Burger out, De Villiers leads

Centre Jean de Villiers will lead the Stormers against the Bulls in the absence of Schalk Burger (calf muscle injury), whilst there are debuts for Jaco Taute, Elton Jantjies and Pat Cilliers.

Twenty-one-year-old centre Damian de Allende, who started in the 2012 Currie Cup Final, will get his first-ever taste of Super Rugby action, whilst, on the bench, Nizaam Carr (knee) and Dewaldt Duvenage (broken leg) make their returns after spending a fair amount of time on the sidelines last year.

Reserve hooker Martin Bezuidenhout will be hoping for his first official game time in a Stormers jersey after featuring in pre-season games against the Cheetahs and Boland, whilst Springbok lock Andries Bekker will play in his 95th Super Rugby match for the Stormers.

Stormers team to take on the Bulls:

15. Jaco Taute
14. Gio Aplon
13. Jean de Villiers (captain)
12. Damian de Allende
11. Bryan Habana
10. Elton Jantjies
9. Nic Groom
8. Duane Vermeulen
7. Rynhardt Elstadt
6. Siya Kolisi
5. Andries Bekker
4. De Kock Steenkamp
3. Pat Cilliers
2. Deon Fourie
1. Steven Kitshoff

Bench:
16. Martin Bezuidenhout
17. Frans Malherbe
18. Don Armand
19. Nizaam Carr
20. Dewaldt Duvenage
21. Gerhard van den Heever
22. Joe Pietersen

Tank’s take: Coetzee has made the correct call by keeping Elstadt at 7, and playing Steenkamp at lock in place of Etzebeth. The former is developing into an aggressive and effective 7, but does not change games at lock. Pat Cilliers has done more than enough to justify his selection at tighthead, and another year playing from the bench for young Malherbe is not the worst thing in the world for him. Massive game for Jantjies given that he did not play in either warm up game. His defence is suspect, and in a side that prides itself on it’s defence, he will stick out like a sore theumb should he miss a tackle or two. But one has to hope that he is in the side to help them play a slightly more expansive game based on what they achieved in the Currie Cup. De Allende has looked the business at centre, and with De Jongh out, this is a fantastic opportunity for him. Big and pacy, I know one Bok coach who might be looking quite closely!

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Kick-off is at 19:10.

The Bulls will announce their side on Tuesday.