No 8 poser for Stormers ahead of Bulls derby

The Stormers look set to be without Springbok No 8 Evan Roos for Saturday's URC north-south derby against the Bulls in Cape Town.

Netwerk24 reported on Wednesday that Roos suffered a jaw injury in last weekend's 21-20 home Champions Cup win over La Rochelle.

When asked for comment by News24, a Stormers spokesperson could not confirm the extent of Roos' injury. But it appears unlikely that he'll be fit to face the Bulls.

Losing Roos will be a significant blow for the Stormers. The burly No 8's carrying and breakdown prowess would have been vital against the Bulls. Pundits were also looking forward to his prospective duel with in-form Bulls No 8 Cameron Hanekom. 

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Stormers coach John Dobson will now likely decide between Marcel Theunissen and Hacjivah Dayimani at No 8. If Dayimani cracks the nod at the back of the scrum, then Ben-Jason Dixon could move in at blindside flank.

There's also the option of playing young gun Keke Morabe at No 8. Morabe, 22, performed well in the position in the recent Champions Cup match against Leicester Tigers, but he's still inexperienced at this level.

Elsewhere, the Stormers will also be without winger Ben Loader after the Englishman injured his shoulder against La Rochelle.

"We have Courtnall Skosan and Suleiman Hartzenberg who's played wing for us before," assistant coach Dawie Snyman said earlier in the week when probed on who will replace Loader.

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The Stormers could also opt for Paul de Wet at scrumhalf in place of Herschel Jantjies. 

De Wet, who played well against Leicester Tigers, sat alongside Snyman in