Evan Roos is one of 10 changes to the DHL Stormers run-on XV when the Vodacom United Rugby Championship holders lock horns with Ulster on Friday.
Roos, who played off the bench in a Champions Cup win against Clermont last week, is at the back of the scrum with Junior Pokomela and Willie Engelbrecht on the flanks for the clash at Kingspan Stadium.
The return of Roos to the starting lineup boosts the team’s gain-line arsenal in the absence of the red-hot Hacjivah Dayimani, who has been left out altogether, and sets up an exciting face-off with Duane Vermeulen, who will face his former team when he pulls on the No 8 jersey for Ulster.
In the tight five, Marvin Orie is joined in the second row by Ben-Jason Dixon, while props Brok Harris and Ali Vermaak – for what is set to be his 50th appearance for the Stormers – will pack down alongside hooker JJ Kotze up front.
And in the backline, Cornel Smit comes in at left wing for only his second appearance of the 2022-23 URC campaign, as inside centre Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis are promoted to the run-on lineup.
Veterans Scarra Ntubeni and Juan de Jongh, and fellow Springbok Herschel Jantjies, are among those expected to make an impact off the bench. New recruit Ruben van Heerden is in line to make his debut from the wood.
PLUS: Roos ready to go against Ulster
With regular skipper Steven Kitshoff and star playmaker Damian Willemse unavailable, Stormers head coach John Dobson is pleased with the strength of the squad for the battle in Belfast.
“It is another short turnaround this week, but we are excited to see what these combinations can do,” he said.
“We have been bolstered by the return of some experienced players and we will need all of it against a good Ulster side.”
Stormers – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Cornel Smit, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie (c), 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Brok Harris, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Subs: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Juan de Jongh.
Picks: @mark_keohane predicts a hurdle in the Stormers’ path to the playoffs, while Zels backs a bolstered Cape side to get it done against Ulster in the @Vodacom #URC on Friday evening. pic.twitter.com/AKEjw24LkW
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) January 26, 2023
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix