Stormers without Springbok stars for Ulster as Orie elevated to captaincy

The Stormers will be without Springbok stars Steven Kitshoff and Damian Willemse for this Friday's United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Ulster in Belfast. 

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With the club schedule in overdrive presently, the players are being rested. 

Lock Marvin Orie, in Kitshoff's absence, will captain the side and he leads a 27-man squad that was named on Monday. 

There is also a notable return for hooker Scarra Ntubeni, who makes a full recovery from a long-term knee injury while centre Juan de Jongh is also back. 

New signing Ruben van Heerden, meanwhile, joins the squad as lock cover. 

"We have some players missing due to resting protocols and injuries, but this is a squad full of talent and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do," head coach John Dobson said. 

"We will not have a lot of training time this week, but everyone is looking forward to the challenge."

Kick-off on Friday is at 21:35 (SA time). 

Stormers squad:

Forwards: Kwenzo Blose, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Connor Evans, Brok Harris, JJ Kotze, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Scarra Ntubeni, Marvin Orie (captain), Junior Pokomela, Evan Roos, Sazi Sandi, Marcel Theunissen, Ruben van Heerden, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak.

Backs: Clayton Blommetjies, Juan de Jongh, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Herschel Jantjies, Imad Khan, Ruhan Nel, Cornel Smit, Stefan Ungerer, Kade Wolhuter.

Unavailable: Angelo Davids, Steven Kitshoff, Alapati Leuia, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Gary Porter, Seabelo Senatla, Adre Smith, Ernst van Rhyn, Damian Willemse, Nama Xaba, Leolin Zas.