MELBOURNE REBELS

WESSELS MAKES EIGHT CHANGES

REBELS coach Dave Wessels has announced a team to play the Sharks tomorrow at Jonsson Kings Park in Durban that is much changed from the line-up that lost narrowly to the Lions at Ellis Park in Joburg last weekend.

A raft of Wallabies have been pulled from the side in line with the Australian Rugby Union’s rotation policy ahead of the World Cup.

The Rebels will be without key players in Will Genia, Marika Koroibete, Isi Naisarani and Adam Coleman while captain Dane Haylett-Petty will miss the game due to a toe injury sustained against the Lions.

Jack Maddocks will shift to fullback in one of the eight changes while Reece Hodge starts in HaylettPetty’s place, causing the Maddocks shift from wing to fullback.

Tom English will replace Koroibete on the other wing.

In the other two backline changes, Sione Tuipulotu comes in at 13 and Michael Ruru replaces the highly experienced Genia at scrumhalf.

The four changes in the backline are replicated by four more in the forwards.

No 8 Angus Cottrell, flank Luke Jones, lock Ross Haylett-Petty and hooker Anaru Rangi all come into the starting line-up.

REBELS: 15 Jack Maddocks, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Tom English, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Angus Cottrell, 7 Richard Hardwick, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Matt Phillip, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Matt Gibson

Replacements: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Rob Leota, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Campbell Magnay, 23 TBC.

| Mike Greenaway bench for this game. JD, Scarra, Jaco (Coetzee), Dan, Wilco … we have a lot of impact coming onto the field and we will need that against a team that always tend to lift the tempo later in the game,” he said.

“It will be needed, particularly against a New Zealand team that likes to play with tempo and is always dangerous on their home patch regardless of what team they put out.”

STORMERS: Dillyn Leyds, Sergeal Petersen, Ruhan Nel, Damian de Allende, SP Marais, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Herschel Jantjies, Juarno Augustus, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt), Chris van Zyl, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff

Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Corne Fourie, Wilco Louw, JD Schickerling, Jaco Coetzee, Justin Phillips, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse