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Umaga: Stormers formidable at Newlands

Cape Town - Blues coach Tana Umaga expects a tough challenge against the Stormers at Newlands on Friday.

Kick-off is at 19:00.

After naming his side on Wednesday, Umaga said the Blues had settled well after the long flight from New Zealand and were looking forward to the game.

The Blues have a strong support base in Cape Town and enjoy playing at Newlands, but Umaga expects the Stormers to provide stern resistance.

“The Stormers at Newlands are a formidable challenge for us. We’ve played well for the last month and need to continue to improve every game as we look to produce an 80-minute performance,” Umaga told the Blues’ official website.

“We knew this back end of the season was full of challenges with our travel schedule. We have planned for it and we do have a number of players coming back from injury for us, and some hopefully ready to be considered back in New Zealand next week.”

The Blues will only play one game on their South African trip and will travel back to New Zealand for a home game against the Chiefs next Friday (May 26).

Teams:

Stormers

15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Dillyn Leyds, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi (captain), 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oli Kebble

Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Damian de Allende

Blues

15 Melani Nanai, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 George Moala, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons (captain), 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi

Substitutes: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Michael Collins

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