Deon Fourie has been ruled out, while Ruhan Nel will play his 50th match for the DHL Stormers in the Champions Cup quarter-final against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on Saturday.
Man of the Match in the 32-28 victory against Harlequins in Cape Town last week, Fourie has a facial fracture so his place at openside flank is taken by Junior Pokomela.
The only other change to the match-day 23 sees Marcel Theunissen start at the back of the scrum, with Hacjivah Dayimani set to make an impact from the replacements bench.
WEEKEND PICKS: Stormers carry SA flag into semis
Nel is line to reach his milestone in a backline is unchanged from the combination that started last week, and head coach John Dobson said the Stormers will leave it all out on the field in a bid to qualify for the Champions Cup semi-final.
“This is a huge knock-out match, so we have to give it a full tilt. Exeter have a great record at home, so we know it will take a full effort from all 23 to get the result we need on Saturday,” he said.
Dobson also paid tribute to Nel, who is a pivotal player on both defence and attack for his team: “Ruhan always puts the team first and sets a great example for those around him in the way he approaches the game. We are lucky to have him and hopefully the team can make his 50th a memorable one,” he said.
Stormers – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Seabelo, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c).
Subs: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.
It’s do or die for the Stormers, with Exeter Chiefs standing in the way of a semi-final berth. Watch @mark_keohane and Zels make their Champions Cup picks. pic.twitter.com/RwZfPf3Mo5
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) April 6, 2023
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images