A free-spirited Scarlets side who enjoy running with the ball in hand will put the Stormers defence under pressure in a United Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town on Saturday, assistant coach Dawie Snyman said.
After impressive wins over the Sharks and Bristol Bears in their past two outings, the Stormers are keen to a keep building momentum against the Welsh outfit at the Cape Town Stadium (kickoff 4pm).
“Home matches in any competition are matches that you must win, otherwise you put yourself under pressure,” Snyman said.
“The Scarlets are definitely a quality side.
"They’ve got some great backs and they do play a nice style of rugby, and like to put you under pressure with ball in hand.
“For us, it’s just about ironing a few things out that we discussed this week, but we’re expecting a nice game from them.
“At this stage of the season, there’s a lot of focus on ourselves and getting our game right. "We’ll keep building and keep working on it.
“The way we won against Bristol was almost completely different to the way we played against the Sharks, although there were moments that looked the same.
"We’re trying to develop all aspects.”
Snyman says upcoming clashes against Scarlets and Ulster in the coming weeks are important before the November international break.
“We had a good tour and obviously the Edinburgh result could easily have gone our way, but we feel there’s something we’re busy building," he said.
“A lot of hard work still lies ahead for the next two weeks and we want to make sure that we finish this block that ends in November well."
Paul de Villiers will captain the Stormers in the absence of the injured Ruhan Nel.
De Villiers is joined by fellow former Junior Springbok captains Riley Norton, Zachary Porthen and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in a match 23 which features an exciting blend of youth and experience.
Markus Muller makes his first start for the Stormers at inside centre and is joined in midfield by Wandisile Simelane as Nel continues to rest as a precaution.
Director of Rugby John Dobson said this will be an exciting team to watch as they look to continue their unbeaten run against the Scarlets.
“We have four players in Markus Muller, Riley Norton, Olly Reid and Yaqeen Ahmed who are young enough to be playing for the Stormers Bolts, along with the likes of Deon Fourie who is the second most-capped player of all time for this club.
“There are some really dynamic combinations both in the starting line-up and the replacements bench and they will all be tested against a Scarlets team that has made an impressive start to the season.
“We have enjoyed some great support this month and everyone is looking forward to an electric atmosphere at Stadium once again,” he said.
Stormers team: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Markus Muller, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 Connor Evans, 4 Riley Norton, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Yaqeen Ahmed.
Friday: 20.45pm: Cardiff v Sharks, 20.45pm: Edinburgh v Lions. Saturday: 1.45pm: Bulls v Ulster, 4pm: Stormers v Scarlets.
