Etzebeth eye of the Stormers

The Stormers have been boosted by the inclusion of lock Eben Etzebeth in the starting line-up to face the Waratahs, but the Cheetahs will meet the Hurricanes without flank Lappies Labuschagne.

The sublime back-rower hasn't made sufficient progress on an elbow injury sustained against the Kings 10 days ago, so Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske decided to give him another week to recover.

Labuschagne, the leading tackler in the competition as well as being a strong ball-carrier and lineout option, has been central to the Cheetahs' winning seven of 10 matches this season.

It's a huge hole for Drotske to fill.

Frans Viljoen has been drafted into the starting line-up, with Book Prinsloo coming onto the bench.

In Sydney, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee made only one injury-enforced change with Etzebeth coming in for De Kock Steenkamp. The latter suffered a chest injury during last week's loss to the Blues.

Flyhalf Gary van Aswegen retained his place ahead of Elton Jantjies, while wing Gerhard van den Heever is preferred to Damian de Allende on the bench.

"Eben has trained well and he's raring to go," Coetzee said. "He understands that things will be a little harder in his second year because he is more of a marked man and it will be interesting to see how he copes with that.

"He might be a little off the pace when it comes to lineout contesting, a job De Kock [Steenkamp] did so well for us until last week.

"But remember Eben was very good in that role last year and I'm sure he'll get there quickly. He's aggressive and highly competitive and he won't just sit back and be dominated."

One area of slight concern for the Stormers is teams targeting Etzebeth, knowing he has a volatile temper.

Last year the English gave him special attention at Twickenham a week after he'd been cleared of foul play against Scotland.

It's a trend Coetzee has noted: "Eben understands that he needs to stay out of scuffles and he has matured since last season.

"I don't want him to lose his aggression though. In fact, I want controlled aggression, not only from Eben but from the entire pack.

"Eben has to have self-control and exercise restraint if provoked and there are good leaders around him to help with that."