John Dobson has thrown a selection surprise for the Stormers’ clash with Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

With a six-day turnaround, the Stormers boss has made several alterations to his matchday squad and most surprisingly named Springboks star Damian Willemse on the right wing.

The double World Cup winner is renowned for his versatility playing at full-back, fly-half and centre for club and country, but this week, he adds wing for the former.

Dobson rings the changes

He lined up at full-back last week for the Stormers, but with Warrick Gelant returning, Willemse shifts to the wing with Leolin Zas running out on the left.

Ruhan Nel captains the team from outside centre once again and is paired with Dan du Plessis in the midfield. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at fly-half again but is now partnered by scrum-half Stefan Ungerer, with Imad Khan falling out of the 23.

Dobson has made further changes in his forward pack with Ben-Jason Dixon and Paul de Villiers taking over the flanker roles as Evan Roos is retained at number eight.

JD Schickerling and Adré Smith combine in the second-row, while there is an all-new front-row in Sazi Sandi, André-Hugo Venter, and Ntuthuko Mchunu. Tighthead Sandi will be playing his 50th game for the Stormers against Edinburgh.

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JJ Kotze, Oli Kebble, Neethling Fouché, Connor Evans, Deon Fourie, and Hacjivah Dayimani are the six forwards named on the bench, with Dewaldt Duvenage and Jurie Matthee covering the backs.

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“It has been a short week for us, and training has been intense. There are a few changes to the team, but every player coming in has already played a key role for us this season, so we are hoping to see them make a positive impact,” director of rugby Dobson said.

“Sazi has been with us his whole career and has competed with some of the best players in the world in his position in that time,” Dobson said in tribute to Sandi.

“He is a fantastic player who adds so much value to our squad, and we know that we will get another committed performance from him on Saturday night.”

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Stormers and Edinburgh teams

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Damian Willemse, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Jurie Matthee

Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Malelili Satala, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Glen Young, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mosese Tuipulotu, 23 Jack Brown

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 37th league game)
Assistant Referees: Griffin Colby (SARU), Sean Muller (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

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