John Dobson has made several changes to the Stormers backline for Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against the Vodacom Bulls at Cape Town Stadium.

The Stormers host Jake White’s charges in the ninth instalment of the URC’s North-South derby. The Herd lead South Africa’s charge in third place on the standings while Dobson’s men are in 12th spot, but it is the Cape side that currently tops the SA Shield, having played more SA derbies this season.

Stefan Ungerer and Jurie Matthee are the starting halfbacks in place of Paul de Wet and Manie Libbok – the latter injured his knee in a heavy defeat to Leinster in Dublin two weeks ago.

Dan du Plessis returns from a knee injury that’s kept him out since November to partner Wandisile Simelane in a new-look midfield combination. The back three of fullback Warrick Gelant and wings Ben Loader and Leolin Zas remains unchanged.

Up front, Sti Sithole starts at loosehead prop while two-time Springbok world champion Frans Malherbe comes in at tighthead for Neethling Fouche (concussion), and Brok Harris and Sazi Sandi provide cover from the bench.

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Skipper Salmaan Moerat links up with Ruben van Heerden in the engine room. Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon and Deon Fourie complete a powerful, all-Bok back row.

Lock Gary Porter, meanwhile, is in line to make only his second appearance of the season off the bench. He is joined among the replacements by Andre-Hugo Venter, Marcel Theunissen, Herschel Jantjies, Jonathan Roche and Clayton Blommetjies.

“These matches are always high-octane affairs and the fact that we are playing at a packed Cape Town Stadium will elevate it on all fronts,” director of rugby Dobson said.

“We have lost some key players to injury, but we back the guys coming in and are looking forward to seeing what they can offer. We are incredibly grateful for the support we enjoy and want to make the most of the opportunity to repay our fans with a top performance on Saturday.”

STORMERS – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Bench: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jonathan Roche, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.

Photo: Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images