Siya Kolisi starts for Stormers against Edinburgh in first appearance for six years

Siya Kolisi will make his first appearance for the Stormers in six years when he starts at blindside flank against Edinburgh at The Hive Stadium on Friday, just three weeks after captaining South Africa to their series-clinching win over New Zealand in Baltimore.

The double World Cup-winning Springbok captain played 118 games for the Cape Town franchise between 2012 and 2020 before two spells at the Sharks, sandwiched around an underwhelming stint with Racing 92 in Paris. His return to the Stormers marks a notable homecoming for one of rugby’s most recognisable figures.

Centre Ruhan Nel captains the side for the URC encounter, with Warrick Gelant named at full-back and Seabelo Senatla on the wing. The pack features André-Hugo Venter, Neethling Fouché, JD Schickerling and Hacjivah Dayimani, while Stefan Ungerer and Yaqeen Ahmed form the half-back partnership.

Director of Rugby John Dobson pointed to last week’s performance against Connacht as a foundation to build on, while identifying areas for improvement ahead of the Edinburgh trip.

“Last week’s performance against Connacht was encouraging in many ways, but we would like to see a more ruthless edge to our game which we have worked on this week,” Dobson said. “We know that Edinburgh is a tough place to play and we have some experience coming in, with Siya, Ntuthuko and Stefan included along with Yaqeen Ahmed and Wandile Mlaba, who are both really exciting young players.”

Dobson added that the result in Edinburgh would set the tone for a critical stretch of the season. “It will take a big effort from all 23 players to get the result before we go back to Cape Town for what will be a crucial period in the context of our season.”

Among the replacements are Andre Warner, Wandisile Simelane and Adré Smith.

DHL Stormers XV: Warrick Gelant; Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel (capt), Jonathan Roche, Leolin Zas; Yaqeen Ahmed, Stefan Ungerer; Ntuthuko Mchunu, André-Hugo Venter, Neethling Fouché, Riley Norton, JD Schickerling, Siya Kolisi, Louw Nel, Hacjivah Dayimani.

Replacements: Vernon Paulo, Vernon Matongo, Sazi Sandi, Connor Evans, Adré Smith, Wandile Mlaba, Andre Warner, Wandisile Simelane.