The DHL Stormers XXIII produced a strong final quarter in an otherwise close game to secure a well-deserved 36-28 Carling Currie Cup win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was way too stop-start and error-ridden to be regarded as a good advertisement for the oldest domestic competition in the world, but the game did showcase the brilliance of two of South Africa’s most exciting young talents.
The Stormers’ Markus Muller and the Sharks’ Luan Gilliomee were teammates when the Junior Springboks won the Junior World Championship in Georgia a few weeks ago. This time they were in opposition, but both produced touches to show why they are so highly rated and considered stars of the future.
Gilliomee is of course off to the Vodacom Bulls at the end of December so the Sharks won’t be getting the value going forward they would be hoping for from Gilliomee, but the youngster who made his URC debut against Munster a few months ago showed just why he was pushed so early by Sharks senior coach JP Pietersen with two brilliant first half assists that led to tries for the Durban team.
Muller, rated by some as the best schoolboy talent to go through the Craven Week last year, is a wonderfully balanced player who also made his URC debut this past season - for the Stormers as a replacement against Glasgow Warriors. Apart from some excellent defensive work, he showed his attacking abilities by scoring a try that showed his sheer quality.
The DHL Stormers XXIII come out on top in the Coastal Derby 🔵⚡️#SSRugby | #CurrieCup pic.twitter.com/bjDiwa6tuf
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 1, 2026
It was nip and tuck for much of the way in the game, with the Sharks winning the possession battle in the middle stages of the match but unable to convert their several visits to the Stormers 22 to the extent that they should have and being made to pay by a strong finishing Stormers team in the last quarter.
It was the Stormers’ second win in three starts, and in their new guise as the Stormers XX
ELEMENTARY MISTAKES
The Sharks didn’t waste time drawing first blood, with a big first scrum reaping the penalty from which the Sharks set up the attack that saw wing Lyle Matthews go over in the corner after a dab touch from Gilliomee joining the line on the short side. Tim Swiel kicked the angled conversion to give his team a 7-0 lead, but that held only for three minutes, which was the amount of time it took for the Stormers to bounce back via hooker Vernon Paulo driving over the line after the Stormers had set up the attack from a penalty.
The early scrum advantage of the Sharks was being reversed at that point, and although the hosts were still guilty of making the elementary mistakes that kept them back in their previous two games, they did appear to be stamping their authority on the game when after another attacking lineout set up by a scrum penalty No 8 Wandile Mlaba drove over for his team’s second try that with Kyle Smith’s conversion propelled the hosts into a 14-7 lead.
Mlaba had a busy game and was impressive off the back of the Stormers scrum, so while the two star players on the field grabbed the headlines, he was a well-deserved recipient of the official man of the match award.
That was in the 22nd minute and for the next 10 minutes or so most of the play was between the two 10 metre lines, with the game lacking some rhythm. It was going to require something special to break that period of torpor, and Gilliomee is a special player. His brilliant line off a pop pass from Swiel set up the try for scrumhalf Ross Braude on his inside.
The DHL Stormers XXIII come out on top in the Coastal Derby 🔵⚡️#SSRugby | #CurrieCup pic.twitter.com/bjDiwa6tuf
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 1, 2026
The Stormers were suffering for their indiscipline, and seven penalties conceded against four was just too many for the first half. The Sharks scrum was also coming back into it in the latter stages of the half. However, it was again stage set for a special player, this time Muller, who showed that anything his World Junior Championship SA under-20 could do he could do too as he ran impressively off his midfield partner Josh Boulle for a spectacular try that put his team 19-14 up at halftime.
It was a very evenly contested game up until that point, so it made sense for the Stormers team to kick for posts when they were presented with an early second-half penalty in a kickable position, with Smith bisecting the uprights to put his team eight points ahead.
The Sharks responded to having daylight put between them and the Stormers on the scoreboard by crossing through Hanu Pieterse only for that score to be chalked off because the TMO spotted a small knock-on in the buildup. They did eventually get their seven-pointer, but it took nearly another 10 minutes before another Junior Bok, prop Rambo Khubeka, barged over to make it a one-point game.
It may have been too long in the making though, for the Stormers looked the more energetic team after that, and they kept the trend of taking their opportunities better than the visitors as Josh Boulle thundered over near the posts to put daylight back between the teams on the scoreboard and then Xola Nyali dotted down for a fifth try that effectively ended any doubt about who would take the points.
SCORERS
DHL Stormers XXIII 36 - Tries: Vernon Paulo, Wandile Mlaba, Markus Muller, Josh Boulle and Xola Nyali; Conversions: Kyle Steyn 3; Penalty: Kyle Steyn. Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 28 - Tries: Lyle Matthews, Ross Braude, Rambo Khubeka, Liam van Wyk; Conversions: Tim Swiel 3 and Luan Gilliomee.