Saffas to front Stormers for Quins

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Springboks Andre Esterhuizen and Wilco Louw are among three SA-born players named in the Harlequins 23 to face the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.

Esterhuizen starts at inside centre, while Louw will pack down at tighthead prop for the English Premiership side in the Champions Cup last-16 clash at Cape Town Stadium. Former SA Schools and SA U20 representative Irne Herbst slots into the second row.

Meanwhile, Will Evans returns to the starting XV, replacing James Chisholm, who picked up an injury in training earlier this week.

In the backs, the familiar all-England half-back partnership of captain Danny Care and Marcus Smith will look to control the game, and enlist the power of Esterhuizen in midfield, as well as the agility of Joe Marchant and Cadan Murley on the wings.

Previewing the fixture, head coach Tabai Matson told Harlequins’ website: “We’ve had a great week training having flown out here early this week. The players are all really engaged, the environment is different, the weather is clearly better than the UK and the opposition is as tough as they get so there’s lots of reasons for us to try and deliver one of our best performances of the year.

“It’s pretty amazing to be in Cape Town playing a Champions Cup game. It’s an awesome opportunity to be away from home and play at this level of the game.

“The Cape Town Stadium is a phenomenal stadium, and for lots of these players it’ll be one of the best stadiums they’ve ever played at.”

Photo: @Harlequins/Twitter

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