Senatla to play 50th Stormers game, Willemse back for Ulster showdown

Seabelo Senatla will play his 50th game for the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship semifinal against Ulster at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

There is just one change to the team that defeated Edinburgh in the quarterfinal last week, with Damian Willemse making his return from injury to take his place at inside centre for the knock-out clash which kicks off at 3pm.

Senatla made his Stormers debut in 2014 and has also had a glittering Sevens career, scoring a record 230 tries for the Blitzboks.

The speedster missed the first four games of the United Rugby Championship season due to injury, but is still third on the try-scorers list with nine tries thus far.

He is also one of five Stormers players in the starting line-up for Saturday that were named in the United Rugby Championship 2021/22 Dream Team, along with Willemse, Evan Roos, Leolin Zas and Warrick Gelant.

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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.

Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Evan Roos, Hacjivah Dayimani, Deon Fourie, Marvin Orie, Salmaan Moerat, Frans Malherbe, JJ Kotze, Steven Kitshoff (capt). Bench: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Ernst van Rhyn, Nama Xaba, Godlen Masimla, Sacha Mngomezulu.