Nel leads DHL Stormers against Leinster

Centre Ruhan Nel will lead the DHL Stormers in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener against Leinster at DHL Stadium on Friday night as they get their season underway with a blockbuster clash against the defending champions, which kicks off at 7pm.

There are three players on the replacements bench in line to make their Stormers debuts. The 19-year-old prop Olly Reid, who was playing for Paul Roos last year, loose forward Ruan Ackermann and flyhalf Clinton Swart are all set to take the field in a Stormers jersey for the first time.

Nel is joined in midfield by the experienced Dan du Plessis, with Leolin Zas and Seabelo Senatla on the wings and Wandisile Simelane at fullback as Warrick Gelant has been ruled out with a calf strain picked up in pre-season.

Jurie Matthee and Stefan Ungerer form the halfback pairing, with Dewaldt Duvenage alongside potential DHL Stormers debutant Swart on the replacements bench.

Springboks Neethling Fouché and André-Hugo Venter are joined by Vernon Matongo in the front row, with Reid in line to make his debut from a replacements bench that also features hooker JJ Kotze and tighthead prop Zachary Porthen.

JD Schickerling and Adré Smith will link up in the second row, with Ruben van Heerden set to make an impact in the second half.

Evan Roos will be at the back of the scrum, with Ben-Jason Dixon and Paul de Villiers either side of him, while Ackermann will make his Stormers debut from the bench.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that after a full pre-season, his team is determined to hit the ground running at home.

“There has been a lot of hard work put in from players and management to get to this point and we are all very excited to get going.

“Playing the defending champions at home means that we will have to be on our game to get the result we want and we know we will have our fans right behind us as always.

“With Salmaan Moerat and Deon Fourie sidelined with injuries, Ruhan was the natural choice to take over as captain and we know the team will be in good hands on the field. He has been part of the leadership group for some time and is completely aligned with the coaching team in terms of the way we want to play,” he said.

DHL Stormers starting XV: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (capt), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas; 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer; 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers; 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith; 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo. Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Clinton Swart.

Leinster starting XV: 15 Jimmy O'Brien, 14 Tommy O'Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Jordan Larmour; 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath (capt); 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Ryan Baird; 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Mangan; 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle. Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Andrew Sparrow, 19 Max Deegan, 20 Will Connors, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Hugh Cooney.

FRIDAY

DHL Stormers v Leinster

DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 6pm IRE & UK/7pm ITA & SA

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 42nd league game)

AR 1: Sean Muller (SARU) AR 2: Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)

TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)

Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv