Stormers v Force: Teams

Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus has made three changes - two of them injury-forced - to his starting line-up to tackle Western Force.

Utility back Joe Pietersen has come in for Conrad Jantjes, who broke his leg in the Round Twelve defeat to the Chiefs last weekend.

Pietersen was overlooked for the overseas leg of the Stormers' campaign but is very familiar with the Stormers' set-up having covered fly-half, centre and wing in the past.

World Cup-winning flanker Schalk Burger has a leg injury and will be replaced by Pieter Louw, who was on bench duty last week.

Burger took over the captaincy from Jean de Villiers, who is also injured, and in Burger's absence Luke Watson, who led the team for two seasons, will be taking the reins again.

Meanwhile, Gcobani Bobo has overcome an ankle injury and will take his place on wing, which means speed merchant Tonderai Chavhanga drops to the bench.

Tigthhead prop Brian Mujati also returns from injury, but he will join Chavhanga as one of the substitutes.

There is no place for Tiger Bax, the UCT full-back who replaced Jantjes last weekend.

Should Schalk Brits take to the field on Saturday, it will be his 50th cap for the Stormers.

Force changes

Western Force coach John Mitchell has made three changes to his starting line-up for this critical meeting with the Stormers.

Left wing Cameron Shepherd will undergo a fitness test on his injured left knee on Friday, but has been named in the starting XV in place of Nick Cummins who drops out of the match 22.

Wallaby number eight Richard Brown has been ruled out with an ankle injury and is replaced by the experienced Tamaiti Horua, who occupies the back of the scrum.

Meanwhile, Australian U20 lock Sam Wykes returns from a shoulder injury with Tom Hockings dropping to the bench.

The Force have also been boosted by the news that James O'Connor has been cleared to play at inside centre after recovering from a shoulder sprain.

Mitchell has reverted back to a standard reserves bench alignment of four forwards and three backs, recalling back-up scrum-half Chris O'Young having opted to carry an extra forward in the team's past two outings.

And the boss believes his side requires a four-try victory at Newlands to stay in the hunt for a semi-final berth.

"We're chasing four tries and a win, that's the only way we can make it from here," Mitchell told the club's official website.

"We've been in this situation for about four weeks now so our approach doesn't change.

"We've got to continue to play proactively and continue an attacking focus and can't be concerned by what the other teams around us in the table are doing."

Mitchell said he was hopeful Test back Shepherd would be available for the match.

"We still believe he'll make it so we've decided to give him another session to prove his fitness," Mitchell added.

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Dylan Des Fountain, 12 Peter Grant, 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson (c), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 AJ Venter, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Brock Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JD Moller
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Wicus Blaauw, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Martin Muller, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Morgan Newman, 22 Tonderai Chavhanga.

Western Force: 15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Scott Staniforth, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Cameron Shepherd, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Tamaiti Horua, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tai McIsaac, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 AJ Whalley, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Richard Stanford, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 Josh Tatupu, 22 Haig Sare.