stormers: Robert du Preez, Johnny Kotze, Huw Jones, Jaco Taute, Pat Howard, Kurt Coleman, Louis Schreuder, Nizaam Carr (captain), Michael Rhodes, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Ruan Botha, Jean Kleyn, Vincent Koch, Michael Willemse, Oli Kebble. Replacements: Neil Rautenbach, Ali Vermaak, Wilco Louw, Jan de Klerk, Siya Kolisi, Godlen Masimla, Seabelo Senatla, Kobus van Wyk.

Other fixtures (SA kick-off times):
Friday, June 12
09h35: Blues v Highlanders – Auckland
11h40: Rebels v Force – Melbourne
Saturday, June 13:
07h30: Brumbies v Crusaders – Canberra
09h35: Chiefs v Hurricanes – New Plymouth
11h40: Waratahs v Reds – Sydney
Bye: Emirates Lions