Ngobeni leads Stormers XXIII at Loftus

Scrumhalf Ezekiel Ngobeni will captain the DHL Stormers XXIII in the Carling Currie Cup clash with the Vodacom Bulls XV at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Several injuries have forced changes ahead of the North-South encounter, which kicks off at 5.05pm on Friday in Pretoria.

Both Jean-Luc du Plessis and Stefan Ungerer have been ruled out with arm injuries, which means that Ngobeni and Kyle Smith will direct the team as the halfback pairing, while a fit-again Luke Burger comes in at fullback in the only other backline change.

Injuries to Gary Porter, Keke Morabe and Wandile Mlaba have forced a shuffle to the forward pack, with Divan Fuller and Xola Nyali starting alongside Louw Nel in the loose trio and Luan Botha set for his first start in the second row.

Head coach Tom Dawson-Squibb said that despite the injuries, his team is ready to embrace the occasion.

“A North-South at Loftus is a big game regardless of anyone’s position on the log and we know that every player selected will be ready to give their best for the blue and white hoops on Friday night.

“It has been a really good week of training, and we are excited to rise to the challenge that waits for us in Pretoria,” he said.

Vodacom Bulls XV starting XV: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Marnus Rademeyer, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Riyaad Bam; 10 Devon Williams, 9 Keagan Johannes (capt); 8 JJ Theron, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Kebotile Maake; 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Heinrich Theron; 3 Arno Gustafson, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Dylan Smith. Replacements: 16 Jon Hobson, 17 Sandi Msengana, 18 Duwan Potgieter, 19 Johnathan Eloff, 20 Chinedu Amadi, 21 Cephas van Biljon, 22 Brooklyn Newman, 23 Christiaan Vlok.

DHL Stormers XXIII starting XV: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Joel Leotlela, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Mfundo Ndhlovu; 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Ezekiel Ngobeni (capt); 8 Divan Fuller, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Xola Nyali; 5 Luan Botha, 4 Tom Barnard; 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo. Replacements: 16 Altus Rabe, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Danie Kruger, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Eric Basson, 21 Tiaan Fourie, 22 Dominic Malgas, 23 Gino Cupido.

Vodacom Bulls XV v DHL Stormers XXIII - Friday @ Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (5.05pm)

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen

TV: SuperSport