Cape Town - Rookie Stormers flyhalf Gary van Aswegen will start at No 10 against the Lions, while the more experienced Peter Grant has been selected on the bench for the Cape side's opening Vodacom Super Rugby match on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 19:10.

VIDEO: Peter Grant returns from Japan

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said he felt Van Aswegen was the "logical" choice to start ahead of first-choice flyhalf Peter Grant, especially as the rookie had played in the warm-up matches.

Grant started training with the team in Cape Town this week after returning from a stint in Japan.

"Gary knows the (playing) systems and he's given a good account of himself in the pre-season matches," said Coetzee.

"He's in the right place in terms of development at this moment."

Coetzee said Grant would start on the bench, along with Springbok midfielder Juan de Jongh.

The Stormers boast three word-class centres in De Jongh, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.

"I'd rather have Fourie starting out than coming off the bench," Coetzee said.

"He's back from an injury lay-off and his conditioning has gone well. If something goes wrong, we'd rather find out sooner than later.

"I'm sure that when De Jongh comes off the bench he'll make a big impact."

Coetzee said it was important for the Stormers, who had a bye in the first round of the competition last week, to start well in the new Super Rugby series.

"You cannot afford to lag behind (on the log) and since it's a home game, it's one that we are expected to win," said Coetzee.

"This team is highly motivated to win home games."

Teams:

Stormers:

15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 CJ van der Linde

Substitutes: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Juan de Jongh

Lions:

TBA