Deon Fourie will draw on his limitless energy and vast experience when he leads the Stormers in their URC clash against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday night.
The Capetonians will take on the unbeaten log leaders at the Aviva Stadium, with kick-off at 19h00 local time on Saturday.
Regular captain Salmaan Moerat will provide impact from the replacements bench along with the likes of fellow Springboks Frans Malherbe and Herschel Jantjies, as JD Schickerling comes into the second row in a rotational switch.
Fourie is joined by Ben-Jason Dixon and Evan Roos in a powerful loose trio, while the only other change to the starting pack sees the experienced Ali Vermaak come in at loosehead prop.
Paul de Wet and Manie Libbok will pull the strings at halfback for the visitors, with the talented Jonathan Roche linking up with Ruhan Nel in midfield.
Warrick Gelant is joined by Ben Loader and a fit-again Leolin Zas in the back three, with Wandisile Simelane alongside Jantjies on the replacement bench.
The Stormers face a mammoth task in Dublin as they take on a rampant Leinster side packed with international talents like Johnny Sexton, Garry Ringrose, James Ryan, RG Snyman, and Jordie Barrett.
Director of Rugby John Dobson knows that nothing less than his team’s best will be good enough to get the result required.
“Leinster’s record and reputation speak for themselves and we know that it will take a huge effort to come away with a win at the Aviva Stadium.
“Several players are coming into the mix that did not feature last week and we are looking to them to make a big impact for us. There are also some rotations such as in the second row, with Salmaan set to take over the leadership in the second half after playing a full 80 minutes in Paris last week.
“It has been a good week of preparation here and we are ready to give this one a full go to build on the encouraging derby wins at the end of last year and keep climbing the standings,” he said.
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (c), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
