Duane Vermeulen will captain the Stormers in the absence of the injured Jean de Villiers this Saturday.
The Stormers have confirmed that De Villiers will 'sit out' the game due to a meniscal cyst. It is hoped that the Bok and Stormers captain will recover over the next two weeks.
'Jean and other players will benefit from this two-week rest period, with next week being a bye, and more players will be returning after the brief break,' said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee. 'Players like Scarra Ntubeni, Pat Cilliers, Schalk Burger and Cheslin Kolbe will all hopefully come into contention for selection [after the bye].'
The Stormers lost all four matches on their Australasian tour, and will be hoping to bounce back at Newlands this weekend. With vice-captain Burger still unavailable due to injury, Vermeulen will take over from De Villiers as the skipper for the game against the Waratahs.
A change to the pack sees Ruan Botha starting at lock. In the backs, Damian de Allende replaces De Villiers at No 12, Jaco Taute returns to the starting side to offset the loss of fullback Gio Aplon, and Kobus van Wyk is brought into the team on the right wing.
Stormers – 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Michael Rhodes, 4 Ruan Botha, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Tazz Fuzani, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Demetri Catrakilis, 23 Michael van der Spuy.
Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
