Roos back as Stormers switch things up

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Evan Roos returns as one of eight changes to the DHL Stormers starting XV to face the Lions in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Roos, who missed a first defeat for the Stormers in eight months when the defending URC champions went down to Cardiff last week, is at the back of the scrum with Junior Pokomela and Hacjivah Dayimani on the flanks.

In the tight five, Marvin Orie is joined in the second row by captain Ernst van Rhyn, while props Neethling Fouche and Brok Harris are promoted to the run-on lineup.

And in the backline, right wing Angelo Davids, inside centre Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Paul de Wet all make starts, with Dan du Plessis moving to 13.

Props Ali Vermaak and Sazi Sandi, and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, are among those expected to make an impact off the bench.

MORE: Speedy De Wet driving Stormers

With five Springboks unavailable, Stormers head coach John Dobson is pleased with the strength of the squad traveling to the Highveld.

“We have managed to build some good depth already this season and we are really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do up there,” he said.

“We were obviously disappointed with the result last week and while training time has been limited this week, we can’t wait to see how some of these combinations go.

Stormers – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.

ALSO: Dobbo’s Diary: Roaring to go

Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix

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Devin Hermanus