Kees Lensing
Former Vodacom Bulls prop and Namibian captain, Kees Lensing, has signed a 2 year contract to become a scrum coach to a leading Japanese club.
Lensing, who has been helping out at the Tuks Academy since retiring as a rugby player, will head abroad to become the scrum coach for Japanese club Canon Eagles in Tokyo.
Canon play in the Japanese top league and have enlisted Lensing as the 1st step to trying to win their league. The club is also likely to target a number of Springboks to join them after the Rugby World Cup.
SANZAR has names the Match Officials for Round 11 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
The weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.
The Cell C Sharks have a BYE weekend.
On Friday referee Angus Gardner starts off the action at 09:35 SA Time in the game between the Chiefs and Western Force in Hamilton. Also on Friday, in a 15 minutes delayed start due to Anzac Centenary Commemorative celebrations, the Brumbies host the Highlanders in Canberra at 11:55 SA Time, where Matt O’Brian will be in charge of matters.
On Saturday the Crusaders host the Blues at 09:35 SA Time in Christchurch and Chris Pollock will have the whistle. Thereafter, also 15 minutes delayed due to Anzac Day celebrations it is the turn of Rohan Hoffmann in the game between the Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels, at 11:55 SA Time, in Sydney.
Later in the day and in South Africa the Emirates Lions host the Toyota Cheetahs at 17:05 SA Time in Johannesburg, where Jaco van Heerden will preside. In a massive derby in Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time, Jaco Peyper will be in charge in the game between the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls.
On Sunday at 08:05 SA Time, Nick Briant takes charge of the final game of the Round, between the Reds and Hurricanes in Brisbane.
The DHL Stormers finished their Australasian tour with a 2nd win while the Vodacom Bulls consolidated their position at the Top of the South African Conference as Vodacom Super Rugby 2015 entered the 2nd half of the season.
However, the Toyota Cheetahs and Cell C Sharks both lost at home as the teams from Pretoria and Cape Town opened up a bit of a gap in the local conference and the Vodacom Bulls moved up to 2nd on the overall log.
The DHL Stormers were made to work hard for a scrappy win in Perth on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the struggling Western Force by 13 / 6, the only 5-pointer of the encounter a Penalty Try to the visitors after yet another superb scrum. The win concluded their best Australasian tour in 3 years.
Back home, the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks delivered a typically hard local derby in Durban with the 3-time champions from Pretoria ultimately winning by 17 / 10, with each team scoring a solitary try.
The Toyota Cheetahs unfortunately could not build on their good win in Perth last weekend when they were beaten by 18 / 17 by the Reds in Bloemfontein.
Down Under, the defending champions – the Waratahs and the Chiefs recorded impressive victories in Wellington and Christchurch respectively.
The national selectors have confirmed the Junior Springbok match-23 to face a strong Varsity Cup Dream Team in Stellenbosch on Tuesday evening. The match will kick-off at 18:30 SA Time at the Danie Craven Stadium and will be televised live on SuperSport 1.
4 Players who represented the Junior Springboks at the 2014 Junior World Championship in New Zealand – Warrick Gelant (fullback), Dan du Preez (flank), Abongile Nonkontwana (lock) and Joseph Dweba (hooker) – will again line up for the Junior Boks.
The historic clash, which marks the 1st of its kind between the sides, is an important part of the Junior Springboks’ preparation for the newly named World Rugby Under 20 Championship which will be hosted in Italy in June.
Rudy Paige
Vodacom Bulls halfbacks Rudy Paige and Jacques-Louis Potgieter will not be considered for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town due to injury.
Paige has a grade 1 medial ligament tear and will be out of action for at least 2 weeks, whilst Potgieter have a grade 1 hamstring tear and will be ready to return to action on 4 May, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed on Monday.
Burger Odendaal (hamstring), Bjorn Basson (knee), Flip van der Merwe (knee) and Arno van Wyk (bronchitis) sat out in training on Monday, with Odendaal only returning Thursday.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union medical staff have released a medical report, ahead of the Emirates Lions’ match against the Toyota Cheetahs and the Xerox Golden Lions’ Vodacom Cup clash with the Leopards on Saturday.
Unfortunately Malcolm Marx (ankle), Steph de Wit (shoulder), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (ankle) and Martin Muller (calf) are all unavailable for selection this week but are still involved in intensive recovery programmes and are making progress.
On a positive note, Mark Richards (concussion), Courtnall Skosan (ankle), Sampie Mastriet (ankle) and Stokkies Hanekom (knee) have all been cleared and are available for selection for either the Emirates Lions or Xerox Golden Lions teams.
