It is at the back that the DHL Stormers have mostly been ravaged by injury so far this season and there was some good news on that front at the start of the week as Ruhan Nel and Jonathan Roche returned to training.
Nel is not only the Stormers’ defensive mastermind, he is also one of the most experienced players and a recognised team leader, as reflected by the fact that it was he who led the Cape side through an unbeaten initial phase of the season that included some important away wins before the return of regular skipper Salmaan Moerat at the end of November.
It is not clear whether Nel will be available for Saturday’s quasi Investec Champions Cup knock-out game against Leicester Tigers at the DHL Stadium, a game the Stormers need to win to be in the reckoning for a home round of 16 match and Leicester need to win just to get out of the group phase of the competition.
After suffering their first loss of the season, the DHL Stormers are still well placed to qualify for the #InvestecChampionsCup knockout stage ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/8WYqRDS5wS
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) January 12, 2026
But if he is fit he will bring a measure of calmness and experience to the midfield, and if he starts don’t bet your life savings against a possible switch for Wandisile Simelane to fullback, where regular first choice Warrick Gelant has struggled for form this season.
Simelane played the first few Stormers games at fullback when Gelant was injured.
Given that the visitors have England internationals Jack van Poorvliet and Freddy Steward running their kicking game, it would probably be wiser for head coach John Dobson to stick with his regular fullback, but the point is that Nel’s return to fitness does start to give him more options.
Indeed, one of them could be to play Damian Willemse at fullback and if Nel is fit to play in the inside position where he has featured on a few occasions this season.
“Ruhan brings a lot, not just defensively but also as a leader,” said Stormers attack coach Dawie Snyman. “That kind of presence helps settle things when you’re under pressure.”
The Stormers could certainly have done with someone to settle things when Harlequins got early momentum in the third round pool game in London this past Sunday.
The captain for the day, Willemse, was off having an HIA when the initial damage was done and Harlequins built up a 19-0 lead, a blow that the Stormers, who hadn’t lost in 10 starts before that, just couldn’t deal with.
'CAPABLE OF A LOT BETTER'
While many are now questioning the Stormers’ depth, and when it comes to the backs there is no denying that there is potential concern with the injuries that hit in that area, Snyman believes it was more a case of the players just not performing to standard on the day and that being exploited by a really hot Harlequins team.
“I don’t think I have ever seen Harlequins play as well as they did against us and there was just no let up once we went behind,” he said.
“It was one of those kind of 'blow out' days, I am sure many of the players who were on the field will look at themselves and know they are capable of a lot better and that they didn’t give the best version of themselves at the Stoop. We were poor in pretty much all areas, we beat ourselves in one or two key moments, and we were far from the standard we expect of ourselves. There is a lot to work on after that.”
At the same time though it wasn’t a Stormers first choice team and just a clutch of players who were in London will be involved against Leicester.
Those players were part of an advanced guard who flew out of Heathrow on Sunday night, just hours after the game, and landed back home on Monday afternoon, with the rest of the squad due back in Cape Town late on Tuesday.
When you look at those travel arrangements it is easy to understand why head coach John Dobson had to go with an understrength team to the Harlequins game.
Having a sizeable proportion of the team arriving back on a Tuesday ahead of a Saturday game would hardly be optimum preparation for a game against a Tigers team that were able to fly out earlier because their game against Bayonne was played on Saturday.
As hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, who was not in London, pointed out on Tuesday, when the Stormers play and lose everyone in the squad feels it, but at least there will be few players taking the field on Saturday suffering scars from the harrowing 61-10 humiliation at the hands of Harlequins.
Together every step of the way. See you on Saturday for another big home game. #STOvLEI #inittogether pic.twitter.com/HGWrQObOWe
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) January 13, 2026