Cape Town - The Stormers will go into their United Rugby Championship quarter-final clash against Edinburgh on Saturday without Springbok utility back Damian Willemse.
The hot-in-form Willemse will miss the knockout match due to an arm injury.
His absence sees the returning Rikus Pretorius come in at inside centre, while Springbok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies makes his return to the starting line-up after recovering from a hand injury.
The inclusion of Jantjies and Pretorius are the only changes to the run-on side that defeated Scarlets 26-21 in Llanelli. In that match, the final game of the regular season, the Stormers clinched the South African Shield.
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The only other changes to the matchday squad see lock Adre Smith and debutant utility back Sacha Mngomezulu included among the replacements after featuring for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
Stormers coach John Dobson said they want to play the kind of rugby that got them all the way to the play-offs, and they want to do so for 80 minutes.
"A lot of hard work has gone into securing this home quarter-final, so we are determined to rise to the occasion,” he said.
"It has been a good week of preparation and everyone is excited about what should be a memorable day.
"We want to raise the intensity and make sure that we are at our best for the full 80 minutes, playing the kind of rugby that has got us into this position," he said.
Dobson explained that while Willemse had been given as much time as possible to prove his fitness, it was decided not to risk him.
"We gave Damian as much time as we could to make it for this match, but in the end it was not worth the risk, especially as we have a quality player in Rikus to start at 12. It also gives the talented Sacha Mngomezulu an opportunity to show what he can do when he comes on," he added.
The match kicks off at 7pm.
Stormers team: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Sacha Mngomezulu.
IOL Sport