STORMERS SEASON PREVIEW: Much will hinge on pace of player development

If you look at what has denied them in the two most recent seasons it has been their perennial slow starts to the competition, so it hasn’t been surprising to hear the coaches and players speak up the need to take advantage of a rare home start so that they don’t end up having to play catchup later on.

Having to come from behind on the log has been their lot for all four seasons they have participated in the competition, so they’ve done well to play in two finals and win the inaugural competition. But while they got the catchup right in 2021/22 and 2022/23, they fell just short of making the top four in the most recent two seasons, and ended up both times having to travel to fourth placed Glasgow Warriors.

Stormers director of rugby John Dobson will want to avoid that Groundhog Day scenario this year, particularly given the edge that the Warriors appear to have over his team at The Scotstoun. If you want to challenge for URC silverware, you have to play at least the first round of the Finals Series at home.

START AT HOME BUT NOT AN EASY GAME

The Stormers start at home this year but their first game isn’t easy, as they host champions Leinster at the DHL Stadium on Friday night. Although they lost to the Ospreys in Cape Town two seasons ago, they will be favourites to win the second home game a week later, after which they head on tour. Ideally Dobson would want two wins out of two in that initial home phase to create a solid platform for a tour that features games against Scarlets, Zebre and Benetton.

The Stormers will be hoping to have their Springboks back by then, although it will be interesting to see how they work around the fact that Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse will find themselves spending nearly two months overseas if they head straight into Stormers duty from the final Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash against Argentina in London. The end of year tour, which this time around features five international games, starts the week after the Stormers’ final tour game against Benetton. It’s hard to see those players then being able to commit to all the tour games if they are not to risk being burnt out during the Bok tour that follows.

The Stormers then travel immediately after the international window to play Munster in Limerick at the end of November, which is then followed by the start of the Investec Champions Cup followed by the festive season derbies, so it is going to be a busy time and how they get through it will depend on how many players can stay fit.

SMALLER SQUAD

Last year the Stormers went through a bit of an injury crisis in the first part of the competition and it contributed to their slow start. And keeping a relatively clean slate when it comes to injuries is going to be crucial for the Stormers as Dobson’s squad looks a bit smaller than last year’s.

Although the Stormers have recruited Reinach and Ntuthuko Mchunu, who are both Springboks, for the new season, plus Ruan Ackermann, Oli Kebble and a few players from the smaller unions, the loss of Manie Libbok and Joseph Dweba could be keenly felt. Ben Loader has returned to England, while Herschel Jantjies and Paul de Wet are continuing their careers in France and at the Bulls respectively. Sti Sithole has been replaced by Kebble.

Of the above players who have gone through the exit lounge, Libbok could be the one who will turn out to be most sorely missed. That’s because while Dobson’s first choice Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a wonderfully talented player he does tend to be injured often and there are no obvious like for like replacements for Libbok’s playing style at flyhalf when Feinberg-Mngomezulu won’t be around.

There was talk of Ashlon Davids of the Boland Kavaliers joining and he does have a similar skill-set to Libbok, but Jurie Matthee, although a gifted player, is in a very different mould to Libbok and for that matter Feinberg-Mngomezulu. How do the Stormers adjust their game when Feinberg-Mngomezulu is either injured, away on international duty or resting as per the Bok resting protocols. The pizzazz of their excellent and exciting home run at the end of the last league season will be difficult to repeat without Libbok if Feinberg-Mngomezulu also happens to be injured.

Indeed, if there comes a time when Feinberg-Mngomezulu can’t wear the No 10 when the Boks aren’t playing, the smart money should be on Willemse stepping into that space, as he did very effectively in the win over Munster last October. The other experienced inside centre Dan du Plessis is a key leader in the Stormers ranks so Dobson can afford to make that switch if necessary.

Yet, while many might have said “Well, they have Sacha” when it was learned that Libbok, after being told he was not first choice, was leaving, the reality is that his departure could leave a gaping hole that is impossible to adequately fill.

