Stormers coach John Dobson has name an exciting team for the Stormers’ first game of the URC season, which will see lock Riley Norton, scrumhalves Andre Warner and Ezekiel Ngobeni and hooker Vernon Paulo are all set to debut for the Cape club.
The Stormers, champions of the inaugural season in 2021/22, have won four of the last five URC meetings against their Irish opponents, although Connacht won the most recent clash, last year in Cape Town.
John Dobson’s side will be well aware of Connacht’s recent run at home, where they are on a five-game winning streak. But the Stormers were victorious on their last visit to Galway in May 2024.
At the same time, the Capetonians will try to turn around their recent fortunes in Ireland, where they’ve won just one of their last five matches.
Kick off is at 20:45 (SA time) on Friday night.
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HOW THE TEAMS WILL LINE UP
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 John Devine, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Eoin de Buitléar, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Matthew Victory, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 David O’Connor, 20 Max Flynn, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 Shayne Bolton
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Evan Roos, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Riley Norton, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Adré Smith, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 23 Yaqeen Ahmed.
Director of Rugby John Dobson said that with four debutants and a player (Leolin Zas) hitting a century of caps, there is plenty of excitement within the group ahead of the first match of the new season.
“Leolin has been a stalwart in this team for so many years and has delivered so many incredible moments. He did not have things his own way and came back from serious injury to cement his place as one of the deadliest finishers to have played for the Stormers.
“We also have the likes of Riley Norton, Vernon Paulo and Ezekiel Ngobeni making their first appearances of what should be long careers with us, while Andre Warner provides the benefit of experience in a crucial position. We are excited for all of them to show what they can do.
“We decided against playing Ben-Jason Dixon and Ntuthuko Mchunu in this match to give them further opportunity to recover from what has been a demanding schedule and be fresh enough to make maximum impact for us, ” he said.
Match Information:
Connacht v Stormers
Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
Venue: Dexcom Stadium, Galway
SA Time: 20:45
Referee: Sam Grove-White
TV: SuperSport
