Stormers bring in Bok duo for Bulls clash

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Lock Salmaan Moerat will captain the Stormers in their preparation match against the Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.

Moerat is one of several players to come into the starting line-up for the North-South encounter at Loftus Versfeld.

There is also the return of two Springboks in the Stormers' matchday squad in the form of Damian Willemse and Herschel Jantjies.

In the backline, Willemse is at fullback and will link up with wings Leolin Zas and Edwill van der Merwe, while Rikus Pretorius comes into the midfield and Paul de Wet makes a start at scrumhalf.

In the forward pack, Moerat will partner David Meihuizen in the second row and there is an all-new front row of Leon Lyons, Chad Solomon and Sazi Sandi.

There is also significant experience on the replacements bench, with the likes of JD Schickerling, Herschel Jantjies and Tim Swiel all getting their first run in the preparation matches.

Stormers coach Labeeb Levy said that the team is looking forward to the challenge that awaits them.

“It has been a good week of preparation so far and we are focused on showing what we have worked on when we take the field on Friday.

“We have some talented players coming into the mix this week, along with some players that have really taken their opportunities in the previous two games, so we want to find some fluency as a unit,” he said.

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 David Meihuizen, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Leon Lyons.

Replacements - from: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Johan du Toit, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Tim Swiel, 24 Chris Schreuder, 25 Cornel Smit.

Date: Friday, March 19

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)

Referee: AJ Jacobs

Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby, Morne Ferreira

TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen