The large squad that was announced by the DHL Stormers for the forthcoming Vodacom United Rugby Championship provides a good reflection of both the firepower the club will have to draw on in their 2026/2027 campaign as well as the depth John Dobson has built up.
The Stormers director of rugby announced a 56-man squad, with the one area where there has been an outflow of players, being the only concern as we head towards the competition kick-off next weekend, when the Stormers will be in Galway to face Connacht in a tough opening game.
The former club captain Salmaan Moerat has left the club, to be replaced as permanent leader by Ruhan Nel, while Ruben van Heerden was another experienced lock who went out through the exit door. Van Heerden has gone to Montpellier while Moerat’s destination is La Rochelle.
Ben-Jason Dixon, named as one of the Stormers loose-forwards, has the ability to play lock, but otherwise Dobson will be relying on a quick learning curve for Riley Norton, the SA under-20 captain who starred for the Springboks in their game against the Barbarians in Gqeberha in March, while Conor Evans has been threatening to break through without quite sealing it for a few seasons now.
Ruan Ackermann can also play lock at a push, and with JD Schickerling back from injury, the Stormers do have strong first choice locks. It is just if there are injuries that there may be problems.
But the concerns over lock aside, and noting that scrumhalf Imad Khan is only due to return to the playing field in April because of the injury sustained against the All Blacks, it is a strong squad - and Dobson was even moved enough by what he saw on paper to suggest it was the strongest he has ever assembled at the start of the season as a Stormers coach. He did though have a caveat to that statement.
“It is a curious one. It is definitely the best squad in terms of quality of players but maybe not in terms of the spread of the squad, meaning per position,” said Dobson.
“Losing two Bok locks is a challenge for us and it is obvious we need a healthy lock roster if we are going to succeed. We were speaking to Thomas Lavanini (Argentina international) but that fell through and we didn’t just want to get a journeyman to come in to fill that hole.
“So we are a bit vulnerable there, but we can be helped by training up Ben-Jason in that position. We’ve seen him play lock at the Boks and Hacjivah (Dayimani) did well for us at No 7 against the All Blacks. The Stormers also have Bok captain Siya Kolisi back on their books for the first time since 2020 and he could also be used at blindside flank
“We see Siya as someone who can play anywhere in the back row - 6, 7 or 8,”said Dobson.
“The way he has grown physically we can definitely use him at No 7 or No 8, as we have three players on our books at the moment who have all filled the No 6 role for the Boks this year - Paul de Villiers, Siya and Deon Fourie.”
Talking of Fourie, the man who will be 40 next time he plays for the Stormers has performed the role of reserve hooker for the last three Bok test matches, but is listed as a loose-forward in the Stormers group. The Stormers have some good depth at hooker now that Vernon Paulo has a strong Currie Cup campaign behind him.
The Bok front row roster has a lot of depth to it, with Bok Ntuthuko Mchunu and Scotland capped Oli Kebble together with future Bok Vernon Matongo as the complement of loosehead props, while there are three Bok tightheads in the group in the form of Zachary Porthen, Wilco Louw (who has returned from the Bulls) and Neethling Fouche. Then there’s Sazi Sandi, who is highly rated by his peers, and two recent national age-group players in Oli Reid and Hermann Lubbe.
Apart from Louw and Kolisi, the Stormers have been boosted by another returning star in the form of Cheslin Kolbe, but he has been ruled out of all games until the end of October because of the broken jaw suffered in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry test against the All Blacks.
DHL Stormers 26/27 squad (DHL Stormers caps in brackets)
* denotes under-21 players
Props
Neethling Fouché (114), Oli Kebble (57), Sazi Sandi (52), Wilco Louw (52), Vernon Matongo (22), Ntuthuko Mchunu (19), Zachary Porthen (15), Hencus van Wyk (2), Herman Lubbe* (1), Olly Reid* (1)
Hookers
André-Hugo Venter (89), JJ Kotzé (58), Lukhanyo Vokozela (4), Vernon Paulo (0), Luca Bakkes (0)
Locks
JD Schickerling (74), Adré Smith (69), Connor Evans (40), Gary Porter (19), Riley Norton* (0)
Loose Forwards
Deon Fourie (141), Siya Kolisi (118), Marcel Theunissen (95), Evan Roos (87), Ben-Jason Dixon (86), Hacjivah Dayimani (64), Paul de Villiers (36), Keke Morabe (19), Louw Nel (13), Ruan Ackermann (10), Wandile Mlaba* (2), Divan Fuller* (0)
Scrumhalves
Stefan Ungerer (47), Imad Khan (18), Cobus Reinach (9), Ezekiel Ngobeni (0), Jayden Brits* (0)
Flyhalves
Jean-Luc du Plessis (61), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (53), Jurie Matthee (29), Yaqeen Ahmed* (1), Kyle Smith* (0)
Centres
Ruhan Nel (90), Wandisile Simelane (41), Jonathan Roche (16), Markus Muller* (1), Josh Boulle (0)
Wings
Leolin Zas (99), Seabelo Senatla (74) Cheslin Kolbe (49), JC Mars* (3), Mfundo Ndhlovu (1), Joel Leotlela (0), Gino Cupido* (0)
Fullbacks
Damian Willemse (118), Warrick Gelant (77)