Sacha back at 10 for Stormers

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has regained the Stormers No 10 jersey for Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against Connacht in Cape Town.

The 24-year-old came off the bench in the last-16 defeat to Toulon, with Jurie Matthee starting. Matthee is not in the match 23 this week.

Damian Willemse remains on the wing, with Warrick Gelant continuing at fullback and Dan du Plessis at inside centre.

SCARRA: Time for me to take a bow

In the pack, there is a new front row, with hooker Scarra Ntubeni – likely making his final appearance for the Stormers – joined by props Zachary Porthen and Ntuthuko Mchunu.

JD Schickerling starts in the second row, while Deon Fourie and Ben-Jason Dixon come into the loose trio, with Paul de Villiers dropping down to the bench and Hacjivah Dayimani out of the match 23.

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The occasion will carry added emotional weight following the passing of long-serving team manager Chippie Solomon, with the match set to double as a tribute to one of the club’s most respected figures.

Director of rugby John Dobson made it clear the Stormers want to honour Solomon the right way – with a statement performance.

“Everyone at the club would like to celebrate Chippie’s life and make this a special occasion to pay our respects to someone who meant so much to us, but we will not let that distract us from the task on the field,” he said.

“This is a crucial game in the context of our season, and we face a strong Connacht team that will be playing to keep their play-off hopes alive. It will require a focused and clinical performance from us as we aim to take a step closer to securing home advantage in the knock-out phase of the season.”

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STORMERS – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Damian Willemse, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Bench: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane.

Weekend teams

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images