Chris van Zyl will lead the Stormers in their pre-season warm-up against the Vodacom Bulls at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday.
In the absence of skipper Siya Kolisi and his deputy Eben Etzebeth, Van Zyl will captain a 26-man squad mixed with youth and experience.
In a strong-looking backline, Dillyn Leyds, Seabelo Senatla and SP Marais form the back three, while JJ Engelbrecht and Dan Kriel start in tandem in the midfield.
Former Bulls duo Josh Stander and Jano Vermaak form the Stormers’ halfback-axis against their old team.
Juarno Augustus, Cobus Wiese and Jaco Coetzee make up the loose trio, lock Salmaan Moerat joins Van Zyl in the second row, and the front row consists of Michael Kumbirai, Scarra Ntubeni and Ali Vermaak.
Boks Wilco Louw, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Damian Willemse boost the 11-man bench.
‘There will be a big crowd and a special atmosphere this Sunday and the players are all looking forward to the experience,’ said coach Robbie Fleck.
‘On the field, this will be an important step forward for us in our preparations for the upcoming campaign, so we are hoping to take a lot out of this game.’
Stormers – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 SP Marais, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 Chris van Zyl (c), 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Subs: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 John Schickerling, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Kobus van Dyk, 23 Herschel Jantjies, 24 Damian Willemse, 25 Sergeal Petersen, 26 Dan du Plessis.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
