Stormers get major midfield boost for Ulster clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Stormers head coach John Dobson has revealed his team for their United Rugby Championship semifinal against Ulster at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
There is just one change to the team that defeated Edinburgh in the quarterfinal last week, with Damian Willemse making his return from an arm injury to take his place at inside centre for the knock-out clash.
It's a remarkable recovery as he was expected to be out of action for a lengthy period.
Meanwhile, Seabelo Senatla will play his 50th game for the Stormers.
Senatla made his Stormers debut in 2014 and has also had a glittering Sevens career, scoring a record 230 tries for the BlitzBoks.
The speedster missed the first four games of the United Rugby Championship season due to injury, but is still third on the try-scorers list with nine tries thus far.
He is also one of five Stormers players in the starting line-up for Saturday that were named in the United Rugby Championship 2021/22 Dream Team, along with Willemse, Evan Roos, Leolin Zas and Warrick Gelant.
Dobson paid tribute to Senatla.
"Seabelo is an incredibly gifted athlete who would have reached this milestone long ago if he wasn’t also one of the greatest Sevens players of all time. He deserves all the plaudits that come his way, he is a true professional and a big part of our success this season."
Dobson said that having Willemse back for the semifinal is a huge boost.
"Damian is another phenomenal player and credit must go to him and the medical staff for getting him ready for this game. He is a world-class performer who would make a difference to any team," he said.
The Stormers coach added that the team want to make the most of what should be a great occasion at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday and hopefully make it 10 consecutive victories in the competition to book their place in the final next week.
"We are so glad that we get to play our semifinal in front of our faithful supporters, it will be a special day and we want to enjoy all of it.
"The team is raring to go out there and play the game we love the way we love to play it," he said.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Sacha Mngomezulu.
Date: Saturday, June 11
Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 UK & Ireland time; 13.00 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Adam Jones (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)