Dynamic DHL Stormers loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani will come on as a replacement on the wing when the Stormers clash with Northampton Saints in a friendly encounter at Cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
The Cape franchise will face the Gallagher Premiership log-leaders for the first time in a ground-breaking match, which kicks off at 16:30 (SAST) on Saturday.
Dayimani, who normally plays at number eight or flank, has been in scintillating form for the Cape franchise in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup thus far this season.
He has been particularly influential in creating try scoring opportunities with his ability to act as a link between forwards and backs. As a result many rugby pundits felt he was unlucky not to be selected for the Springbok’s first alignment squad of the year.
The 26-year-old has played one or two games at centre and wing for the Lions at Super Rugby level before his move to the Mother City in 2021. However, it will be the first time that he will play in the backline for the Stormers.
Stormers attack coach Dawie Snyman said they have enough players of quality that can play wing, but they might be faced with a scenario in the future where it might be necessary for someone like Dayimani to play on the wing.
“Yes, it’s an interesting one. We are gonna have Hacjivah having a crack on the wing just to see how he goes there,” Snyman said in a online interview on Thursday.
“We usually go with a 6/2 spilt (six forwards and two backs) on our bench. So that if there is a potential crisis we will know that he (Dayimani) can cover for us in that position.
“If one looks at where Hacjivah creates opportunities, it is in the wider channels. We would like our loose forwards to combine well with our backs because were have so much speed and skills in our loose trio. So, its a bit of an experiment to see if he can do the job for us there when the need arises.”
The Stormers brains trust have decided to select a side loaded with youngsters and a few experienced players.
Veteran prop Brok Harris will lead the side. He will be joined by hooker JJ Kotze and Sazi Sandi in the front row, with Connor Evans and Gary Porter the lock pairing.
Keke Morabe is at the back of the scrum, with Willie Engelbrecht and Junior Pokomela on the flanks.
There are seven more forwards on an extended bench, with rolling substitutions set to see all 26 players get gametime.
Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant will link up with wings Ben Loader and Chris Hollis at the back, while Dan du Plessis and Wandisile Simelane form an exciting midfield partnership.
The promising Jurie Matthee will be at flyhalf, with the experienced Stefan Ungerer at scrumhalf.
The 11-man bench also has the versatile Dayimani down as backline cover, along with the likes of Suleiman Hartzenberg and talented young centre Damian Markus who will make his Stormers debut.
The match will be streamed live on the Northampton Saints YouTube channel SaintsTV. CLICK HERE to access SaintsTV.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Chris Hollis, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Gary Porter, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Brok Harris (captain).
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Scarra Ntubeni, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Nama Xaba, 22 Marcel Theunissen, 23 Godlen Masimla, 24 Hacjivah Dayimani, 25 Damian Markus, 26 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
