Nelspruit will play host to the first of Super Rugby Unlocked Round 3 fixtures on Friday, as the Pumas welcome the Stormers.
Both sides registered their first win in the campaign, with the men from the Mother City overcoming the Lions at home in what was their opening fixture, while the Mpumalanga outfit came back from Kimberly as victors after a 27-21 victory.
Pumas vs Stormers: Super Rugby Unlocked preview
A stiffer challenge awaits the hosts against a team billed as one of the favourites to clinch the trophy at the end of the season.
The Stormers boast no less than six Rugby World Cup-winners, and a skippered by the man who lifted the Webb-Ellis trophy in Tokyo back in November 2020.
Flanker Siya Kolisi will lead out a formidable team, featuring Bok heroes such as Damian de Allende, Steven Kitshoff and Bongi Mbonambi.
They come up against a side devoid of international players, but not short of fighting spirit, as shown in their first two outings, where they rallied late against the Cheetahs to close what was an imposing gap, before stunning the Griquas in their own patch.
SUPER RUGBY UNLOCKED TEAMS: PUMAS VS STORMERS
PUMAS
15 Devon Williams, 14 Neil Maritz, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Eddie Fouche, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren (captain), 4 Darrien Landsburg, 3 Ruan Kramer, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Morgan Naude. Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Heath Backhouse, 19 Phumzile Maqondwana, 20 Dian Badenhorst, 21 Neil Marais, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Ignatius Prinsloo.
STORMERS
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Leon Lyons. Replacements (from): 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Jaco Coetzee, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Michal Haznar, 24 Tim Swiel, 25 Tristan Leyds.
Kick-off time and where to watch
The game will kick off at 18:55 (SAST) and will stream live on the rugby channel on Supersport.
