Cape Town - Loose forward Junior Pokomela will make his Stormers debut in their United Rugby Championship encounter with the Dragons in Newport on Friday.
This clash at Rodney Parade will be the Stormers’ last fixture in the URC before they head into a six-week break. The match against the Welsh side kicks off at 20h35 SA time.
The inclusion of Pokomela in the loose trio is the only change to the forward pack that started the 20-20 draw with Edinburgh last week.
In the backline, though, there are five changes.
The fit-again halfback pairing of Stefan Ungerer and Manie Libbok are back in the run-on side. In midfield, Dan du Plessis and Ruhan Nel are also back in the starting line-up, while wing Leolin Zas completes the back-three.
Stormers head coach John Dobson said that his team will be looking to end the first quarter of their campaign on a high.
“We have been competitive in every game on this tour and we want to end it with our best performance yet.
Your DHL Stormers team that will be aiming to end their tour on a high when they face @dragonsrugby at Rodney Parade in Newport on Friday night.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 14, 2021
📆 Friday, October 15
⏰ 20h35 SAST (19h35 BST)
🏟️ Rodney Parade#DRAvSTO #iamastormer #dhldelivers #URC pic.twitter.com/8SBQu942pB
“We know it will take 80 minutes of accurate execution against a tough Dragons side, but the team is excited to give it a full crack.
“We have some talented players coming in this week and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do out there,” he said.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Leolin Zas, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Juan de Jongh.