Stormers vs Ulster team: Ruhan Nel returns as captain, Mbonambi on bench

Ruhan Nel is fit again and back in charge of the Stormers. He leads a much-changed side against Ulster at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday 31 October, and Bongi Mbonambi is in line to play for the club again as a replacement.

Nel has missed the last two matches with a calf problem. He goes straight back in at outside centre, and Wandisile Simelane drops to the bench. Jonathan Roche has recovered from the concussion that kept him out last weekend and partners Nel in midfield again, while Damian Willemse replaces Warrick Gelant at fullback.

Hooker is the position where the Stormers are short. Vernon Paulo starts because Andre-Hugo Venter, the regular first choice, is injured, and JJ Kotzé is suspended until mid-December.

Mbonambi's move has happened quickly. The Sharks announced on Wednesday 28 October that his contract with the Durban club had been ended by mutual consent, with immediate effect. The double World Cup winner has since signed a one-year deal with the Stormers and can be picked straight away.

This is Mbonambi's second spell in Cape Town. He won 74 Stormers caps between 2015 and 2021, and that first stint ended when he left for the Sharks in 2021.

John Dobson said the newcomers would not be strangers to the side. "There are many changes, but every player coming in bar the vastly experienced Bongi Mbonambi has already played an important role for us this season," he said.

The Ulster match is the Stormers' last before the November break, and Dobson is not expecting it to be easy. "It will take a big effort to end this phase of the season with a fourth straight win at home," he said.