John Dobson has named Ruhan Nel as Stormers captain for Friday’s Vodacom URC opener against defending champions Leinster in Cape Town.
The experienced centre takes the armband in the absence of Salmaan Moerat and Deon Fourie, with Dobson confirming Nel was the “natural choice” to lead.
“He has been part of the leadership group for some time and is completely aligned with the coaching team in terms of the way we want to play,” Dobson said.
Nel will partner Dan du Plessis in midfield, with Leolin Zas and Seabelo Senatla providing firepower out wide and Wandisile Simelane starting at fullback in the absence of the injured Warrick Gelant.
Jurie Matthee and Stefan Ungerer form the halfback pairing, while Springboks Neethling Fouché and André-Hugo Venter are joined by Vernon Matongo in the front row.
JD Schickerling and Adré Smith will start in the second row, with Ruben van Heerden primed to make an impact off the bench.
Evan Roos anchors the loose trio alongside Ben-Jason Dixon and ball scavenger Paul de Villiers.
Three players are in line to make their Stormers debuts off the bench – 19-year-old prop Olly Reid, loose forward Ruan Ackermann and flyhalf Clinton Swart.
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Dobson believes his troops are ready to hit the ground running after a demanding pre-season.
“There has been a lot of hard work put in from players and management to get to this point and we are all very excited to get going,” he said.
“Playing the defending champions at home means we will have to be on our game to get the result we want and we know we will have our fans right behind us.”
STORMERS – 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Bench: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Clinton Swart.
