Fourie leads DHL Stormers at DHL Stadium

Deon Fourie will captain the DHL Stormers in their Investec Champions Cup encounter with Stade Rochelais at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

The experienced loose forward will lead the DL Stormers out to face the two-time champions at 15h00 on Saturday at DHL Stadium.

Tickets are available from Ticketpro and the game will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Wing Ben Loader is the only player in the starting line-up that featured against Leicester Tigers last week, given the six-day turnaround between matches on different continents.

Loader is joined by Leolin Zas and Warrick Gelant in a potent back three, while Ruhan Nel and Damian Willemse will link up in midfield.

Springboks Manie Libbok and Herschel Jantjies form the halfback pairing, while Paul de Wet and Courtnall Skosan are the backs on the replacements bench.

Captain Fourie is joined by Evan Roos and Hacjivah Dayimani in the loose trio, while both Ben-Jason Dixon and Marcel Theunissen will be ready to make an impact in the second half.

Ruben van Heerden and Adre Smith are in the second row, with Connor Evans among the replacements and up front props Neethling Fouche and Ali Vermaak start either side of hooker Joseph Dweba, while Sti Sithole, Brok Harris and Andre-Hugo Venter will be on the replacements bench.

DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that his side can't wait to get out there at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

"This is our first game this season at DHL Stadium and we are up against the defending champions in the Investec Champions Cup, so excitemënt levels are high.

"This team has been preparing for this game since last week, so hopefully we can reward our fans with a good performance. We know we will have to be at our best to get the result we need," he said.

DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 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 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Courtnall Skosan.