Centre Dan du Plessis will captain the DHL Stormers in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener against Ospreys at Dunraven Brewery Field in Bridgend on Saturday.
The midfielder leads a team that also includes loose forward David Ewers, who will make his DHL Stormers debut when the match kicks off at 20h35 (SAST) on Saturday.
Damian Willemse makes his return from a finger injury he picked up late last season and will line up at fullback, with Suleiman Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas on the wings.
Ruhan Nel also makes his return and will join captain Du Plessis in midfield, while Jurie Matthee partners Paul de Wet at halfback.
Stefan Ungerer, Jean-Luc du Plessis and Angelo Davids will provide backline cover on the replacements bench.
In the loose trio Ewers will link up with fit-again No.8 Keke Morabe and the hard-working Marcel Theunissen, with Ben-Jason Dixon among the replacements having joined the squad this week after being released by the Springboks.
JD Schickerling will pull on a DHL Stormers jersey for the first time since 2021 and forms a lock partnership with Ruben van Heerden, while up front prop Sti Sithole and Neethling Fouche start either side of hooker Joseph Dweba.
DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said that his side is determined to make it a strong start to their campaign.
“We are very happy to welcome back a few players who missed the end of last season through injury and will be putting everything into starting this campaign on the front foot.
“We know that Ospreys will provide a stern challenge as they always do at a venue we have never played at, but it is a challenge we have embraced,” he said.
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 David Ewers, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Angelo Davids.
