- Springbok touring squad members Damian Willemse, Marvin Orie and Salmaan Moerat have returned to training with the Stormers.
- The Capetonians resume their United Rugby Championship campaign with a home game against Zebre on Saturday.
- Assistant coach Rito Hlungwani says they've done their homework on Zebre and understand the Italian club's DNA.
The Stormers are relishing the return of fullback Damian Willemse and lock duo Marvin Orie and Salmaan Moerat as they resume their United Rugby Championship campaign with a clash against Italian outfit Zebre at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The trio returned to Stormers training this week after touring with the Springboks on their year-end tour to the United Kingdom.
Willemse was concussed early in the first Test against Wales in Cardiff but has since recovered and will be available for selection.
Orie, who boasts seven Test caps, and the uncapped Moerat did not get game time on the year-end tour but will be in contention for selection this weekend.
'More room to play around with'
Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani told reporters on Tuesday that the trio's return was a boost for the team.
"As you all know, Salmaan and Marvin were both touring with the Springboks. They came back so they will be available for us this weekend. Damian Willemse is available for us. They haven't been around us for a while, especially Marvin and Damian, but it's very good to have them back," the forwards guru said.
Hlungwani added that Orie and Moerat would be a significant boost to their second row stocks.
"It's quite exciting to have Salmaan and Marvin there. They're very different players, Marvin is very experienced when it comes to lineouts. He'll give us a good buffer there... he hasn't played in a while, so we just hope he's not rusty. [But] if he is we'll make sure that we train so he's nice and ready come Saturday.
"It also gives us a bit of room when it comes to substitutions. It's quite exciting to have those two guys back and it gives us more room to play around with selection and substitutions come game day."
Regarding the fitness of the rest of the squad, the coach added: "Deon Fourie left the tour early, he's still out. Sazi's (Sandi) got a bit of a niggle around his knee and not up for selection this week.
"Chad (Solomon) has been training for the past couple of weeks. He's slowly getting back to full fitness. It's been great to have him back. (David) Meihuizen is still out, so he's not available for selection this weekend."
The Stormers currently top the South African Shield and lie 12th on the overall table. They started their European tour with defeats to Benetton (22-18) and Munster (34-18), before drawing with Edinburgh (20-20) and beating the Dragons (24-10).
Zebre, meanwhile, are bottom of the standings after losing all five their games, but Hlungwani said they won't underestimate the Italians.
"We've looked at the games that they've played in the URC. We sort of understand what their DNA is, how they want to play, how they want to attack. So, in terms of watching their previous games, we’ve prepared for that.
"If they're going to bring something else I'm sure we'll be able to adapt, but in terms of preparation... we've looked at all the URC and games and friendlies that they've played... that has given us a lot of information and helped us prepare well for them."
Saturday's clash at Cape Town Stadium is scheduled for 15:00, with the Stormers to name their team on Friday.