Kobus van Wyk
Right wing Kobus van Wyk is the only Stormers injury worry after Saturday’s Super Rugby win over the Force, having twisted his knee.
“Kobus went over his knee, it was an awkward sort of twist on his knee… but we will know more over the next 24 hours and will be able to say for sure when we get home,” said coach Allister Coetzee.
Accoridng to the Stormers’ website, the Stormers left Perth for South Africa on Sunday evening (local time). They arrived in Cape Town, via Johannesburg, on Monday morning (local time).
The players did not train on Monday, before starting preparations for next weekend’s home Bulls match (kick-off 19:10 SA Time) on Tuesday.
The Bulls may hold a 2-point lead over the Stormers at the Top of the South African conference, but probably still need victory more than their hosts do in Saturday’s spicy Super Rugby derby at Newlands (19:10 SA Time).
Put it this way: if the Stormers repeat their 1st-round triumph at Loftus (29 / 17 then) they will become extremely firm favourites to win the conference.
As things stand, the Capetonians have 7 ordinary-season matches remaining, with 5 of them at home and only 2 away, whereas for the Bulls it is exactly the other way around – 2 at home and 5 away, including the formidable 4-game tour abroad.
So even if the Stormers lose to the old enemy on Saturday, they would still probably fancy their chances of leapfrogging the Loftus-based outfit at a later stage of the run-in.
Bear in mind that last season the Bulls failed to win a single fixture overseas, so they may require at least 2 this time if they are to thwart the Stormers’ own quest to end the local standings atop the pile.
At least 2 of the Australasian challenges facing the Bulls pretty soon will come from teams similarly pressing hard to make the playoff cut, in the form of the Chiefs and Brumbies (the other games will be against the Blues and Melbourne Rebels).
So it doesn’t take Einstein to work out that the Stormers’ remaining schedule – their own overseas trip now completed with a tidy enough haul of 10 points from a possible 20 – is by some way the more favourable.
Gary Gold
Coach Gary Gold, Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby, has said his suspended players owe the team a lot when they return from their respective bans on the Sharks’ overseas tour.
Captain Bismarck du Plessis has officially served out his 4-week ban as of 18 April. His final suspension weekend was against the Bulls last Saturday.
Du Plessis will be available for the 1st game against the Highlanders in a fortnight, after the Sharks BYE this week.
Centre Frans Steyn’s ban comes to an end on 3 May, which would mean that the Springbok would be unavailable for the 1st tour match.
Coach Gold, looking ahead to their tour after a loss to the Bulls on the weekend, was hopeful that the return of his 2 super stars would allow them a chance to right the wrongs they have caused the team.
“I certainly hope that it will be a shot at redemption for those guys coming back,” Gold said of both Du Plessis and Steyn.
2 Time defending champions Toulon will bid for an unprecedented hat-trick of European titles against Clermont after beating Leinster 25 / 20 following extra-time in Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final.
Toulon’s Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny kicked 6 penalties and converted a Bryan Habana interception try for a personal haul of 20 points in an ultimately thrilling match that went to extra-time after finishing 12 / 12 after regulation time.
Leinster had Ian Madigan to thank for 5 penalties, while Sean O’Brien scored a late try that made for a nerve-racking climax.
Turnovers, ruck penalties and handling errors saw out a tight if uninspiring, pressure-laden 1st-half during which Toulon failed to convert their territorial domination into points.
There were tries aplenty as the Vodacom Cup moved up a gear with the quarter-finals moving into sight for the 16 teams vying for the title.
In the South Section, the SWD Eagles probably delivered the biggest upset as they outplayed the Cell C Sharks XV in George on Friday evening, winning comfortably by 36 / 13 after a superb 2nd half performance where they scored 29 unanswered points.
GWK Griquas showed they will not let go of their title without a proper fight as they completely outclassed the Boland Cavaliers by 62 / 19 in Velddrif on Saturday afternoon, while the Toyota Free State XV beat the EP Kings by 50 / 45 in an extraordinary match in Bloemfontein where the scorers with still tied at 42 / 42 with only 5 minutes remaining on the clock.
DHL Western Province were predictably too strong for the Border Bulldogs as they cemented their position at the top of the South Section log with a 34 / 6 win on Saturday afternoon.
In the North Section, last weekend’s log leaders, the Xerox Golden Lions, enjoyed a BYE and was overtaken at the top of the standings by the Vodacom Blue Bulls, who beat the Down Touch Griffons by 40 / 21 in Pretoria on Friday afternoon.
