Stormers boosted by return of Fourie, Zas for Bulls showdown

Damian Willemse will this week feature at fullback for the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship showdown with the Bulls in Cape Town, with Manie Libbok at flyhalf and Dan du Plessis at inside centre.

Also, Deon Fourie is back at openside flank after missing his team’s last two games because of a facial injury, while Leolin Zas also returns on the wing.

The match kicks off at 3.30pm on Saturday, with a place in the semifinals on the line.

Ruhan Nel, Angelo Davids, Herschel Jantjies, Joseph Dweba and Frans Malherbe also return to the starting line-up, having featured off the replacements bench in the final league match of the season against Benetton a fortnight ago.

The only new faces among the replacements are lock Gary Porter and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Clayton Blommetjies, who has featured regularly this season, will play for Western Province against his former team, the Cheetahs, in the Currie Cup this weekend.

‘Biggest crowd of season’

Coach John Dobson said that everyone is looking forward to what will be another special occasion at Cape Town Stadium.

“We will have our biggest crowd of the season for a North-South knock-out game, so this is something everyone has been looking forward to,” said Dobson on Friday.

“It is fantastic to have the likes of Deon and Leolin back in the mix for this one, they have both made such a big impact for us in recent times.”

Zas comes into the side after Seabelo Senatla was ruled out of action after being involved in a car accident on Thursday.

According to sarugbymag.co.za, Dobson said Senatla was okay but in no shape to play rugby this weekend.

‘Excited’

“We are very proud of what we have already achieved this season as our goal was to broaden depth across the squad and consolidate our position.

“We are really excited about the future and the new generation of players coming through, but right now it’s all about Saturday.

“We want to play the kind of rugby that has got us into this position and repay the incredible support we get with a worthy performance.”

Stormers: Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Evan Roos, Hacjivah Dayimani, Deon Fourie, Marvin Orie, Ruben van Heerden, Frans Malherbe, Joseph Dweba, Steven Kitshoff (capt). Bench: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Gary Porter, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Paul de Wet, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.