Willemse shifted to No 12 as Stormers tweak backline

Stormers coach John Dobson has selected Damian Willemse at inside centre as part of a backline reshuffle for their URC game against the Glasgow Warriors on Sunday.

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There is a slight shuffle in the Stormers backline for the United Rugby Championship match against the Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium.

Given the limited training time, Dobson has opted to make as few changes as possible for the Round 12 encounter, which kicks off at 17h00 SA time on Sunday afternoon.

Clayton Blommetjies comes into the starting lineup at fullback, with Damian Willemse alongside Dan du Plessis in midfield and Suleiman Hartzenberg on the wing.

Scrumhalf Imad Khan is set to make his Stormers debut, while wing Angelo Davids and hooker JJ Kotze also come onto the replacements bench in the only other changes to the match-day squad, as Dobson opts for continuity.

The Stormers boss said that the team is looking forward to what should be a completely different challenge to what they have faced in home conditions recently.

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“This is going to take a significant adjustment on a number of fronts for our team and this challenge comes at a crucial point in our season,” Dobson said.

“We have seen some good growth from a lot of these combinations in recent weeks and would like to see if they can step-up while outside of their comfort zone.

“While we haven’t been here long as it took a while to travel, our focus is on taking the next step as a group in these sorts of conditions,” the Stormers coach concluded.

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STORMERS TEAM FOR URC CLASH AGAINST GLASGOW WARRIORS:

Stormers — 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Subs: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Angelo Davids.