URC: Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions name their teams for week two

By SABC Sport
27th October 2023

Three of the four South African teams are on overseas duty for the second week of the United Rugby Championship, with some tough fixtures awaiting them.

Fouche to lead Stormers against Scarlets in Stellenbosch

The Stormers are the only team with home advantage, and tighthead prop Neethling Fouche will captain the side against the Scarlets in Stellenbosch on Saturday.

Fouche is filling in for regular captain Salmaan Moerat, who has been ruled out with a chest injury.

Paul de Wet starts at scrumhalf this week in a rotation with Herschel Jantjies, who will make an impact in the second half.

"We have a good record in Stellenbosch, with three wins from three there in the last two seasons and we want to take some momentum with us on our tour up north," said coach John Dobson.

"There are some exciting players that have come into the starting line-up this week, but we have largely kept the core of the team together, so hopefully we can see an improvement on last week's performance.

"We are looking forward to playing in front of our fans in what is a rugby-mad town, it should be a great day out in Stellenbosch," he said.

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche (captain), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Courtnall Skosan.

Sharks welcome back Dyantyi and Hougaard for Leinster clash

Sharks head coach John Plumtree has named exciting signing Aphiwe Dyantyi on the bench to face Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.

Dyantyi, who is back in action after serving a four-year doping ban, looks set to make his debut in the Black & White jersey, along with scrumhalf Francois Hougaard whose experience will be called on when he too plays his first game for the Sharks.

Both Leinster and the Sharks are coming off first-round losses and both will be keen to right that, which should make for an exciting - if challenging - encounter for the visitors.

"Leinster are a quality side with so much depth, we know we certainly have our work cut out for us," said Sharks No 8 Phepsi Bithelezi.

"We're really looking forward to Saturday's challenge, it's an opportunity for us to keep growing and developing going forward".

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2. Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.

Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 George Cronje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Edwill van Der Merwe back for the Lions against Edinburgh

Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named speedster Edwill van der Merwe in his starting line-up for Saturday's clash against Edinburgh in Scotland.

The Lions Player of the Year missed out on selection against the Stormers last week due to injury, but slots right back into his familiar left-wing position after being cleared to play.

Last weekend's try-scorers from the replacements bench Ruan Venter and Henco van Wyk also crack the nod in the starting XV after an immense effort in the latter stages of the game at Emirates Airline Park, which saw their comeback against the Stormers fall just short.

"I'm really excited about the group we have going into this 4-week tour. I feel we've gone with a dynamic mix of players who can go physical and where needs be, have the option to select players to speed the game up," said Van Rooyen.

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Corne Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.

Bulls name strong team to battle Ulster in Belfast

The Bulls have made two changes to the matchday 23 that will do duty against Ulster in Belfast. Kick-off is on Sunday at 21h00.

Utility back Cornal Hendricks, speedster Stravino Jacobs and flyhalf Chris Smith come into the matchday 23 for Harold Vorster and Jaco van der Walt. Hendricks slots into the starting XV at inside centre whilst Chris Smith will get a run from the bench. The former lines up alongside David Kriel at outside centre with Jacobs and Sebastian de Klerk on the wings. Devon Williams will once again start at fullback.

The backline will be conducted by the halfback combination of Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen whilst the forward pack remains unchanged from the match against Scarlets.

"It is going to be a tough game, playing Ulster early up," said Bulls coach Jake White. "They have a lot of passion and they are playing in their new field and I am sure they will want to impress on their first home game and they will be inspired because we had the same feel last week on our new turf,"

"From the start we had last week, we have to play well and build on."

Bulls: 1 Gerhard Steenekamp, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 7 Elrigh Louw, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 9 Embrose Papier, 10 Johan Goosen, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 13 David Kriel, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 15 Devon Williams.

Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans.