Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Stormers look to blow Zebre away
Damian Willemse will run out for his 50th Stormers cap when they take on Zebre Parma in a United Rugby Championship clash in Stellenbosch tomorrow (kick-off 6.05pm).
The Stormers will be playing their first-ever competitive match at the Danie Craven Stadium, while it will also be their first home game against European opposition.
The 23-year-old Willemse, who made his Stormers debut in 2017 at 18, will start at inside centre against the Italian side.
Experienced flank Deon Fourie will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Steven Kitshoff, who is being rested as part of a Springbok player management plan.
Fit-again Warrick Gelant will start at fullback, while Leolin Zas has been elevated to the Stormers side and will start on the wing following solid performances for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
Brok Harris shifts from tighthead to loosehead prop, with Neethling Fouche starting at tighthead, while Hacjivah Dayimani is back in the starting line-up on the flank.
Stormers coach John Dobson said they are looking forward to playing in a “special atmosphere” in Stellenbosch.
“We want to make the most of the special atmosphere at the Danie Craven Stadium on Sunday and produce some good rugby,” he said.
“It is great to be back on home soil and the team has worked very hard this week. We know this is the start of an important run of home games for us and we want to make sure we are as accurate as possible in all areas,” he said.
Although the Stormers are the favourites heading into this match and the bottom-of-the-log Zebre haven’t won a game over the year, Dobson was cautious in his assessment of the opposition.
“Zebre are a physical team. We want to use that fast field, that wide field, the heat and our DNA to play our high-tempo game. We didn’t get our reward for our set-piece dominance against Connacht, so hopefully we can build on that as well,” he said.
“People say you should beat Zebre, you’re in a different stadium, you’re playing after a break, so there are some banana peels, but I think the team is mature enough to deal with this.”
Zebre pushed Ospreys close last week before losing by five points in Swansea.
“Zebre makes teams uncomfortable. They were unlucky not to beat the top Welsh side away last week. They are physical and disruptive.”
After Zebre, the Stormers will face Cardiff, Ulster, Ospreys, the Bulls, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster at home.
STORMERS TEAM:
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6
Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Brok Harris.
Bench: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Rikus Pretorius.