Teams named for Cape Town semi-final

The teams for Saturday's first Vodacom United Rugby Championship sem-final, between the DHL Stormers and Irish side Connacht at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, have been named.

The match kicks off at 16h00 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

The hosts will be without Springbok forwards Marvin Orie (lock) and Deon Fourie (flanker), who have been ruled out with injury. They will be replaced by Ben-Jason Dixon and Willie Engelbrecht in the starting team, as Connor Evans, Marcel Theunissen and Jean-Luc du Plessis come onto the bench.

Connacht have named an unchanged match-day 23 with Jack Aungier set to earn his 50th cap for the province if called upon from the bench.

The teams are:

DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley. Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Byron Ralston.

Vodacom United Rugby Championship

Sharks hunt historic final berth in Challenge Cup...

The Hollywoodbets Sharks will have a golden opportunity to make history by becoming the first South African franchise to...

Playing fields levelled in Women’s Premier Divisio...

An exciting round of clashes awaits the eight Women’s Premier Division teams on Saturday where two teams, the Bulls Dais...

Griquas and Pumas in battle for SA Cup summit...

The SA Cup will kick into a higher gear this weekend when the two top teams on the table, Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink...

Match official appointments to 5 May 2024...

Match official appointments for the next few days have been made, with Griffin Colby in action in the opening round of t...

Munster looking in build-up to Vodacom URC playoff...

Last season one of the reasons Munster's success in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship was seen as a fairytale, was b...

All on the line for the Blitzboks in Toulouse

The gold medal for Rugby Sevens at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris cannot be won in Toulouse in 2023, but don't tell the Springbok Sevens team that. In fact, according to Blitzbok coach Sandile Ngcobo, their approach is to use this weekend’s HSBC France Sevens at Stade Ernst-Wallon as an Olympic trial.

DHL Stormers set sights on final berth

The DHL Stormers will have one goal in mind when they meet Connacht in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final in Cape Town on Saturday – to deliver a top-class performance that will secure them a place in the Grand Final in two weeks’ time and a shot at defending the title they won last season.

The 2023 Currie Cup Bulletin #19

The race for Currie Cup Premier Division semi-final places will intensify this weekend, with teams outside the top four anxious to get back to winning ways, while the First Division and Mzansi Challenge continues with matches in Despatch, Windhoek and Strand.

Four SA players named in Vodacom URC Elite XV

Four South Africans count amongst players from a total of 11 teams – and seven of the top eight sides – that were included in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship’s combined Elite XV for the 2022/23 season, with table-topping Leinster leading the way with three.

SA Rugby Academy squad to sharpen up on tour

The SA Rugby Academy squad will go on tour to Johannesburg and Durban in the next week for two friendly matches to increase the players’ match sharpness and fitness in preparation for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship which South Africa is hosting from next month.

Blitzboks hunting points on final day in Toulouse

Springbok Sevens captain Siviwe Soyizwapi said his team will be hunting every available point at the HSBC France Sevens on Sunday, despite a disappointing 21-12 defeat to Argentina in the Cup quarter-finals of the tournament on Saturday evening.

Stormers through to second successive Grand Final

The DHL Stormers stayed in the race to defend their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title as they held their nerve in a gripping semi-final against Connacht at a windy DHL Stadium in Cape Town for a 43-25 victory and a spot in the final.

Impressive Stormers to host second Grand Final

The DHL Stormers will have an opportunity to defend their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title after securing their second successive home final following their victory against Connacht in Cape Town and Munster’s surprise win over Leinster in Dublin in the semi-finals this weekend.

Ngcobo: Toulouse result not reflective of effort

The Springbok Sevens team put in a huge effort at the HSBC France Sevens this weekend, but sadly the results did not show that, so from the perspective of Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, it was not all doom and gloom.

The 2023 Currie Cup Bulletin #20

The Cell C Sharks and Fidelity ADT Lions claimed important wins against the Currie Cup Premier Division’s frontrunners, while there were further victories for DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Bulls in the matches staged over the weekend, with all four visiting sides victorious.