Evan Roos will make his first appearance of the season for the Stormers in their Champions Cup opener against Bristol Bears in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Springbok loose forward returns against the English team in a blockbuster encounter
Roos’ return from a hamstring injury comes at a time when Hacjivah Dayimani is ruled out with concussion.
The only other change from the team that thrashed the Sharks last week is an all-new front row in the starting line-up.
Vernon Matongo, JJ Kotzé and Sazi Sandi will run out just behind captain Ruhan Nel, with André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Zachary Porthen set to make an impact from the replacements bench.
The starting backline is unchanged, with Warrick Gelant among the replacements this week for the Champions Cup clash.
Director of Rugby John Dobson said that his team is determined to make a strong start to the competition.
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“We saw last season how important collecting points in the pool phase is in the Champions Cup, which makes your home matches crucial,” Dobson said.
“We have kept a fair amount of continuity in selection as we look to build on some of the momentum from last week’s win.
While it is disappointing to lose Hacjivah to concussion, we are able to call on Evan, who is raring to go, along with the new front row,” he added.
Dobson said that anticipation is building within the camp for another great day out on Saturday.
“The team is still buzzing from the incredible atmosphere created by our fans last week and we can’t wait to experience it all again as we take on a strong Bristol side that showed they understand what it takes to win in South Africa with a notable victory at Loftus Versfeld last season,” he said.
- Please note that the Stormers match day squad will be officially announced by EPCR at 14.00 (SA time) on Friday. As per competition rules, changes may be made up until that time.
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant.
Date: Saturday, October 17
Venue: Cape Town
Kick-off: 16.15 (15.15 BST; 14.15 GMT)
Referee: Kevin Bralley (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