The Steval Pumas’ 31 / 23 victory over the Leopards XV in Potchefstroom on Friday means the race to the top of the North Section log is now effectively between 3 teams.
The FNB Welwitschias recorded their 1st win of the season when they beat the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls by 24 / 17 in Windhoek on Saturday afternoon.
Heinrich Brüssow
The Toyota Cheetahs suffered a massive blow when flank Heinrich Brüssow suffered an arm injury in their defeat to the Reds in Bloemfontein at the weekend.
The openside flank left the field in the 14th minute of the match at the Free State Stadium, and coach Naka Drotske has since confirmed that the Springbok has broken his arm.
More clarity about the severity of the injury will be known on Monday, but Brüssow will in all likelihood sit out the rest of the competition.
Fullback Coenie van Wyk also suffered an ankle injury and according to reports, is likely to be ruled out for about 6 weeks.
Aaron Cruden, injured on the weekend and out for the season
The Chiefs and All Blacks were delivered devastating news in the context of their 2015 campaigns on Monday when it was confirmed Aaron Cruden had ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament.
The star playmaker will visit a surgeon on Wednesday to arrange a knee re-construction which is expected to keep him sidelined for 6 months.
In a brief statement issued on Monday afternoon, the Chiefs confirmed that Cruden would undergo traditional surgery “given Aaron’s young age and long-term career prospects.”
Cruden’s Super Rugby season is definitely over and his Rugby World Cup has been thrown into doubt as even a best-case recovery within that 6 month window would only see him fit in the final fortnight of the tournament.
Kurtley Beale
Wallabies and Waratahs centre Kurtley Beale admits contract talks have been playing on his mind.
Beale’s current deal expires at the end of this season and he said on Monday he aimed to reach a decision on his playing future before the end of the Super Rugby tournament.
“It’s always going to be there isn’t it,” Beale said.
James Broadhurst
James Broadhurst has decided he likes what’s going on at the Hurricanes and is keen to stay put.
The 27-year-old Taranaki lock has re-signed with the club for another 2 seasons and said there was no team he’d rather be with until the end of 2017.
“I love this team, I love being a Hurricane, and in a way I see the next couple of years as a real opportunity to step up.
Matt Hodgson
Captain Matt Hodgson is set to make his return to Super Rugby after being named in the Force’s 25-man travelling squad for its 2-match New Zealand tour.
Hodgson sustained a hamstring injury in the Force’s final pre-season fixture against the Asia Pacific Dragons, and has been unavailable through the 1st half of the competition.
The 33-year-old will resume the captaincy of the squad, coinciding with the news that interim captain Sam Wykes will be unable to travel with the team after succumbing to a foot injury suffered in Saturday night’s match against the Stormers.
Nicolás Sánchez
Pumas flyhalf Nicolás Sánchez is the latest player to sign with the Argentina Rugby Union ahead of their entry into Super Rugby next year.
The 26-year-old former Bordeaux Begles and Toulon playmaker has signed a 3-year contract starting on 1 January and making him available until at least the end of 2018.
The deal was sealed at Sánchez’s current club, Tucuman Lawn Tennis Club, which is celebrating it’s centenary year.
Sánchez joins fellow Pumas Joaquín Tuculet and Agustín Creevy in committing to their national union despite having enjoyed successful and lucrative stints in Europe.
Nicholas Tooth
An Australian rugby player has died from a head injury sustained in a tackle during a club match in New South Wales at the weekend, local media reported on Monday.
Nicholas Tooth was visiting his home town in the New England region of the state for the weekend and accepted an offer to turn out for the Quirindi Lions on Saturday.
The 25-year-old struck his head on the shoulder of an opponent in a tackle and after treatment on the pitch was airlifted to hospital in Newcastle, where he died on Sunday.
Cheetahs (10) 17 / 18 (3) Reds (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, Sunday 03:10 AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Sharks (3) 10 / 17 (8) Bulls (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Force (6) 6 / 13 (10) Stormers (Final Score)
The Western Force and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 13:45 SA Time (19:45 AWST, 21:45 AEST, 11:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Brumbies (5) 8 / 13 (13) Rebels (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (24) 30 / 24 (0) Blues (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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WP Nel
At the end of a trying season of provincial rugby under the sweltering South African sun, Willem Petrus Nel trudged exhausted from the field.
He turned to his coach and mentor, Pierre Ribbens, a distinguished ex-prop for the Bulls in what is now the Super 15 competition, the cream of the Southern Hemisphere game.
“I think I’m done with rugby – I don’t want to play anymore,” he said.