FUTURE BRIGHT BUT HERE AND NOW COULD BE A WORRY

When it comes to the Stormers’ outlook, there is reason to be positive about the future - but they may take a few hits in the short term because their big recruitment drive looks set take place with next season in mind (Wilco Louw has already signed for 2026 and further big name signings can be anticipated).

The question is, having raised the expectation of their support base when they won the inaugural URC in 2022, how much patience will the Cape rugby public have if the Stormers don’t improve on last year’s fifth and get back into the home semifinal bracket? There will be context if the Stormers fail, but at the same time the Western Cape is a region that should have high expectations of its team and it would be completely understandable if there is impatience.

However, what the Stormers did start to do successfully in the second half of last season was to start to bring through a new wave of players that could provide the star quality and depth for a tilt at not only the URC but also the Investec Champions Cup trophies a few years from now.

Paul de Villiers, Vernon Matongo, Jonathan Roche were among a clutch of players who made a successful step up last season and are considered stars of the future, while someone like Suleiman Hartzenberg is a wonderfully talented young player who has been around for a while already and started to show good signs towards the end of last season that he will become a special player.

ANDRE-HUGO MUST MAKE THIS A STATEMENT SEASON

With Dweba gone to Exeter Chiefs there is an opportunity for Andre-Hugo Venter to make this a statement season in his quest to fulfil the promise many see in him as a future international hooker, while Mchunu’s move from the Sharks could pay off handsomely once he’s over the injury that kept him from playing international rugby in the offseason.

Not for nothing was he rated as the next ‘Beast” after Tendai Mtawarira when he first started playing for the Sharks but his ambitions there were limited by the presence of Bok first choice loosehead Ox Nche. Not only is Mchunu a strong scrummager, he also has the presence in general play that the Stormers would like from a front-row forward.

While the arrivals hall hasn’t exactly been busy for the Stormers, there are also a few players we may have forgotten about who are set to return from either injury or sabbatical, namely Bok blindside flanker Ben-Jason Dixon and the tough lock Adre Smith, who spent the second half of last season in Japan. Another important returnee is experienced centre Ruhan Nel.

When at full strength, meaning they have Reinach, Willemse, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Warrick Gelant and Hartzenberg all bringing their array of X-factor talents behind a pack that when at full muster should have Evan Roos, Dixon, Salmaan Moerat, JD Schickerling, Ruben van Heerden, Mchunu/Matongo and Neethling Fouche all doing match day duty, the Stormers will be formidable.

The worry is when injuries set in. Then the pace of the development of the young players coming through is going to be critical to the Stormers’ chances of satisfying their supporters.

DHL Stormers Vodacom URC fixtures 2025/2026 season

Leinster (Cape Town, Friday 26 September, 19.00)

Ospreys (Cape town, Friday 3 October, 19.00)

Scarlets (Llanelli, Friday 10 October, 20.45)

Zebre (Parma, Saturday 18 October, 20.45)

Benetton (Treviso, Saturday 25 October, 18.30)

Munster (Limerick, Saturday 29 November, 19.30)

Emirates Lions (Cape Town, Saturday 20 December, 15.30)


Vodacom Bulls (Pretoria, Friday 26 December, TBC)

Vodacom Bulls (Cape Town, Saturday 3 January, 18.00)

Hollywoodbets Sharks (Cape Town, Saturday 24 January, 19.30)

Hollywoodbets Sharks (Durban, Saturday 31 January, 17.00)


Emirates Lions (Johannesburg, Saturday 28 February, 14.30)

Dragons (Stellenbosch/Gqeberha, Saturday 21 March, 19.30)

Edinburgh (Cape Town, Saturday 28 March, 19.00)

Connacht (Cape Town, Saturday 18 April, 18.15)

Glasgow Warriors (Cape Town, Saturday 25 April, 18.30)

Ulster (Belfast, Saturday 8 May, 20.45)

Cardiff Rugby (Cardiff, Saturday 15 May, 20.45)

Investec Champions Cup Pool fixtures

Bayonne (Bayonne, Friday 5 December, 22.00)

La Rochelle (Gqeberha, Saturday 13 December, 15.00)

Harlequins (London, Sunday 11 January, 15.00)

Leicester Tigers (Cape Town, Saturday 17 January, 17.15)