Flank Junior Pokomela will captain a DHL Stormers XV in a pre-season friendly against the South Western Districts Eagles in George on Friday night.
A 26-man playing squad will face the home side at Outeniqua Park in a friendly encounter which kicks off at 19h00 on Friday.
New signings Clayton Blommetjies, Stefan Ungerer and Willie Engelbrecht all feature in the starting line-up which also includes U21 backline star Suleiman Hartzenberg on the wing.
There is a good mix of youth and experience in the DHL Stormers XV, with the likes of DHL Stormers centurions Juan de Jongh and Brok Harris playing alongside promising prospects such as Mnombo Zwelendaba, who is yet to make his DHL Stormers debut.
The extended replacements bench also includes some seasoned DHL Stormers who will get some valuable gametime in the second half.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that this match is a great opportunity to get the ball rolling in the 2022/23 season at a venue where his squad always enjoy great support.
“We know the passion that the people of George and the surrounding area have for our team, so there is no better place to play our first pre-season friendly.
“The Eagles are always highly motivated for these games, which is exactly what we need at this point as we look to build towards the new season.
“We have a nice mix of youth and experience in this side and they will all be better off for the run out there,” he said.
DHL Stormers XV: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Tristan Leyds, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela (captain), 5 Adre Smith, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements (from): 16 Liam Larkan, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Neethling Fouche, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Ernst van Rhyn, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Chris Hollis, 24 Dan du Plessis, 25 Ruhan Nel, 26 Seabelo Senatla.