In late 2008, the 22-year-old tight-head had completed his agricultural studies, his certificate signed and stamped. From university some 250 miles to the south, the pull of home, the sheep farm he had been raised tending and the rolling mountains of the Northern Cape was strong.
“Give me a week,” replied Ribbens.
Hurricanes (19) 24 / 29 (19) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 06:30 SA Time (16:30 NZ Time, 14:30 AEST, 04:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
Edinburgh clinched a place in the European Challenge Cup Final in emphatic style at BT Murrayfield to make history as the 1st Scottish side to reach a European final.
The Scottish capital side stormed to their largest victory in Europe with a rousing 45 / 16 triumph over Newport Gwent Dragons with scrumhalf Sam Hidalgo-Clyne helping himself to another record 25 points. Now they go on to face either Gloucester or Exeter Chiefs at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday 1 May.
Hidalgo-Clyne once again proved their star-turn with a try in his club record 25-point haul that took his tally in Europe this season to 91 points. That makes him the highest scorer in the tournament.
It is Round 10 of Super Rugby 2015 this weekend.
There is only 1 game on Friday 17 April but we have 6 games on Saturday 18 April.
The Emirates Lions have a BYE weekend.
There is only 1 South African derby on the weekend, between the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls, but the DHL Stormers play their last match on tour against the Western Force and the returning Toyota Cheetahs also takes on the battling Reds team in Bloemfontein.
Only 1 undefeated team still remains prior to the start of the weekend, the Hurricanes, and they are up against lasst year’s champions Waratahs side in Wellington.
On Friday, the lone game is the exciting derby between the Crusaders and Chiefs in Christchurch, at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT).
On Saturday morning the Hurricanes host the Waratahs at 06:30 SA Time (16:30 NZ Time, 18:30 AEST, 04:30 GMT), whereafter the Highlanders host the Blues in Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT). At 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT) the Brumbies play the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney.
Slightly later and a couple of hours in time zones to the West – in Perth at 13:45 SA Time (19:45 AWST, 21:45 AEST, 11:45 GMT), the Western Force host the DHL Stormers.
Over to South Africa and next up, at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT), the Cell C Sharks host the Vodacom Bulls in Durban, before the last game of the Round where the Toyota Cheetahs host the Reds in Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, Sunday 03:10 AEST).
The game between the Crusaders and Chiefs should be a thriller on Friday, and calling a winner is difficult to do.
On Saturday one would suspect that the high-flying Hurricanes will beat last year’s struggling champions, the Waratahs in Wellington.
The Highlander sshould trounce the Blues and the Brumbies should easily dispatch the Melbourne Rebels.
In Perth the DHL Stormers will look for another win and to end their tour on the perfect note against the Western Force… and looking at recent results they should beat a struggling Force team.
The Cell C Sharks against the Vodacom Bulls is probably shaping up to be the game of the weekend and once again the question is asked who will be victorious… the sometimes unspectacular Bulls or the back-paddling “Gold-fish” (Cell C Sharks)… this one too tough to call.
In Bloemfontein all logic would suggest that the Toyota Cheetahs should beat the Rubble Reds.. and convincingly so, as the Reds have truly been diabollically bad in 2015!
The European Rugby Champions Cup semifinals takes place this weekend.
On Saturday, Clermont Auvergne host Saracens at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne at 16:15 French Time (15:15 BST, 14:15 GMT).
On Sunday, Toulon host Leinster at Stade Felix-Mayol, Toulon at 16:15 French Time (15:15 BST, 14:15 GMT).
Clemont Auvergne vs Saracens:
Saracens knocked Clermont Auvergne for 6 at the European Cup semifinal stage last season, will it be repeat or redemption this time around?
The 46 / 6 triumph booked McCall’s men a place in last seasons’ Millennium Stadium finale against Toulon. They set new semifinal records for the most points scored by a team (46), the largest winning margin (40) and the most tries scored (6). Surely lightning cannot strike twice between the Pool 1 rivals, who each scored a victory over each other in the early Rounds.
Saracens have their defensive leader, Brad Barritt, back in the side after a knee injury kept him out of action for a month. England playmaker Owen Farrell crossed for 1 of Saracens’ 6 tries last year and is set to make an impact off the bench after he was sidelined for 3 months in the last meeting between the pair.
Jason Emery
Tom Franklin
Highlanders’ lock, Tom Franklin, and midfielder, Jason Emery, have re-signed with the franchise for a further 2 years, signalling their commitment to the team.
Franklin, who made his debut in 2014, has played 15 games for the Highlanders and has been a regular starter this season.
