Evan Roos returns for Stormers

Roos will make his first appearance of the season for the Stormers as the new season of the Champions Cup kicks off this weekend.

The return of the Springbok No 8 after recovering from a hamstring injury is timely, with Hacjivah Dayimani ruled out due to concussion, while the only other changes from the team that faced the Sharks last weekend including an all-new front row.

Vernon Matongo, JJ Kotzé and Sazi Sandi will start, with André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Zachary Porthen set to make an impact from the replacements bench.

The starting backline is unchanged, with Warrick Gelant among the replacements this week for the Champions Cup clash that kicks off at 16:15 this Saturday.

HOW THE STORMERS WILL LINE UP

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant.

Winning momentum

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that his team is determined to make a strong start to the competition.

“We saw last season how important collecting points in the pool phase is in the Champions Cup, which makes your home matches crucial.

“We have kept a fair amount of continuity in selection as we look to build on some of the momentum from last week’s win. While it is disappointing to lose Hacjivah to concussion, we are able to call on Evan, who is raring to go, along with the new front row.

“The team is still buzzing from the incredible atmosphere created by our fans last week and we can’t wait to experience it all again as we take on a strong Bristol side that showed they understand what it takes to win in South Africa with a notable victory at Loftus Versfeld last season,” he added.