Defending United Rugby Championship (URC) winners the Stormers opened their account this season with a convincing 38-15 bonus point win over Connacht last Saturday.

The victory at Danie Craven although sweet presents head coach John Dobson with a new challenge after electric winger Seabelo Senatla was ruled out “for many months”.

“He’s out for … many months. It’s unfortunate, especially because of how it happened,” said Dobson about the incident that saw Ireland international centre Bundee Aki suspended for eight weeks.

The injury forced Dobson’s hand into a backline reshuffle for their clash against Edinburgh at Cape Town stadium on Saturday. Influential utility back Damian Willemse slots straight into the inside centre position, which he fulfilled to aplomb in last season’s successful campaign.

Willemse returns from a concussion he sustained two weeks ago while on Springbok duty playing against Argentina.

The return of the Springbok means last week’s inside centre Dan du Plessis moves from the 12 jumper to No 13. While Suleiman Hartzenberg replaces Senatla on the wing.

Among the forwards, there are three returning Springboks in the starting lineup as Deon Fourie comes in at blindside flank and Salmaan Moerat takes his place next to skipper Marvin Orie in the locks while Joseph Dweba will make his Stormers debut at hooker.

Joseph Dweba during the DHL Stormers training session and press conference at DHL Stadium on September 28, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)

Herschel Jantjies is among the substitutes as the Stormers opt for a six/two split on the bench.

The Stormers take on Edinburgh at 2pm at Cape Town stadium.

Bulls back three

The Bulls and Stormers swap opponents from last week as the side from Pretoria prepare to face Connacht tonight.

The Bulls also have three returning Springboks, all in the back three, in their starting lineup for the clash. Kurt-Lee Arendse will start at fullback, Canan Moodie at right wing while Sbu Nkosi starts on the left.

“It’s always nice having Springboks come back, especially when they are looking as good as Canan and Kurt-Lee. Sbu didn’t get a run out for the Boks but his confidence will still be high having been part of the group. I have no doubt that he is raring to go, and this is his chance,” said Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White.

Versatile Johan Goosen moves from fullback to flyhalf for the clash. While among the forwards, Marco van Staden makes his first start of the season.

“Connacht is a dangerous team. We saw that in the last competition when they gave us a good smack in Galway. A lot has changed since then, and we know what we have to do this weekend,” said White.

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The Bulls clash with Connacht kicks off at 6:30pm tonight.

No Boks for Sharks

Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has not selected any of the Springboks available to his side after the Boks final clash of The Rugby Championship last weekend.

The Sharks only just snuck home against Zebra in Palma last weekend but have resisted the temptation to call in the reinforcements for their clash against the Dragons in Newport on Saturday.

“We’ve decided to give our Boks the week off and will start integrating them next week in order to get them up to date with what we have been doing at training this season,” explained Everitt.

There is only one change in the run-on side as ​​former Cheetahs lock Justin Basson slots into the second row for the injured, Gerbrandt Grobler, while Hyron Andrews comes into the bench along with utility outside back Anthony Volmink for on-loan Fred Zeilinga.

The Sharks will look to build on their impressive first half against Zebre last week while simultaneously forgetting their horror second half where they almost threw the match away against the Italian outfit.

“The side did well in the first half against Zebre. In fact, I would say it was the best 40 minutes of rugby that we have played in a long time. Unfortunately, we allowed them to gain momentum after the break and nearly learned an expensive lesson in the process,” said Everitt.

Kick-off against Dragons on Saturday is at 8:35pm.

Lions hunt for second win

The Lions secured an impressive 28-27 win over Ospreys last weekend and will look to make it two from two in their European tour when they face Cardiff in the Welsh capital on Saturday.

Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has made two changes in the starting XV. Centre Henco van Wyk comes in and pairs with Marius Louw in midfield while lock Pieter Jansen van Vuren gets an opportunity in the No 4 jersey.

The Lions only just held out Ospreys last week through courageous tackling at the death but defence coach Jacques Fourie believes there’s more to come from his side from a defensive perspective.

 “The Welsh sides pride themselves with big forward packs coupled with backline players who enjoy throwing the ball around,” said Fourie.

“Cardiff will be no different this Friday as I’m sure they will come with a heavy pack and nippy backline players, who can take the ball wide. In saying that, we have done our homework on them and prepared well in the week.”

The Lions match against Cardiff at Cardiff Arms Park starts at 8:35pm tonight. DM