Stormers leave Bok quartet at home for URC trip

The Stormers have opted to leave a few of their Springboks at home for a three-game URC tour of Italy and Wales.

Veteran Bok props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, as well as hooker Joseph Dweba and flank Deon Fourie, were not included in a 28-man Stormers squad named on Monday.

Kitshoff and Malherbe also didn't feature in last weekend's 34-18 home win over Edinburgh. It is believed that the duo's workload is being managed as per agreement with the national coaches.

No official reasons were given for Dweba and Fourie's absence, but both players toured with the Springboks during the Rugby Championship and will likely do so again on the year-end tour. Coach John Dobson has therefore opted to also give them a breather. 

The other Springboks in the Stormers squad - Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie, Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies and Damian Willemse - were included in the squad.

Fullback Clayton Blommetjies has also been rested.

The Stormers will face Zebre (8 October), Ospreys (14 October) and Cardiff (22 October) on the road.

Dobson said they were looking forward to the different challenges they will face in Europe.

"This is a very important tour for a few different reasons and we want to make sure we keep building," he told the Stormers website.

"Our opening two wins have got us off to a good start, but we need to show that we can do the job away from home as well.

"There are a few players in this group who are hungry to make their mark, so this will be a good opportunity for them to show what they can do going forward."

Stormers touring squad: Kwenzo Blose, Angelo Davids, Hacjivah Dayimani, Paul de Wet, Ben-Jason Dixon, Dan du Plessis, Willie Engelbrecht, Neethling Fouche, Brok Harris, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Herschel Jantjies, Alapati