Suleiman Hartzenberg will fill the midfield void left by the injured Ruhan Nel when the Stormers take on Sale Sharks in a Champions Cup clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Nel who suffered a knee injury in the New Year's Eve clash against the Sharks is expected to spend a lengthy period on the sidelines.
Hartzenberg who has been doing duty on the wing will now form a midfield partnership with Dan du Plessis as the Stormers try to minimise the disruption caused by Nel's injury.
There might have been consideration for playing Damian Willemse in midfield but that would have caused a knock-on effect elsewhere in the back division.
Willemse will start at fullback with Warrick Gelant, who is still trying to recapture the form that made him a Springbok, earmarked for the bench.
Elsewhere in the backline wing Courtnall Skosan and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies are back in the starting team.
Apart from Gelant the other returnees to the replacement bench are hooker Joseph Dweba, lock Connor Evans and flank Nama Xaba.
The match is somewhat of a play-off match for Sale and the Stormers with both locked on four log points, five behind Leinster and Leicester Tigers.
The Stormers face Stade Francais in their last pool match but victory in Cape Town on Saturday is essential if they want to stay in the hunt.
“These two fixtures in the Champions Cup are like knockout games for us,” Du Plessis said. “You don’t want to slip up on points or lose a game and then have to rely on other teams to qualify for the play-offs.
“It’s really important that we put everything into these two games and see how the log turns out at the end of the pool stages.
“This weekend is going to be a really physical battle. Sale have a really big pack of forwards who give them ascendancy. If you don’t stop that, then they get momentum and really get going.
“They have world-class, experienced players. Those are players that you want to come up against, to challenge yourself against the best.”
Sale will however be without influential flyhalf George Ford who has a knee injury.
Stormers coach John Dobson is enthused by the support the Stormers received in their recent home matches and he is hoping the same will apply on Saturday.
“We enjoyed some incredible support over the festive period and we won’t play again here for a while, so we would love to give our supporters another great night.
“It will be tough in what is a crucial match for both sides and we are expecting Sale to throw everything they have at us, which should make for a great spectacle,” he said.
The Stormers — Damian Willemse; Courtnall Skosan, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas; Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies; Hacjivah Dayimani, Ben Jason-Dixon, Deon Fourie (captain); Ruben van Heerden, Adre Smith; Neethling Fouche, Andre-Hugo Venter, Sti Sithole. Substitutes: Joseph Dweba, Ali Vermaak, Brok Harris, Connor Evans, Marcel Theunissen, Nama Xaba; Paul de Wet, Warrick Gelant.
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