Roberts to make Stormers debut alongside 7 Rugby World Cup winners

Wales and British and Irish Lions international Jamie Roberts will make his Stormers debut against the Hurricanes at Newlands on Saturday.

The Welsh star will play alongside 10 Springboks named in the matchday squad for the opening round Super Rugby encounter.

Roberts will start at inside centre, with fellow midfielder Rikus Pretorius, who is 12 years his junior, also set to make his Stormers debut from the replacements bench.

There are seven World Cup winners in the starting XV, with captain Siya Kolisi set to wear the No.8 jersey when he leads the team on Saturday, to start the last Super Rugby season at Newlands.

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The Hurricanes last visited Newlands in 2014, when a late try secured a dramatic one-point win for the Stormers.

The last time the two teams played the opening game of the season was at Newlands in 2012, when Kolisi made a try-scoring debut off the replacements bench.

Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that following a busy pre-season, his team are determined to make a convincing start to their campaign in front of the Newlands Faithful.

“We are very excited about the team that we are putting out this weekend and the potential for us to make a good start to the last season at Newlands.

“We want to play the kind of rugby that will make our supporters smile and that starts on Saturday against the Hurricanes,” he said.

Stormers: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Johan du Toit, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Rikus Pretorius.

Date: Saturday, February 1
Venue: Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.05 (13.05 GMT; 02.05 NZ time Sunday, February 2)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Egon Seconds (South Africa)
TMO: Joey Klaaste-Salmans (South Africa)