Springbok prop Ntuthuko Mchunu is set to pack down for his long-awaited DHL Stormers debut on Friday night, and the burly loosehead arrives like a fresh engine bolted onto an already rumbling Cape Town scrum machine.
The Stormers launch their Investec Champions Cup campaign at the intimidating Stade Jean Dauger (22:00 SAST), a venue where Bayonne’s home crowd traditionally roars like a Spring tide crashing against the Atlantic coast.
Mchunu forms a powerful front row with Neethling Fouché and JJ Kotzé, while young hooker Lukhanyo Vokozela waits on the bench for his own first taste of Champions Cup rugby.
Our team for the Investec Champions Cup opener in Bayonne on Friday night.
📢 Team announcement https://t.co/VeIXcChg8u
📺 Watch it live on @SuperSportTV #BAYvSTO #inittogether pic.twitter.com/0io1UnME0S— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 4, 2025
Captain Salmaan Moerat reaches a personal milestone with his 50th start, locking down alongside Connor Evans in a tight five reinforced later by the heavy-hitting duo Adré Smith and JD Schickerling.
In the loose trio, Ruan Ackermann gets his first Stormers start, joining Springbok Ben-Jason Dixon and Paul de Villiers in a unit built for collisions and counterpunches, with Evan Roos primed as a late-game wrecking ball.
A new halfback axis of Imad Khan and Clinton Swart will steer the ship, while Dan du Plessis and Wandisile Simelane combine in midfield. The back three — Warrick Gelant, Leolin Zas and Dylan Maart — remains unchanged after slicing through Munster last week.
Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson made it clear his side knows the scale of the away-day assignment.
“We are up against a team with an impressive home record and it will require a big performance to start this competition with a win away from home.”
He added that the new combinations could be a spark — not a gamble.
“We are excited about some of the new combinations and feel we are well set up to maintain full intensity for 80 minutes on Friday night.”
With new faces, milestone men, and a Champions Cup cauldron waiting to boil, the Stormers’ European quest begins with the promise of heavy collisions and high-voltage rugby under the Bayonne lights.
DHL Stormers:
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Jonathan Roche.
