The livewire fullback missed the opening three rounds of the URC due to an injury which kept him out. Fortunately, the 27-year-old Wandisile Simelane proved to be more than capable of covering in his absence.
It was also the first time the former Bulls flyer donned the No 15 jersey for the Cape-based team, after last playing at the back during his time in Gauteng. Despite the passage of time, he continued to impress as a utility player, an achievement that earned him a Man of the Match award.
Warrick Gelant’s return is welcomed by staff
After securing an impressive start to the season, head coach John Dobson expressed optimism about their chances of excelling. He believes that the return of Warrick will provide an extra layer of confidence ahead of the game.
“Having a player like Warrick back in the mix is a boost for us. The other players coming in are also keen to make an impression. Hopefully that will work in our favour,” he said.
Match-day captain Ruhan Nel is equally excited to have the former Outeniqua pupil back.
“Having Warrick back is very exciting. He takes a lot of pride in playing no 15 and dominates space in that position. We are all obviously familiar with his attacking ability.”
The return of Warrick means Damian Willemse will move from fullback to inside centre, where he will play alongside Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (fly-half) and Ruhan Nel (outside centre).
Zachary Porthern gets his nod at prop.
After suffering a loss of props Neethling Fouche and Sazi Sandi to injury, former Junior Springbok captain Zachary Porthern will get his first-ever start for the Stormers. The 21-year-old featured in two of the three games played this year and has done enough to earn the respect of the coaching staff.
“We have been very impressed with Zachary. He had a difficult World Under-20 Championship last year, so we felt we needed to grow his scrumming, but he did well when he came on against Benetton last year, and he surprised us,” said Dobson.
Team:
Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Stefan Ungerer, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul De Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Adre Smith, Zachary Porthern, JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak. Bench: Andre-Hugo Venter, Vernon Matongo, Hencus van Wyk, JD Schikerling, Ruan Ackermann, Marcel Theunissen, Imad Khan, Wandisile Simelane.
Kick-off at 20:45
