Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi will be back to lead the Stormers in the final warm-up game ahead of the Super Rugby kickoff.
The loose-forward will be one of nine Boks in Robbie Fleck’s 28-man squad for the traditional pre-season clash against the Boland.
And like Sunday’s Super Heroes clash against the Bulls, Fleck expects another testing encounter ahead of their Loftus Super Rugby opener next week.
The boss says: “Boland are always highly motivated to play us in Wellington, so we are looking forward to pushing ourselves.
“We have got a number of players coming in after a pre-season conditioning phase, so it will be important for us to gel as a unit and get as much as we possibly can out of this game.”
STAR MAN: Pieter-Steph du Toit. Photo: KIM LUDBROOK/EPA
Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff will start either side of hooker Bongi Mbonambi, Wilco Louw on the bench.
Bok end-of-year tour non-playing member JD Schickerling starts in the second row.
In the loose trio, Kolisi starts alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and No.8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe.
Flyhalf Damian Willemse, midfielder Damian de Allende and utility man JJ Engelbrecht all start in the backline.
Fleck has warned his Boks to get up to speed quickly after his second-string impressed in a hard-fought 33-28 win over the Bulle last weekend.
He told SuperSport at the weekend: “I don’t want to mention names but there are guys who have really pleased and surprised me and who are now pressing strongly for positions in the starting team.”
RETURNING: Damian de Allende. Photo: BACKPAGEPIX
Fleck says he was pleased with the way the Stormers punished the Bulls on the counter.
But what made the former Bok midfielder even prouder was the way his team came back against next week’s opposition after falling behind.
He adds: “So much of modern rugby is about getting the transition between defence and attack right and I felt we did that well in this game. For that matter, so did the Bulls,” said the Stormers coach.
“But I was also happy with what came after that. The Bulls came back at us strongly, and in the second half we had to defend for long periods and we were really tested in that department. That was another big plus for us.”