Stacked Stormers pack named to tackle Sharks

The Stormers have been bolstered by the return of a number of key players for their PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA match against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

JD Schickerling and Marvin Orie start in the second row while World Cup-winning blindside flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit returns from his rest week while centre Ruhan Nel is also back in the starting line-up for the coastal clash.

Orie missed out last week due to concussion protocols, while Schickerling has recovered from an ankle injury to take his place in the second row behind the unchanged all-Springbok front row of captain Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe.

Du Toit is back after being rested last week and forms a loose trio with Willie Engelbrecht and Evan Roos. Nel has returned after spending the last two weeks with the Springboks Sevens team and is in midfield in the only backline change.

Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that there has been an emphasis on executing the gameplan as accurately as possible this week.

“We want to make the best use of the opportunities that we create, which means that we must be focused and as accurate as possible in everything that we do.

“All of the players coming in this week have played a role in this campaign already and we are looking forward to a cohesive team performance,” he said.

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Abner van Reenen, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).

Replacements (from): 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Adre Smith, 21 Juarno Augustus, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Tim Swiel, 24 Marcel Theunissen, 25 Dan du Plessis.