The Stormers have made six changes to their starting lineup for Saturday’s match against the Blues in Auckland.
There are three changes to the backline and three in the pack.
Damian Willemse comes in at fullback, with Dillyn Leyds shifting to the left wing and Dan du Plessis back at outside centre. Flyhalf Joshua Stander comes on to the bench.
There are two rotational switches up front, with Jaco Coetzee at No 8 and Wilco Louw at tighthead prop, while a fit-again Eben Etzebeth comes into the second row in place of the injured JD Schickerling. As a result, utility forward Cobus Wiese will be among the replacements.
Following feedback from a specialist, Schickerling has returned to Cape Town to recover from a shoulder injury and is expected to be out for three weeks. Loose forward Kobus van Dyk has joined the squad in his place.
Lock Salmaan Moerat is not available this weekend due to a concussion sustained against the Hurricanes, but is expected to be fit next week.
Stormers – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Joshua Stander, 23 SP Marais.
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