Cape Town - Andries Strauss will captain the Kings in their Super Rugby clash against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday after regular skipper Luke Watson pulled out with flu.
Kick-off is at 17:05.
Watson had been struggling the whole week with illness, but was expected to play.
Strauss is accustomed to the role having captained the team earlier in the season when Watson was laid low by a throat injury.
In other changes among the forwards, lock Darron Nell replaces Steven Sykes who is out with a shoulder injury.
Jacques Engelbrecht starts at No 8, with Wimpie van der Walt moving to No 7 and Cornell du Preez to No 6, while Devin Oosthuizen gets a spot on the bench.
Hooker Hannes Franklin replaces Virgile Lacombe (rib injury) among the substitutes.
In the backline, Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi starts at right wing in place of Siyanda Grey, who is out with a hamstring injury, while Argentine Nicolas Vergallo gets a run at scrumhalf, with Shaun Venter moving to the bench.
A cold front is expected to hit Cape Town this weekend, with 100% rain predicted for Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Deon Fourie, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Don Armand, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Kings:
15 SP Marais, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss (captain), 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Hannes Franklin, 17 Grant Kemp, 18 Rynier Bernado, 19 Devin Oosthuizen, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Shane Gates, 22 George Whitehead
Kick-off is at 17:05.
Watson had been struggling the whole week with illness, but was expected to play.
Strauss is accustomed to the role having captained the team earlier in the season when Watson was laid low by a throat injury.
In other changes among the forwards, lock Darron Nell replaces Steven Sykes who is out with a shoulder injury.
Jacques Engelbrecht starts at No 8, with Wimpie van der Walt moving to No 7 and Cornell du Preez to No 6, while Devin Oosthuizen gets a spot on the bench.
Hooker Hannes Franklin replaces Virgile Lacombe (rib injury) among the substitutes.
In the backline, Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi starts at right wing in place of Siyanda Grey, who is out with a hamstring injury, while Argentine Nicolas Vergallo gets a run at scrumhalf, with Shaun Venter moving to the bench.
A cold front is expected to hit Cape Town this weekend, with 100% rain predicted for Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Deon Fourie, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Don Armand, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Kings:
15 SP Marais, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss (captain), 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16 Hannes Franklin, 17 Grant Kemp, 18 Rynier Bernado, 19 Devin Oosthuizen, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Shane Gates, 22 George Whitehead