Eben Etzebeth

Duane Vermeulen

Duane Vermeulen will assume the DHL Stormers captaincy, as well as the No 8 jersey, for Friday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the top of the table – and unbeaten – Hurricanes team in Wellington (kick-off 08:35 SA Time).

The influential No 8 missed last week’s 21 / 39 loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin as part of the SA franchises’ rest agreement with SA Rugby, but he returns this week in 1 of 2 changes to the DHL Stormers 15.

The 2nd change, also up front, sees fellow Springbok hardman Eben Etzebeth take over the No 4 jersey from Jean Kleyn, the latter dropping out of the matchday squad altogether – along with Nizaam Carr, who did duty at No 8 last week.

On the bench, meanwhile, lock Ruan Botha will take over the No 19 jersey vacated by Etzebeth in an otherwise unchanged replacements’ unit.

DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee told the www.iamastormer.com website: “Eben is 100% and ready to start again. He is a Springbok and he brings physicality and experience to the party which you need against New Zealand teams.

“I think Jean Kleyn has done a great job for us in Eben’s absence and I must give him credit, but this is our strongest possible pack at the moment and guys like Eben and Duane, both of whom are highly-regarded Springboks, will add value in the physicality stakes and in other areas too.

“In terms of Nizaam Carr missing out, the Springbok No 8 is back and he understands that. Nizaam is a great player and he will be back to his best form, I know that and we will support him to get his confidence and form back.

“You can see Siya Kolisi’s game is picking up,” added Coetzee, “and having a guy like Mike Rhodes on the bench gives us additional cover in the lock and back row positions as we start with a physical, yet mobile pack.”

The DHL Stormers and ‘Canes have met on New Zealand soil on 7 previous occasions, with the men from the Cape holding a narrow 4 – 3 head-to-head advantage – including a hard-fought 18 / 16 victory in Palmerston North in 2013.

“The Hurricanes are a quality side, they’re the best in the competition as their 6 / 0 record suggests,” said Coetzee.

“They’re also a confident team and happy playing at home… we need to pitch up and execute our plans if we are to have a chance of beating them.”

DHL Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (Captain), 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Michael Rhodes, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones.

Date: Friday 3 April
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-Off: 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT)
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant Referees: Kane McBride, Mike Lash
TMO: Chris Wratt