Sandi reaches Stormers half-century

Tighthead prop Sazi Sandi will play his 50th game for the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom URC encounter with Edinburgh at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Sandi reaches the milestone as part of an all-new front row, with Springboks André-Hugo Venter and Ntuthuko Mchunu alongside him.

Flanks Paul de Villiers and Ben-Jason Dixon also come into the starting line-up this week, with forwards JJ Kotzé, Oli Kebble, Neethling Fouché, Connor Evans, Deon Fourie and Hacjivah Dayimani set to feature from the replacements bench.

Scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer and fullback Warrick Gelant return to the starting backline this week, with Damian Willemse set to feature on the right wing in place of the injured Seabelo Senatla, while Dewaldt Duvenage and Jurie Matthee are among the replacements.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that following a short turnaround this week, it will need to be a big effort against a dangerous Edinburgh side.

“It has been a short week for us, and training has been intense. There are a few changes to the team but every player coming in has already played a key role for us this season, so we are hoping to see them make a positive impact,” he said.

Dobson paid tribute to Sandi on the occasion of his 50th match.

“Sazi has been with us his whole career and has competed with some of the best players in the world in his position in that time.

“He is a fantastic player who adds so much value to our squad and we know that we will get another committed performance from him on Saturday night,” he said.

Edinburgh Rugby head coach Sean Everitt said: “We know it will be a tough challenge at DHL Stadium on Saturday but we’ve had a good training week and are in a good place to get a special result at the weekend.

“The Scotland guys being back is obviously a boost but we’ll need everyone at the top of their game to turn over the Stormers on their own patch.”

DHL Stormers starting XV: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Damian Willemse, 13 Ruhan Nel (capt), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas; 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer; 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers; 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith; 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Jurie Matthee.

SATURDAY

DHL Stormers v Edinburgh Rugby

DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 5pm IRE & UK/6pm ITA/7pm SA

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 37th league game)

AR 1: Griffin Colby (SARU) AR 2: Sean Muller (SARU)

TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

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