He has formed a very effective locking partnership with Joe Wheeler and has the physical attributes to do the hard work while possessing the natural ball skills to contribute significantly on attack.
Coach Franco Smith has been forced to make changes to his Varsity Cup Dream Team which will tackle the Baby Boks in Stellenbosch next Tuesday evening.
UP-Tuks players Dan Kriel and Jaco Visagie are not available for selection and had to be replaced.
Kriel’s spot at inside centre has been taken by Johan Deysel who will now link up with his NWU-Pukke team-mate Rowayne Beukman in midfield.
Visagie was due to start as a replacement and experienced UFS-Shimlas hooker Elandre Hugget will now take his spot on the bench.
Declan Fitzpatrick
Ulster and Ireland prop Declan Fitzpatrick, who played in the 2012 European Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium, has been forced to retire on medical grounds.
The 31-year-old, who counted 27 European Cup ties in the 98 games he played for Ulster, experienced a number of concussion episodes in recent seasons.
His symptoms were progressively slower to resolve and he was referred to a leading neurologist by the medical team at Ulster.
Following tests it was recommended that it would be in the best long-term interests of the player who won 7 international caps, and played 9 times for the Ireland Wolfhounds (B-Team), to stop playing altogether.
Crusaders (6) 9 / 26 (18) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The 2015 season is shaping up as the most-closely contested South African Conference title race since the expansion of Vodacom Super Rugby in 2011.
The leadership of the SA Conference is up for grabs once more this weekend after 4 teams have already topped the local log so far this season, with anyone of the Vodacom Bulls, DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks that could be on top on Saturday night.
A mere 4 Log Points separate the Top 4 South African teams, with the Vodacom Bulls on 24 (after 8 matches), DHL Stormers on 22 (after 8 matches), Emirates Lions on 21 (after 9 matches) and Cell C Sharks on 20 (after 9 matches).
And even the 5th-placed Toyota Cheetahs are not out of the running as they trail the Cell C Sharks by only 7 points with a game in hand and a host of local derbies to come.
Last year at a similar stage, the difference was a massive 21 points, but only the Cell C Sharks ended up making the playoffs.
In 2013, the difference between teams 1 and 4 in South Africa was 8 points at roughly the halfway stage of the competition, with the Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs eventually proceeding to the playoffs and the DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks just missing out in positions 7 and 8.
In 2012, a total of 12 points separated the teams from 1st to 4th at a similar stage and in the end the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks made the playoffs – South Africa’s most successful season yet in terms of representation in the Top 6.
Halfway through the season in the 1st year of Vodacom Super Rugby in 2011, the difference between the 1st and 4th South African teams was 20 points and in the end, only the DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks progressed to the knock-out stages.
The Emirates Lions have a BYE.
Note: Teams still got 4 Log Points for every BYE between 2011 and 2013, but for this comparison we subtracted those “free points”.
Handré Pollard
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke reshuffled his pack of forwards and recalled Handré Pollard at flyhalf for his team to face the Cell C Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Pollard, who replaces Jacques-LouisPotgieter in the only change to the backline that won against the Reds in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash last weekend, was rested last week as per SARU arrangement.
In the pack, Ludeke has Adriaan Strauss back after the hooker was also rested against the Reds, while he also picked a new loose trio, lock combination and front row to face the coastal side in the visitor’s 1st return match in the South African conference.
In the front row, Strauss and Marcel van der Merwe will start with Dean Greyling, with Callie Visagie and Trevor Nyakane moving to the bench. The lock combination of Flip van der Merwe and Grant Hattingh will pack down together for the 1st time this year, with Jacques du Plessis moving to the side of the scrum, where he will partner Deon Stegmann and Pierre Spies.
Bongi Mbonambi
Head coach Allister Coetzee has announced 4 personnel changes to the DHL Stormers starting 15 ahead of their final 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby tour match on Saturday – against the Western Force in Perth (kick-off 13:45 SA Time).
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, lock Ruan Botha, flanker Siya Kolisi and scrumhalf Louis Schreuder will all start this week, with prop Ali Vermaak and loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe the new faces on the bench.
Notshe joins the matchday 23 this week as a replacement for Kolisi, who will start at No 6 – with Schalk Burger moving across to No 7 – in the absence of Michael Rhodes, who flew home with a hamstring tear suffered against the Waratahs last weekend.
The only other injury-enforced change from the Waratahs game – won 32 / 18 by the DHL Stormers – is Botha in for Manuel Carizza in the No 5 jersey, with the latter still battling with a cut on the inside of his mouth.