‘Specmagic’ in the mix for Stormers’ must-win clash
ROSKO Specman will start on the wing on one of four changes to the Stormers starting line-up for their PRO14 Rainbow Cup crunch match with the Bulls today (kick-off 7pm).
The Blitzbok superstar is one two changes to the backline, with the other change at flyhalf, where Tim Swiel - who slotted late, match-winning penalties in their last two encounters - comes in for Abner van Reenen, who drops out of the matchday squad.
Specman, who is on loan to the Stormers for their last two Rainbow Cup games, comes straight into the starting line-up. Following his involvement in one of the national alignment camps, Specman's loan spell with the Stormers has been reported to be a ‘national favour' to ensure that the speedster remains match ready ahead of the British & Irish Lions Series.
At flyhalf, Van Reenen has struggled to exert the same kind of influence he did during his first start for the Stormers in a 44-12 annihilation of the Lions in their final Preparation Series game.
Bar their first match of the competition – in which Kade Wolhuter started and sustained a season-ending injury - the 22-year-old Van Reenen has started in all of the Stormers' Rainbow Cup games.
There are also two changes to the forward pack, with David Meihuizen
coming in at lock for JD Schickerling, who picked up an ankle injury in training this week, while Neethling Fouche starts at tighthead prop in the place of Frans Malherbe.
The Loftus fixture is a must-win encounter for the Stormers if they want to keep their hopes of making the North-South final against the winner of the Rainbow Cup North, set to take place in Treviso, Italy, on June 19.
Stormers head coach John Dobson said that his team will need to execute their skills as accurately as possible to get the result they need.
“We know that it will take a clinical performance to get the win on Friday and we are up for the challenge.
“We want to push ourselves to deliver our best rugby for the full 80 minutes as we know that we are an even better team than we have shown in this competition,” he said.
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (capt).
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Dan du Plessis, 23 Sergeal Petersen, 24 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 25 Juarno Augustus.