The Stormers will kick-off the penultimate round of the United Rugby Championship (URC), on Friday with a tricky assignment in Belfast against Ulster. The Capetonians plan to use their forward dominance to defend their number one ranking with just two rounds until the quarter-finals.
The top of the table Stormers have a busy Friday night in Belfast to look forward to. They are up against Ulster, whose own top eight aspirations revolve around staying in the top half of the table. The Stormers will also be keeping an eye on Glasgow’s match against Cardiff, happening at the same time, on Friday.
The Stormers are a point ahead of Glasgow on the log, and according to Coach John Dobson, intend on using their forward dominance against Ulster to stay at the top.
We go all-out in Belfast tonight. #ULSvSTO#inittogether@Vodacom#URCpic.twitter.com/F1XQYmcQUf
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 8, 2026
“I would say that we get set-piece dominance, forward maul dominance, and scrum and maul dominance like we did against Glasgow. I think our game, and the rugby we need for playoffs since we are in the Northern Hemisphere, is based on our pack. It is the same thing with the Springboks, just taking the opposition’s legs away, like we did against Glasgow and in other games, as well as the games we won up here, earlier in the season. So, we get a good shout and a good chance to operate and dominate at scrum time. And luckily, we have one of the best referees in Andrea Piardi,” says Stormers Coach, John Dobson.
The Stormers’ two matches in the run-in in the Northern Hemisphere are on artificial pitches. The Cape side has not done well on those surfaces in the past, and Dobson doesn’t see a future for them, although it’s a hurdle the team will need to tackle.
“The ball bounces differently, and there are injuries like turf toe, where your studs get caught, as well as medial ligament issues and players’ back pain. We have one of our players right now lying in the physio room, unable to move, just from captain’s practice today. So absolutely not, unfortunately. There are a lot of issues that can come from rugby because teams have invested a lot of money, and the grass is expensive. But I don’t see it in international rugby, and I don’t think it should be there. I think it should be reduced, and there should be a moratorium on building any more,” says Dobson.
After Ulster, the Stormers move on to face Cardiff, another team with quarter-final aspirations. It might be the penultimate round of the regular season, but for the Stormers, it does feel like the play-offs have already begun.
