The DHL Stormers Bolts have started the SA Rugby U20 Cup with back-to-back bonus point wins.
In 2026 with a new age-group competition came a new team – the DHL Stormers Bolts. The consolidation of the SA Rugby U19 and U21 competitions into an U20 tournament coincided with the consolidation of the Stormers Rugby brand across all professional teams.
This shift happened in the same year that the Stormers Rugby Institute was revived, with 12 of last year’s top schoolboy talent starting up a new programme at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport in January.
There were 10 players involved in the Junior Springboks’ victorious Junior World Championship campaign and several players were called up to the DHL Stormers XXIII, senior DHL Stormers and Springbok squads before the new competition kicked off in early August.
Despite challenges around player availability and injuries, Head Coach Johno van der Walt and his management team put together an extensive pre-season programme to prepare the squad for what is set to be a gruelling double-round competition.
They started the new era with a convincing 55-22 win against Sharks GEN at DHL Stadium – which was a fitting venue for the first-ever DHL Stormers Bolts match.
There were eight tries for the DHL Stormers Bolts on the day in front of an enthusiastic crowd, in what was a curtain-raiser for a Carling Currie Cup match between the two coastal sides.
Wings Jordan Steenkamp and Jack Benade were prominent in crossing the whitewash, with flyhalf Rayaan Solomons impressive off the kicking tee, while the likes of flank Gert Kemp and hooker Almero Keizer were central in laying a solid foundation up front.
The DHL Stormers Bolts were especially dominant in the second half, scoring 26 unanswered points after the break to make it a comfortable victory in the end.
Two weeks later, they played the return fixture on the KP2 field in Durban. Loosehead prop Jordan Jooste was added to the team having returned from injury and captain Aden da Costa’s team asserted themselves from the start.
Having taken a 26-5 advantage into the half-time break, they managed to score two further tries in the second half to close out a 40-24 win.
That puts them in third position on the standings as one of three unbeaten teams left in the competition.
They will take on the team above them on points difference – the Vodacom Bulls U20 – this Friday at Loftus Versfeld.
The North-South clash promises to be a crucial encounter in the context of the season, as it usually is when the two rivals meet at any level.
