DHL Stormers primed for play-off challenge

The DHL Stormers head to Glasgow for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final next week with some winning momentum and a determination to make their supporters proud.

Four consecutive bonus point wins at DHL Stadium against Connacht, Benetton, Dragons RFC and Cardiff saw the DHL Stormers end the regular season in fifth place.

The result is a replay of last year’s quarterfinal, which will see them take on the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday, May 30.

The team leaves Cape Town a full week before the match, following a good week of training in Cape Town and ready to give it a full go against the defending champions.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that while injuries put his team under pressure at times this season, they also helped expose some talented young players and with most of their stars now fit again they are primed to make a strong play-off run this season.

“We are absolutely primed, we have had some great players come through and we have some key players back now.

“We saw guys like Paul de Villiers, Vernon Matongo, Sazi Sandi and Louw Nel all step up when we needed them and with the likes of Neethling Fouche, JD Schickerling, Manie Libbok and Dan du Plessis back in the mix with some gametime under their belts we feel that we are in a good place heading into the knock-out rounds,” he said.

The DHL Stormers have only ever lost two Vodacom URC play-off matches, both times against the eventual champions in Munster in 2023 and Glasgow in 2024.

Dobson knows that it will take a special effort to win at Scotstoun, but it is a challenge that the team has embraced.

“The week’s break has been really valuable for us and with a full week of preparation in Glasgow we will be ready to empty the tank at Scotstoun.

“We have been really impressed with the fight the team has shown all season and one thing we can guarantee our supporters is that they will see that in the play-offs as well,” he said.