Injury-ravaged Stormers under immense pressure

Despite the odds being heavily stacked against them, the Stormers' back-up brigade will be hunting for a win over English Premiership side Harlequins in their Champions Cup clash at Twickenham Stoop tonight (kick-off 10m).

- Ross Roche

With a slew of first-choice players unavailable due to injury and concussion, and a few first and second-choice players left at home to rest, it is largely a second-string team running out for the struggling Cape Town side in London.

The names ruled out constitute an all-star team themselves, including props Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff and Sti Sithole, loose forwards Deon Fourie and Evan Roos, centre Dan du Plessis, utility backs Damian Willemse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok, as well as outside back Ben Loader.

Missing that many star players would put almost any team under massive pressure, and the Stormers have been feeling it, having won just two of their seven games in all competitions this season so far.