Manie Libbok will play his 50th DHL Stormers game in the Investec Champions Cup clash with Stade Francais in Paris on Saturday.
The Round Four encounter kicks off at 19h30 (SAST) at the Stade Jean Bouin, with the DHL Stormers looking to secure their place in the last 16.
Libbok reaches the milestone in what is just his third season with the DHL Stormers and will marshall a backline that features several changes from the combination that did duty in the win against Sale Sharks at DHL Stadium last week.
Damian Willemse is in midfield, with Dan du Plessis shifting to outside centre. Warrick Gelant is at fullback and forms an all-new back three with wings Angelo Davids and Ben Loader, while Suleiman Hartzenberg and scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer are among the replacements.
Hooker Joseph Dweba comes into the starting line-up, as do flank Willie Engelbrecht and No.8 Keke Morabe in the only changes to the starting pack.
Prop Kwenzo Blose and lock Hendre Stassen are also on a replacements bench that features the likes of hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, utility forward Ben-Jason Dixon and loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani.
Head Coach John Dobson was full of praise for Libbok, who has developed into a world-class player since arriving in Cape Town.
“Manie has been a revelation for us since joining in 2021 and he seems to get better and better. Hopefully he keeps going from strength to strength in a DHL Stormers jersey.
“We face tough opposition in challenging conditions this weekend, so we will have to step up and show that we can perform away from home to challenge for a place in the knock-out phase of the competition,” he said.
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Street Squirrel
Sport Trivia: Apart from a team event bronze medal in 1992, Ghana won three other individual Olympic medals in the 20th century. These were all in the same event. Which event was this? Answer: Boxing. Ghanaian boxers won silver in Rome in 1960, bronze in Tokyo in 1964, and Munich in 1972.
green ghost
Chris Gayle is the only batsman to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match – In the 137 years of Test cricket no cricketer has ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. Audacious Chris Gayle achieved this feat against Bangladesh in 2012 off debutant Sohag Gazi.