Cape Town – The Stormers may be missing all their Springbok starts, but coach John Dobson was still able to name a highly competent match-23 on Thursday for Friday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Scarlets at Cape Town Stadium (7pm kickoff).
The likes of Damian Willemse, Evan Roos, Marvin Orie, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff and Manie Libbok are all in the Bok squad that will take on England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Lock Salmaan Moerat and flank Deon Fourie are also on tour in London, while utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu sustained a shin injury while on SA A duty and has not recovered in time for the Scarlets clash.
But there are several other SA A players who will run out at Cape Town Stadium on Friday night, including wing Leolin Zas and hooker Joseph Dweba, as well as replacements such as JJ Kotze, Sazi Sandi and Herschel Jantjies.
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Youngster Kade Wolhuter will call the shots at flyhalf in the absence of Libbok, Willemse and Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and he will be partnered by Paul de Wet at scrumhalf.
Former UCT lock Gary Porter will make his URC debut alongside captain Ernst van Rhyn, while flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis is back from Japan and will be on the bench.
“This selection forms part of a clear strategy to prepare ourselves to be competitive across the various competitions we are involved in this season,” Dobson said on Thursday.
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“We have an exciting young generation of young players coming through, and it will be a big challenge for them against a team which boasts almost 300 Test caps, but we are looking forward to it.
“The players getting an opportunity this week have all been training incredibly hard all season and are determined to make the most of this game.
“We are pleased with the depth we have built already this season, and this is also a side that features plenty of experience in key positions, so we are excited to see how they go.”
Stormers team:15 Clayton Blommetjies 14 Angelo Davids 13 Cornel Smit 12 Dan du Plessis 11 Leolin Zas 10 Kade Wolhuter 9 Paul de Wet 8 Hacjivah Dayimani 7 Marcel Theunissen 6 Junior Pokomela 5 Gary Porter 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain) 3 Neethling Fouche 2 Joseph Dweba 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze 17 Leon Lyons 18 Sazi Sandi 19 Connor Evans 20 Ben-Jason Dixon 21 Nama Xaba 22 Herschel Jantjies 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
IOL Sport