Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant will make his first appearance of the season for the Stormers against Zebre Parma on Saturday.
There are four changes to the starting line-up for the Vodacom URC clash, which kicks off at 8:45pm at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma.
With Gelant at fullback, Damian Willemse shifts to inside centre to join captain Ruhan Nel in midfield.
In the forward pack, Adré Smith joins Ruben van Heerden in the second row, while up front young tighthead Zachary Porthen will make his first start for the Stormers.
Prop Hencus van Wyk is set to make his Stormers debut from a bench that also features loose forward Ruan Ackermann and utility back Wandisile Simelane.
It was fantastic to get a win in our first game on tour last week, but there is no doubt that there are several areas that we can improve on as we take on a very competitive Zebre side this weekend,” said Stormers director of rugby John Dobson.
“Having a player like Warrick back in the mix is a boost for us and the other players coming in are also keen to make an impression, so hopefully that will work in our favour.”
STORMERS – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Bench: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
Head coach John Dobson agreed that the team’s defensive commitment will be key to success.
“Right to the end, the boys defended like we were on our tryline,” he said. “They chased kicks – that’s something you can’t coach.
“We can tweak a few things with ball in hand, but the focus is to win on this tour. We’ve had slow starts before, so this is a great chance to get three wins.
“In a league like this, which is a marathon, every game matters. You have to win away to host playoffs. It’s important for us to make a statement.”
